At the time of Jesus, faithful Jews, such as the scribes and Pharisees, observed many religious laws. The lifeblood of the Pharisees was the Law of Moses, which comprised not only the written Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, but also interpretations of the written law which developed over time. They would follow these to the letter of the law. There were 613 laws in all covering every aspect of a person’s life, such as diet, ritual washing, observance of the Sabbath, and so on. The Pharisees believed that knowing the law thoroughly and following it to the letter was enough to save a Jew. The emphasis was strictly on external observance; if you followed the law exactly, ticked all the boxes, you were all right with God. But for Jesus such an approach is not enough. He demands more. In the Sermon on the Mount, he takes his followers a giant step beyond the Law of Moses. Jesus knows that it is possible to keep the law, to avoid committing murder, adultery or false witness, and yet to sin against those commandments, by breaking them in spirit. For Jesus what really matters is not external observance, but what goes on inside the human heart, our thoughts, our values, our attitudes, our motivations, what guides our whole approach to life. Following Jesus means more than avoiding sin, or keeping the law. It is much tougher than that. Following Jesus means internalizing our faith, making it part of the very air we breathe. It means trying to live the Sermon on the Mount every day.