Matthew 5:17-20 English Standard Version
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
If there is one thing you can say about this man, this Rabbi Jesus, he has a way with words which grabs and holds your attention in a very big hurry.
In this teaching on the sermon on the mount, he makes a statement that could only be seen and heard and interpreted as shocking.
Especially when you take the time to consider who he is talking about and to.
In those days, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the ones the people were told and trained and taught to looked up to as models for living.
They were the ones people were supposed to follow, were spiritual mentors and in one mall sentence, Jesus says, whatever they are doing, whatever they were teaching, you must do better, you could do better somewhere, anywhere else.
“There are two sorts of hypocrites: ones that are deceived with their outward morality and external religion; and the others are those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevation; which often cry down works, and men’s own righteousness.” – Jonathan Edwards
Rabbi Jesus is now here saying to the people: “wake up! and snap out of it!”
“You can be more like God.”
“You can think more like God.”
“You can think more about God.”
“You can live more like God.”
“You can know more about God.”
“You can reveal more about God to others.”
Why are these such important statements?
To grasp the importance of these eye opening statements, we need to try to understand the nature of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
This was not the only time Jesus ever mentioned their righteousness or the way they lived.
He had a lot more to say.
Here is one instance which relates well to what he said in this verse.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” – Matthew 23:25-26
In this verse, Jesus identifies the problem with the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Their righteousness was outward only.
It never went beyond the surface.
They did a good job of making the outside look good because they looked and acted the part.
The problem was on their inside, they missed the part that made the biggest difference, had the greatest influence on the thoughts and actions of others.
In effect, what Jesus was saying is this vision of outward only righteousness is not righteousness at all therefore don’t practice it, don’t model it, don’t live it.
What is Righteousness?
Before we go further and get to a personal application, let’s define the type of righteousness Jesus was referring to.
There are two ways to look at this verse.
In one context, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were attempting to gain righteousness through their own efforts.
If you believe that is the way to righteousness, Jesus says it’s not.
In another context, the righteousness Jesus was talking about emphasizes what you say in comparison to what you do and how one acts in public versus private.
This is where I want to focus your attention.
Look at what Jesus says in the previous verse.
The problem the Pharisees and teachers of the law had is they did not practice what they were teaching.
Their righteousness was only superficial – and barely that.
What does your righteousness look like?
This leads us to an important question to ponder in this moment.
What does your righteousness look like?
Consider what would happen if we were to pull back the curtain of your life.
What would that reveal?
Would there be a clean outside but a heart that was not?
Hopefully, this is not the case.
To be clear, ultimately, we are justified and made righteous through Christ.
However, in this context, Jesus is also talking about your words and your actions.
Is your outside expression of righteousness truly a reflection of what is inside, or is it just for appearance’s sake?
Rabbi Jesus was trying to help his disciples see that the part of you no one sees is infinitely more important than the part of you that everyone sees because the part no one sees is who you really are.
So how do your insides look, and who are you when it is just you and Jesus and no one else around?
The way we outwardly express that answer to that question will help determine if your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
Psalm 139:23-24 English Standard Version
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts![a]
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting![b]
Scripture is God’s powerful scanner.
God uses it to tell us if something is wrong in our heart–and how to fix it.
Scripture also teaches us how to outwardly live out from our faith in healthy and mature ways that serve to edify our neighbors, neighborhoods, please God.
I pray, as we consider what people see and ponder of our Christianity, as we consciously seek to take an accounting of ourselves, search our hearts today, it is safe to say we can confess that we all have areas where what we say and what we do don’t always align – we take more time to “purge ourselves with hyssop.”
This is why we ultimately depend on Jesus’ righteousness and not our own.
But beyond that, we absolutely, resolutely need to seek to be people who desire an outward life that reflects an inward transformation whose source is Christ.
When that becomes your heart’s desire, we are well on our ways to having a righteousness that certainly exceeds the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
Living God’s Way Today
Very few drivers come to a complete stop at any stop sign.
Maybe they have come to think the stop sign is only a “slight” suggestion.
Psalm 119:105-112 AKJV
נ Nun
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it,
that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much:
quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand:
yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me:
yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever:
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.
Are God’s laws merely suggestions?
Verse 112: The psalmist treats God’s law with the utmost seriousness. He declares, “My heart is set on always keeping your decrees to the very end.”
Jesus taught his listeners how serious God’s law is.
He explained he did not come to abolish the law or any of God’s commands; he came to fulfill them.
And Jesus said that not even the smallest letter (a reference to yodh, the very smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet) or the least stroke of a pen would be eliminated from the law.
Moreover, Jesus says there will be great rewards for keeping God’s laws and great penalties for not keeping them.
The problem, though, is that none of us can keep God’s law perfectly because—at heart—we are all, by our sin nature, in rebellion against God and his Word.
What can we do?
We need the grace that only Jesus can provide through his death and resurrection.
Once God has forgiven and redeemed us, we see his laws and words differently.
The Spirit of God helps us to see them not as a source of condemnation but as a covenanted call to love both God and our neighbors.
And by the Spirit’s power we understand they are not a mere suggestion, and we follow them as a sure and certain and truthful guide for thankful, obedient lives.
Are we following God’s way in the strength of the Holy Spirit of today?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 15 New King James Version
The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord
A Psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may [a]abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
3 He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he [b]take up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning; is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 