Sermon on the Mount - Part 8

Today I want to look at verses 17-20, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message.  

Matthew 5:17-20

(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."

These verses are crucial to understanding what is going on in the Sermon on the Mount. Some think that Jesus came to bring something new to religion, when in fact that is not true at all. What He did want is to restore things to where they were in the very beginning, before man got a hold of religion and corrupted it. Jesus is not saying at any time, as He was accused of, that the law did not apply to him. In fact, He says in these verses that not even the smallest piece of the law will go away until it is all accomplished. But it is important that we distinguish between the laws that were given by God and those that were added through tradition or interpretation by the Jewish leaders.

Jesus makes a statement, that "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." I wonder if those listening realized that when the leaders altered the laws that they were doing this very thing. Take Matthew 15:1-6 for example. God said honor your parents, but they said they could give to God instead of caring for them. Using their gifts to God as a way to avoid what God commanded. Brilliant, if your goal is to get what you wanted, even if it means abusing what God states. If seeking to do the will of God, however, not so brilliant.

Jesus goes on to say, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The people viewed their leaders as the holiest of all people, surrendering their lives to the pursuit of God. And yet He says that to enter the kingdom of heaven, one must be more righteous than them. They gave all they had and it was not enough? Yes, exactly! No matter how much I try, I cannot put God in my debt, let alone can I hope to repay the debt I owe. For God to be in my debt He truly would be sixpence none the richer. Such a statement might seem as removing all hope for anyone. But Jesus is not seeking to remove hope, rather He is seeking to restore it. The self-righteousness of the leaders was not enough. In fact, it stood in the way of real righteousness. The righteousness that it takes to enter heaven must exceed that of the leaders of the time. Real righteousness comes by faith in the son of God. It comes by relying on the righteousness that Christ gives, and not on our efforts. (Romans 1:17, 3:21-31; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:21; 3:6; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5) 

This is not to say that we are not accountable for our actions. It is just that our actions alone to not make us righteous or unrighteous, but they do reveal our righteousness, along with  the motivation behind them. Actions alone do not determine our status, nor does faith alone. Jesus will actually deal with this idea later in the sermon, so we will come back to this idea later.

as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

Edited 2/4/2022