INTRODUCTION
We are busy with a series on The Sermon on the Mount.
We looked at the theme of the sermon, which is the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.
We looked at the character and the blessedness of the citizens of heaven - The beatitudes.
We looked at us needing to be the salt and the light of the world.
Then last week we looked at the relationship between Jesus and the Law, where He said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it.
Today we will be looking at one text found in Matthew 5:20.
I believe that this is the central idea of the sermon.
Today we will be talking about what our righteousness should be like.
So let’s read from:
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 5:20 ESV
(20) For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let us pray
SERMON
I want you to listen to these words again: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”
Do you know who the Pharisees and the Scribes were?
We, as modern day Christians, are not too well informed about the Pharisees and the Scribes.
We perceive them to be bad people.
So let’s quickly look at who they were.
During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and the Scribes were considered to be the most holy and the most righteous people on earth.
If we had to compare them to today’s people they would have been in the same league as Billy Graham, Reinhardt Bonnke and TJ Jakes.
THE PHARISEES
The Pharisees, meaning the separated ones, one of three major religious societies, were mostly middle class business men, but they had a very big impact in the decision making in the Sanhedrin.
Unlike the Sadducees, who were aristocrats, the Pharisees were in contact with the common man.
They accepted that the written Word was inspired by God (The Old Testament)
But of importance to them also was the oral traditions, which they defended by saying that it could be traced to the time of Moses.
So they added some of these traditions to God’s Word and obeyed the Word of God together with these traditions.
In other words they treated these traditions as equal to God’s word.
So let’s look at what they believed:
• They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.
• They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).
• They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.
• They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).
Is that not what we believe?
Paul was, before his conversion, also a Pharisee.
THE SCRIBES
The Scribes were learned men.
They studies the Law, transcribed it and wrote commentaries about it.
We can say that they were also like lawyers today, helping people with the writing of documentation, at a fee off course.
One of the jobs they did was to preserve Scripture.
They took this job very serious, so much that they would copy and recopy the Bible, ensuring that the copy was correct by even counting the letters and spaces of each copy.
These were people who taught the scriptures to others.
However, they did not just stick to the law in the scriptures.
They also added some man-made traditions to the mix.
They knew the written word but they ignored the heart of the word.
So we can see that these were learned men who knew the scriptures and who could interpret the scriptures to others.
These were men who were perceived to have been the most righteous of all men.
And then Jesus says that our righteousness should be more than theirs.
That must have been a shocking statement in those days.
But note that Jesus never said that He had a problem with the fact that they knew the Scriptures.
He never said that He had a problem with their knowledge.
He never said that He had a problem with the works they did.
What He did have a problem with was their holiness, their righteousness.
He stated that their righteousness was not enough to get them into heaven.
Jesus said that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
That means that their righteousness was not enough to get them into heaven.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
So what does it mean to be righteous?
Righteousness is the condition that God will accept.
It is a right standing before God.
And there is only one way to be righteous and that is to be without sin.
That is to be completely holy.
That is to be 100% perfect.
As humans in our human form it is impossible to be righteous, because we have all sinned.
Nobody is without sin and therefore nobody is righteous.
Listen to what Paul writes in:
Romans 3:20-24 KJV
(20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
(21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
(22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
(23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
(24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
You are not justified, therefore you are not righteous, by your deeds or because you obey the law, or you read the Bible, or you come to church every Sunday, or you pray for 12 hours a day, or because you parents are Christians, or you were baptised as a baby…
We are all unrighteous because of our sins.
And, like Paul said, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
During the time that Jesus was on earth the Pharisees and Scribes were perceived to have been more righteous than other people.
Then Jesus says that, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Scribes, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.
That was a tall order.
After all, the Pharisees fasted weekly.
They gave their tithes to the tiniest amount.
They were strict students of the Scriptures.
No other group were stricter with it than them.
So for Jesus to say these words must have been a shocker of note.
How could they ever be more righteous, how could they ever be more perfect and more holy than the Pharisees and the Scribes?
It seemed like an impossible task.
But the Pharisees and the Scribes had one fault with regards to righteousness and before I tell you what it is, let me give you a little scenario first:
SCENARIO
In my back yard I have a big tree with many braches and with a lot of leaves.
For you who are familiar with it, it is called a pepper tree.
This tree is really impressive and strong and it goes high up into the sky.
You can come and push against this tree and see if you can push it over.
Trust me, you will not succeed.
You can bring 10 of your friends with you and you will still not be able to push that tree over.
This tree is a house to some birds and small animals and insects.
It acts as a type of umbrella keeping the harsh sun off from the plants growing beneath it.
Children can climb this tree with being scared that it will fall over.
This is really an impressive tree and so are most big trees.
My question is this:
Is this tree so magnificent because of its size?
Is this tree so impressive because of its strength?
Is this tree so notable because of its ability to be a house for animals, birds and insects?
Is this tree so remarkable because it can keep the harsh sun of other plants?
Is this tree so fantastic because you can climb in it?
No, to all of that.
The reason this tree is so great is because it is standing up, reaching to the sky.
Do you think for one minute that that tree would be so magnificent, so impressive, so remarkable, and so noteworthy, if it was laying on the ground?
No.
When a tree lies on the ground it is good for two things.
To be cut into pieces and used for other purposes or to become food in the soil.
If a tree falls to the ground it causes more damage than good.
It becomes a nuisance and people just wants to get rid of it, because it is in the way.
A tree is so only remarkable and noteworthy and impressive because it stands up.
But the thing that struck me when I started to prepare for this sermon was not that the tree stood up.
It was the fact that that tree could not stand up unless there was soil.
If we were able to say one word and all the soil around that pepper tree would disappear, that tree would fall over or it would fall over from the tiniest push.
It would fall on my house and cause a lot of damage.
I would want to get rid of it as soon as possible.
It becomes useless to me.
Without the soil that tree is nothing.
Without that soil the tree cannot stand strong in the midst of a wind storm.
Yes, in its current state, when a violent wind blows against that tree it would occasionally loose some branches and some leaves.
But where those branches breaks off, new branches grows stronger.
But without the soil that tree will fall over.
Without the soil that tree will not be able to receive food and water.
It does not matter how many roots that tree has, without soil it is nothing.
What am I trying to say here this morning?
I am trying to say that, if we believe we are righteous, if we believe we are able to stand before the Holy God, because of who we are, because of what we have accomplished, because of what we know, because of our education, because of who we know, because of our parents, because we go to church, because we play in the band, because you are the pastor, etc. then we are mistaken.
If we believe that then we are planting our roots in something called self-righteousness.
You see, in spite of all the Pharisees and Scribes were and what they knew, they believed that they were righteous because of their position and what they attained because of it.
They believed that they were standing tall and prominent in the community because of their own accord.
They believed they were righteous because of who they were.
They did not realise that, without the soil, they were nothing.
Without the soil they can very easily be pushed over and fall down.
Without the soil the tiniest of wind will blow them over.
If you are grounded in Jesus as your soil then the wind will come and try to blow you over, but you will stand.
You might lose some branches and leaves along the way, but believe me, new ones will grow and it will be even stronger.
If you are grounded in Jesus, people will come and try to push you over.
They will try to get you to fall.
They will not succeed.
If you are grounded in Jesus, troubled times can come.
We will stand tall.
If you are grounded in Jesus then you will have enough to eat and drink.
Jesus says that if we are in Him we will never again be thirsty or hungry.
If this church wants to stand tall and prominent and be a refuge for sinners then we need to stay grounded in Jesus.
That means doing what He tells us to do and staying true to His Word.
But if you are not grounded in Jesus.
If Jesus is not the soil you are growing in, then the storms will come and blow you over.
People will push you over without a lot of effort.
Troubled times will be you worst nightmare, because you know you will not be able to stand against it.
You will become a nuisance, something to be thrown out and burn.
And eventually you will die, an everlasting death in the everlasting pit of hell.
But if you are grounded in Jesus, you can say what David said in:
Psalms 18:29 ESV
(29) For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
BE ON A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE REST
In this scripture this morning Jesus is emphasising the fact that we, as Christians, needs to be on a higher level than the rest.
We need to be more righteous than the rest and that can only be accomplished if we understand the fact that we can never, from our own accord, be righteous, but that we can only be righteous through Jesus and what He has done for us.
That is what we read in:
Romans 3:22 KJV
(22) …the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…
Only through Jesus can you be able to enter the throne room of God directly.
Only through Jesus can you stand before God, completely and perfectly righteous.
Only by faith in Jesus Christ can you be righteous.
So what was it that made the Pharisees and the Scribes the emphasis of how not to live?
For that we look at Matthew 23 and Luke16.
Let’s look at some scriptures from there and then look at how we are supposed to be living.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES
• They don’t practice what they preach
Matthew 23:1-4 ESV
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,
so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
So, although they taught the truth, they did not always practiced it.
We often hear the sayings “Do what I say, not what I do” and “Practice what you preach”
As a Christian it is your responsibility to be an example.
If you want to preach God to others, but your life is not as it should be, then you are also missing the boat.
Then you also believe that it does not apply to you because of your position.
Practice what you preach
Matthew 7:21 ESV
(21) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven
• They want people to see their works
Matthew 23:5-7 ESV
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes (the boarders of their garments) long (broad),
and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues
and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
Phylacteries were small slips of parchment or vellum, on which were written certain portions of the Old Testament and that was tied to certain parts of the body.
So what they did was to wear religious garments that separated them from other people.
They wanted people to know their title and honour them.
As Christians we often find that other Christians believe they are better than sinners because of what they believe.
We look down on others and want people to see how important we are and how much we do for others.
Some wear different cloths to separate them from the rest.
Again this boils down to self-righteousness.
You cannot do things to be seen
Matthew 6:1 ESV
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
• They Neglect parts of God’s Law
Matthew 23:23-24 ESV
(23) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
(24) You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Their emphasis were more on the lighter matters than on the more heavy matters of the law.
We need to be consistent not just in the lighter side of what it means to be a Christian, but also on those aspects that carries more weight.
It is good to make sure that you help in the kitchen at church and to serve those who come to church, but do you help those on the street that is in need of some food and the Gospel of Jesus?
You cannot neglect any of God’s commands
Matthew 5:19 ESV
(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.
What does God’s Word says:
Matthew 22:39 KJV
(39) … Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
• They Loved Money
Luke 16:13-15 ESV
(13) No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
(14) The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.
(15) And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Their true God was Mammon.
However, when they were confronted with it they would deny it and would try to justify it.
We see this in many prosperity preachers these days, don’t we?
You cannot be lovers of money
Matthew 6:24 ESV
(24) "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
This also has emphasis on who and what we serve.
You need to make sure that God is the only god in your life.
If anything else has more or equal importance in your life as what God has then you need to start doing something about it.
CONCLUSION
We need to be on a higher level than the world.
Our faith and our righteousness must be reflected through our works, not the other way around.
You must realise this morning that you are not righteous because of who you are or what you believe.
You are righteous because of the fact that you are grounded in Christ.
If Christ were to leave you today then you will fall.
Self-righteousness cannot keep you upright.
Only Jesus can do that.
Maybe this morning you feel that you need God to provide that stability in your life again.
Maybe the wind has been blowing at storm speeds trying to get you down.
Maybe people are pushing against you trying to push you over.
Maybe circumstances have you almost pinned to the ground.
Where is your righteousness grounded?
In yourself or in Christ?
If you feel this morning that you would like to come to Jesus and say to Him that you need to be grounded in Him, that you know that you can be righteous only through Him, then I want you to stand up and tell Him.
