Living In The Kingdom 6
Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20; Hebrews 10:12; Galatians 3:24-25
This morning we are continuing our study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and today we are going to be focusing on Matthew 5:17-20. When I initially wrote this message, there was too much information to be covered in one message because I was led to also address the authority from which Jesus gave this sermon. So this is part A focusing on Matthew 5:17-20 and next week I will complete this message with part B discussing why Jesus had the authority to say everything that He said in this one sermon.
Matthew 5:17-20 says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)
Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the Law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. Jesus had already spoken of the ideal character of His disciples (the Beatitudes), and of their need of allowing that character to appear (because of their being salt and light in the world.) In these verses Jesus now transitions to speak of the position the accepted religion of the day (the Law) should have in their lives from that day forward. Remember, before Christ’s death and resurrection, the Law was what gave the people who abided by it access to eternal life. After telling them what their attitudes should be as His disciples, it possibly appeared to some that Jesus was so opposed to the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees that He came to destroy the Law. But, Jesus makes it clear that He had not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it. He does not say that He has come to continue it, but to fulfill it. Jesus was saying that He would complete its purpose.
There are two words I want to look at briefly: the first is “destroy” and the second is “fulfill”. The word “destroy” means “to loose, or unloose what was before bound or fastened.” By using this word, Jesus was letting the people know “I didn’t come to release you from your moral obligations to the Law of Moses. That is not why I came. No, I came to fulfill your moral obligations to this Law so that you would be able to live with Me under a new Law – a Law with better promises.” And we see what this new Law is in Romans 8:2. Paul writes, “For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and of death.” When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, verse 4 says “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Since Jesus fulfilled the Law and He now lives in us, we have also fulfilled the righteousness of the Law! The word “fulfill” means “to make full; to bring to a full end, accomplish, complete.” All of the requirements of the Law, including its commandments, sacrifices and offerings, Jesus fulfilled – Jesus put an end to them by His death and resurrection. Hebrews 10:12 says “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice (His crucifixion) for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.” When Hebrews says Jesus sat down, it means that He fulfilled, completed, and accomplished everything the Law of Moses demanded. By fulfilling the Law, Jesus did what we could not do. He kept the Law for us! Praise God!
And we see another aspect of this in Galatians 3:24-25 which says “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” In Roman families, a trusted slave, a tutor, had charge of the children and to keep them from harm while taking them to school. The Law was such a tutor; a guide to lead the people until Christ came. When Jesus arrived on the scene, for all practical purposes, the Law ceased to function because He brought with Him salvation through faith as opposed to salvation through the works of the Law, which was a shadow of the real salvation. And this is what we see in Hebrews 10:1-2. It reads, “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?” When Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law, the first visible sign of His fulfilling that promise was no more offering of sacrifices because He was the final sacrifice!
Let’s continue with verse 18 where Jesus said, “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” When Jesus says, “For verily I say unto you,” it’s the first time this phrase is used in His teachings. It is an expression of “supreme authority.” When Jesus says what He is about to say, He’s letting the people know that no one can overrule Him and we will see why in part B of this message. He has the final say about what happens to the Law. Since God gave the Jews the Law, we know from Romans 7:7 that it was not sinful, nor did it conflict with God’s promises, as we see in Galatians 3:21. As we talked about earlier, the Law was the schoolmaster, the tutor, until Jesus came on the scene and that’s why He emphasized that as long as heaven and earth existed, the Law would not pass away. God gave the Law and it had to be fulfilled. Jesus said that everything in the Law would be fulfilled down to the smallest part and it was fulfilled in Him. Jesus could make that statement because He had the authority to make it happen.
In verse nineteen Jesus said that “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus was letting the disciples and those who were listening the importance of obedience. Disobedience is a habit, and it is not easily laid aside. Therefore it has been proven time and time again that he that is unfaithful in that which is little will also be unfaithful in that which is great. So, the scribes and Pharisees who were disobedient and reckless in how they taught the Law and applied it to the people’s daily life would be inclined to act in like manner as teachers in the kingdom of heaven: hence Jesus’ warning! The scribes and Pharisees who intentionally distorted, misinterpreted and falsified the word of God, if they made it into the kingdom of God, would be seen as least in the kingdom – especially when they have not faithfully taught the precepts of the Law, which they were responsible for doing. They shall be held accountable. And notice I said “if” they made it in.
I want to be clear on something. Every one of us today is known in heaven. We already have a reputation in heaven. The God-head and the angels know about us. Now the questions is, are we known today as on the least or one of the greats based on what we are doing with the Word of God. Based on how we are teaching others about the word of God. There are many preachers getting their rewards here on earth because of how they are distorting the word of God for personal gain and they are known already as “least” in the kingdom of God. And, this not only applies to preachers! Our being known already in heaven does not mean that we will spend an eternity there – it just means that we already have a reputation based on how we are living here on earth. Now greatness in the kingdom is measured by conscientiousness in reference to its least commandments which, in this case, would be the Law as a whole. Christians who are least in the kingdom are not concerned about living faithfully by what the Bible says. They live on the fringes of truth, close enough so that they won’t lose their salvation. Christians who are greatest in the kingdom, live by one standard and one standard only – every word that comes from the mouth of God. Remember what Jesus said Matthew 4:4? “…….It is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Christians who are living as least in the kingdom, should repent and thank God grace!
Now, verse 20 lays it all on the line. Jesus tells them, “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In Jesus times, the scribes and Pharisees were models of righteousness in their own sight and in that of the people. Unfortunately, the behaviors, attitudes toward the Law and what they taught from the Law, were self-serving. There was a reason Jesus called out the “righteousness” of the scribes and Pharisees. Let’s read a little from Matthew chapter twenty-three about some of the supposed “righteous” things they were doing. Let’s start reading at verse four.
Matthew 23:4-7; 13-17 “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6and love the uppermost places at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi…..13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither allow you them that are entering to go in. 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater condemnation. 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16Woe unto you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is bound!’ 17You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?” If you continue reading this chapter, Jesus had a lot more to say about them.
So when Jesus makes this statement, He laid down a very high ideal in the minds of the people based on how they viewed the scribes and Pharisees. So why was this statement such a lofty ideal in the eyes of the people? The people did not know corrupt they were, but Jesus knew. The key word in the verse was “righteousness.” The Pharisees’ righteousness was based on their ability to keep the Law based on how they interpreted it and held it over the people. The people, therefore, did not believe that they could ever be as righteous as the religious leaders. Though a person may now enter the kingdom of heaven believing he has far less righteousness than the Pharisees, he enters heaven believing he still must attain righteousness superior to theirs or he cannot abide in the kingdom. How is this possible? For Jesus, the answer was simple: righteousness in the kingdom of heaven is a gift that cannot be earned. A person receives it as part of his or her residence in the kingdom. That’s why a large portion of the sermon from this point is a development of the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven in contrast with the righteousness of the Law and Pharisaic interpretation of it. The Law regulated civil conduct, and being state Laws, they could only have regard to overt acts. They came into play after something was done. The Laws provided a response to the actions of men after they were committed. That’s why Paul wrote in Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.”
The Law was weak because it could not stop a person from sinning. It could only help the person escape the penalty of the sin through the sacrifices. But the Laws of the kingdom of Christ are given to the individual, and regulate his inner spiritual condition, and the very initial motives of conduct. The Laws of the kingdom of Christ, which operate through the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which is part of our born again spirits, address the actions before they happened. They address the thoughts leading up to the action so that the actions that would violate the will of God would never have to take place. This righteousness far exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees because these Laws were spiritual and written on our hearts. Hebrews 10:16-17 says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. 17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
Jesus was telling the people that He and He alone fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic Law. This was one of the primary problems that the scribes and Pharisees had with Him – they could not believe any “man” would be above their Laws. They questioned His authority and His right to make the claim that He made. Do you know that there are many people today still asking those same questions? Who is Jesus and why do some Christians believe that He is the only way to heaven. If you are going to accept and believe the rest of what Jesus covered in His sermon on the mount, you will need to believe that 1. He is the Son of God; 2. He is the only way to God; and 3. He had, and still has, the authority to say everything He said. If you disbelieve any of these three truths, then you will question if you have to live by what He said in this sermon. I will answer these three questions in part B next week.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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