Matthew 5:17-48
“We Are Not Minimalists”
There is a group of people in the Bible known as the Pharisees.
If you have been a Christian for a while you would know that Jesus didn’t have a lot of good things to say about the Pharisees.
Which was kind of strange because most Jewish people at the time were very respectful of the Pharisees.
Pharisees were very committed to God and to the Jewish community.
It was the Pharisees who sided with the common people in revolt against the ungodly aristocracy.
The Pharisees were a major force in the widespread establishment of schools and synagogues to bring education to everyone.
Everyone in the community would see the Pharisees as amazing spiritual leaders.
Such being the case the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-20 would be quite a shock to the disciples and the crowds that were listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
We need to surpass the Pharisees?
Those spiritual giants who are so righteous?
How is that even possible?
That would be the response of the crowds, and even the disciples. That is because the Pharisees were known to be experts at following the law of God. All the laws.
The Pharisees followed to the letter all the laws of The Torah … these are the laws written in the first five books of the Bible. Genesis. Exodus. Leviticus. Numbers. Deuteronomy. That is the Torah. The Pharisees worked out that there were 613 laws in the Torah.
This is one of the laws in the Torah – it is the Fourth Commandment.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work.
Exodus 20:8-10
There are other laws in the Torah which describe what you can’t do on the Sabbath. But the Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t think that was enough. So they added laws and interpretations to the Scriptures. These laws were known as the Mishnah.
As an example, in the Mishnah, there is a section which tells you what “work” is.
The idea was to define “work” so that, on the Sabbath you won’t “work”.
1. Carrying
2. Burning
3. Extinguishing
4. Finishing
5. Writing
6. Erasing
7. Cooking
8. Washing
9. Sewing
10. Tearing
11. Knotting
12. Untying
13. Shaping
14. Ploughing
15. Planting
16. Reaping
17. Harvesting
18. Threshing
19. Winnowing
20. Selecting
21. Sifting
22. Grinding
23. Kneading
24. Combing
25. Spinning
26. Dyeing
27. Chain-stitching
28. Warping
29. Weaving
30. Unraveling
31. Building
32. Demolishing
33. Trapping
34. Shearing
35. Slaughtering
36. Skinning
37. Tanning
38. Smoothing
39. Marking
Mishnah Shabbat 7.2
The Mishnah then goes on to give examples of all these categories of work.
The Pharisees knew all of these laws – Torah and Mishnah – and they lived them down to the letter.
So when Jesus says “I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The disciples and the crowds would be looking at one another and thinking – I’ve got no hope.
Except …
There is hope.
There is hope because
… for all their Torah law keeping.
… and all their Mishnah law keeping.
… and all their effort and energy to keep the letter of the law..
Despite all this the Pharisees only had one goal when it came to their relationship with God. Their one goal was to work out the minimum effort it takes to stand with a clean conscious before a Holy God.
The Pharisees were minimalists.
Therefore a “righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees and teachers of the law” is a righteousness that avoids minimalism.
Building our relationship with God on the basis of law keeping, and rules, and rigid conformity, and outward piety … that is the spiritual life of a minimalist.
Disciples of Jesus are not minimalists.
To help disciples understand what avoiding minimalism looks like Jesus, in His sermon, gives six examples of this principle in action.
Each example has a similar structure.
You have heard that it was said – this is the Pharisee minimal approach.
But I say – this is the Jesus telling us what “a righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees” looks like.
Let’s have a brief look at each example.
Example 1 – Matthew 5:21-26
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Do Not Murder”
Don’t deliberately become the cause of the death of another person.
In this category we can include
… not assisting people to suicide.
… not supporting euthanasia.
… not condoning unnecessary abortions.
We may also want to include reckless driving, or deaths which result because people are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The Torah also talks about murders which result from being irresponsible.
29 If, (a person has a bull which) has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.
Exodus 21:29
There are many examples and situations that fit into the “do not murder” list.
But it is still a minimalist approach.
Righteous Disciples say “Do Not Get Angry”
You don’t even have to touch a person – yet still be unrighteous.
Calling them names like “Raca” which means “empty-headed”. Maybe saying it to their face. More than likely talking behind their back.
Talking in anger about
… their empty-headed ways.
… their empty-headed motives.
… their empty-headed actions.
Calling them “fools”. Which doesn’t seem to be much worse than “empty-headed”. Except we remember Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in their heart there is no God.”
To call someone a fool was to say of another person, “Not even God has time for you”. In anger we doubting their relationship with God.
Anger is such an act of unrighteousness that
… if we think someone is angry at us.
… if someone has something against us – even if their anger is not justified.
We go to them and make peace. We don’t want to be the cause of anger.
Not murdering – that is minimalism.
Not becoming angry – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
Example 2 – Matthew 5:27-30
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Do Not Commit Adultery”.
Adultery occurs when a married person is physically intimate with another person who is not their spouse.
If there is no touching, then there is no adultery.
Simple … but also minimalistic.
Righteous Disciples say “Do Not Lust”
Lust happens when a married person
… and unmarried people can do this as well.
Lust is putting a person in your mind, who is not your spouse, and replacing your spouse with them or becoming emotionally involved with them … or sensually involved with them.
Emotionally lusting for that another person … their care, their tenderness, the way they treat their spouse. So different from how my spouse treats me.
Or lusting after a person and using them in your mind to and then treating them as a commodity to be discarded. That’s what pornography does. It temporary places in your heart another woman … multiple other women … who are not your spouse.
Lusting.
It has nothing to do with who you touch. It is who has got your heart at that moment.
Lusting also primes us to treat people as objects rather than individuals. To gratify our thoughts by objectifying other people.
Not committing adultery – that is minimalism.
Not lusting – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
Example 3 – Matthew 5:31-32
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Make Sure The Divorce Paperwork is Correct”
Divorce is a complicated issue – where it is easy to make blanket statements.
So just focussing on the example of Jesus.
Moses, in Deuteronomy 24, talks about a certificate of divorce. It is the only time in the Old Testament where a certificate of divorce is mentioned in connection with a marriage. The Pharisees built a whole system around this verse which basically worked something like this.
You’re married but you see a beautiful young woman who is interested in you. Quickly you say “I divorce you. I divorce you. I divorce you” and get a certificate. Then you marry the other woman and get gratification, only to find she isn’t what you expect. Ah – here is another woman. “I divorce you. I divorce you. I divorce you” … and here is the certificate.
Just divorce, as long as the paperwork is right. It was abusive, cruel and minimalistic.
Righteous Disciples say “Do Not Victimise”
There are times when divorce happens because of abuse, and neglect, and emotional abandonment, and unfaithfulness.
There are times when someone just gives up, or can’t be bothered, or checks out, and the relationship has become empty and loveless.
There are times when lovers become enemies, and the empty nest is broken.
There is no paper-work for that.
There is just a whole lot of space to victimise.
In that brokenness Disciples don’t focus on accurate paperwork, they focus on making sure people are not being used and dispensed with.
A focus on the Correct Paperwork – that is minimalism.
A focus on avoiding victimisation – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
Example 4 – Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Do Not Break and Oath”.
Oath making worked like this.
I need help working in my garden
You say, “I will help you”.
I say, “You said that last time, and then you didn’t come.”
You say, “I promise … cross my heart and hope to die … I will be there.”
Hopefully you turn up, because I really don’t want you to die for the sake of my garden.
Making an oath, and not breaking it, was a way to emphasise just how serious you are. But it is still a minimalistic approach.
Righteous Disciples say “Yes” or “No”
You shouldn’t need an oath to emphasise your point. Rather you should just be honest and true to your word.
If you are going to help, great.
If you are not
… or you don’t want to
… or you hate gardening.
… that is ok as well.
Just say what you are going to do and don’t pretend.
Don’t pretend to be super-spiritual. Don’t act like you care for others when you have no intention of helping them. Just say it as it is rather then pretend to be something you are not.
Not breaking oaths – that is minimalism.
Not needing oaths in the first place because your “Yes” is “Yes” and your “No” is “No” – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
Example 5 – Matthew 5:38-42
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Eye For Eye”
The Torah taught a justice system of retaliation … an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
This led to capital punishment … a life for a life.
It also led to compensation arrangements … if you steal my sheep and get caught, you now owe me four sheep.
It was a form of justice that was clearly explained in the Old Testament.
But it was still a minimalistic approach.
Righteous Disciples say “Let’s Have A Fresh Start”
There was also another theme in the Old Testament with regards to justice – and that is the theme of grace and non-resistance.
Rather than looking for retribution we look for reconciliation. It is an act of sacrifice where I am even willing to put myself in harm’s way again for your sake – so that a relationship can be built … or rebuilt.
Putting myself second.
Lifting up another so that their reputation may be restored.
Even if that means greater sacrifice and difficulty for myself.
Seeking retribution – that is minimalism.
Seeking reconciliation and a fresh start – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
Example 6 – Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Minimalistic Pharisees say “Treat People The Way They Treat You”
If people love you … love them.
If enemies hate you … hate them back.
Up to this point all the “you have heard” can be found in the OT Scriptures. But where in the Scriptures is “hate your enemy”. This is a teaching of the Pharisees based on some Scripture in the Torah. We are reading Leviticus 19:18
18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.
Where does it say, “Hate your enemy?”
A Pharisee would look at these words and point out that you can’t hold a grudge against your people. “Your people” being an Israelite.
So, to love your neighbour, is to love your fellow Israelite … your fellow believer.
The verse doesn’t say anything about loving strangers and enemies … which must mean you do the opposite to them. To love your neighbour … your people … by default this means to hate your enemy.
Treat people the way they treat you. It is a minimal approach.
Righteous Disciples say “Always Be Loving”
Look to those who hate you and put on a new set of glasses.
Love the unlovable.
Respect the unrespectable.
Show care for the obnoxious.
Don’t just categorise or dismiss.
Treating people the way they treat you – that is minimalism.
Always being loving – that is righteousness which surpasses the Pharisees.
A righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees is a righteousness that avoids minimalism.
Six times Jesus gives an example of what this means. By giving us these examples Jesus is getting us to think about a question.
Who am I?
Am I a minimalists that looks the part? And people in the community give me awe and respect and say, “look how holy they are”. A minimalist with a Pharisee righteousness that means I have not entered the kingdom of heaven.
Or am I a disciple who has entered the kingdom of heaven because my righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
… grieving over my anger.
… resisting my lustful thoughts.
… striving not to victimise.
… being a “Yes” or “No” person.
… working to bring restoration.
… loving my enemies.
Not content to be a minimalist who just wants rules and law. But being a disciple who is allowing the transforming work of Jesus to go right to my heart.
Who are you? Not who is everyone else? Who are you?
Because if you discover you are a minimalist – you are in eternal trouble.
Prayer
