Last one on this passage. 1 is here. 2 here.
Okay, so now that we’ve thought of some ways we neglect the Old Testament, let’s think about what Jesus is saying in verse 20.
Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. How do we do that? First of all, we have to understand what that means. And that means answering this question: How righteous were they?
If righteousness mean obeying the laws, and the laws about those laws, then they were very righteous.
If righteousness means being justified by Christ’s sacrifice and reconciled to God because of his death, then they aren’t very righteous.
What definition of righteousness is Jesus using when he tells his followers to be more righteous than the Pharisees?
Anytime you come across a tough saying, look around it for help in understanding it. Right after this passage is a list of ways that Jesus says we can internalize and transcend the law as we tend to understand it. Jesus explains ways that the law is not abolished, but fulfilled in him as a way to be in relationship with God. And I think that his understanding of righteousness was different than either the Pharisees or ours.
The old misunderstanding of righteousness was law-abiding.
The new misunderstanding of righteousness is helpless justification.
In the last few years, it has gotten popular to believe in a lazier version of righteousness that says we are lousy and God makes us righteous. And while that’s part of the truth, it’s dangerously simplistic. Jesus doesn’t talk about righteousness that way. Jesus talks about righteousness that is active and engaged. It means being a follower, not just a listener.
For Jesus, righteousness is obedience in relationship with God. It is a life demonstrated in the verses that follow. It transcends the law. We are not to follow mindlessly, we are to engage in obedience, and by doing so become active members of the “kingdom of heaven”.
For Jesus, the Law was God’s way of God’s people behaving differently than the world. The world said to have many gods. The Israelites were to have not other gods beside Yahweh God. The world said to serve self above family and neighbor. The Israelites were to honor neighbors and parents. But they turned laws into legalism.
The transformative ideas Jesus presents, if followed, would make us stand out as well. This passage shouldn’t be a tough saying because it’s hard to understand. But when you read the rest of chapter 5, you’ll find it’s plenty tough to do.
I thought Eugene Peterson had some really good nuances in his paraphrase, The Message. I’ve heard this chapter so often that I think I miss how much is really going on. These verses describe a kind of people that are not moralistic or legalistic, like this Pharisees were, and like we tend to be. I think the hypocrisy tag we’ve earned as Christians would quickly be shed if we could become the kind of people who act in the transformative, creative ways Jesus spoke of here.
21-22“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
23-24“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
25-26“Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine. 27-28“You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29-30“Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
31-32“Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure. 33-37“And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. 38-42“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
43-47“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (Matthew 5:21-48, The Message)