David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 5:17-20

“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. ¹⁸For 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. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Christians often think of the scribes and Pharisees of whom Jesus speaks here as bad people. They were always giving Jesus trouble over His keeping of the Old Testament laws and traditions. They were always questioning who Jesus spoke with or how He treated sinners and tax collectors. They conspired with the chief priests and Roman government officials to put Jesus to death. They were a bad lot!

But that’s only half the story! The scribes are responsible for preserving the text of the Old Testament in such a manner that our modern translations are able to reflect texts thousands of years old! The Pharisees kept the social order and were the kind of people you would want living in your neighborhood: honest, hard-working, morally upright, and decent folk to be sure. Some were no doubt corrupt, but as a whole 21st century middle-class Americans would aspire to live in their neighborhood.

So when Jesus says that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, He is offering no little challenge. While we think of the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites and scam artists; it’s only because they have been unmasked over time. Jesus was seeking to do just that: pull away the mask of outward righteousness, and point people to a different kind of righteousness.

So though we might catch the drift of His message but we are easily led to think that Jesus’ high bar for entering the kingdom of heaven is really no high bar at all. We get the idea that Jesus simply tells us to be more sincere and focused on the inward part of righteousness. In effect we are likely to say, “All you have to do is believe” in order to be more righteous then they.

But that misses the point almost altogether. Today Jesus might say, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the members of St. John Lutheran Church (or take your pick of any group of g0d-fearing Christians) you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus’ calling is not intended to make us judgmental of others. It is intended to call us to a higher righteousness. The righteousness of faith – which is a gift of God – is higher and different, exceeding that of any group of people. It is unattainable by any of us on our own. Only Christ can provide it.

Jesus will go on to explain (in the rest of Matthew 5) what it means to have such a righteousness. But He has already told us His plan: to fulfill all righteousness. So He will. In all things, at all times, seeking and doing the will of the Father, Jesus fulfills what we are unable to do. And relying on His righteousness and the Father’s grace we live in humility and faith.

Our higher calling before Christ is to keep His commandments, teach others to do so, and thank God for the Only One who has done so perfectly: Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness, life and salvation!