Law Fulfilled Matthew 5:13-20
Today I want to work through our reading from the end, backwards to the beginning. I want to do this because of what the last line says: Vs 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.”
That doesn’t sound very encouraging. In fact it sounds just the opposite. It seems to say that an ordinary person like me has to be better, has to be more Godly than the Pharisees to get into heaven. These men studied scripture for the majority of their lives, how can I possible surpass them?
Well we can and we do because the Pharisees may have known the words of the scripture but they lost the meaning. They didn’t see how the scriptures pointed to Jesus.
In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit but Genesis 3:15 says “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers, and he will crush your head and you will strike at his heel.” Right at creation God tells us we will pick ways other than him but that he will not forsake us, that his plan is to have one born of a woman crush the power of the deceiver.
“You will strike at his heel,” Satan can cause us grief if we believe his lies.“You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never be up to par.” “Your life will always be miserable.” But if we believe in the one who crushed the serpents head we will never be separated from God.
The Bible tells us of Noah and the flood. God destroyed the wicked but saved Noah and his family in the ark. Most of us can say he saved a pair of each animal but do you realize the scripture actually says he saved seven pairs of every animal and bird on earth. Seven is a number the Bible uses to describe perfection and creation. Remember it took God seven days to create the world.
Noah’s story is a shadow of revelations. God will judge and wipe away the wicked. He will create a new earth and a new heaven. And those in the true Ark; Jesus, will be saved, raised and walk in the new creation.
The story of Joseph is the story of Jesus. Despised and rejected, condemned and left for dead.
Joseph walked out of prison and rose to be second in command of all of Egypt. Jesus condemned, despised and crucified, walked out of the tomb glorified and raised second only to the Father.
The Exodus, Israel in bondage led out by Moses taking possessions they didn’t earn, under grace, everything taken care of and given the Holy Land. We are in bondage by sin, led out by Christ, we’re given God’s grace, forgiven, glorified and made co-heirs of heaven, a prize we did not earn.
You understand the scriptures. You trust in Jesus. You’re already more righteous than the Pharisees.
What about the teachers of the law in verse 20? The teachers make sure everyone knows exactly what God expects of them. Jesus tells us in Vs 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law…”
The teachers in Jesus day were breaking the law into pieces that were supposed to be doable.
And the fact is they still fell short. They couldn’t keep the law even when it was made easier, how am I supposed to be better than the teachers?
That’s the point. I can never get to heaven by trying to keep the law. Jesus tells us in John 14 “I am the way and the truth and the life.” The law was supposed to show us what God calls sin. Paul writes in Romans 7:7 “I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.’ And knowing what sin is we know what to do about it.
Romans 8:13 “For what the law was unable to do…God did by sending his own son…’ By knowing the law cannot save us but Jesus can you are already more righteous than the teachers of the law.
Just to be clear the law we are talking about is the Ten Commandments; put no one above God,
you shall not misuse the name of the Lord, you shall not commit murder, shall not commit adultery,
you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or property.
Seems pretty straight forward, why would anyone think Jesus was going to do away with these?
Well as he says, he’s not. But Jesus is not just talking about the written word, he’s talking about the spirit God infused the law with. It’s all the rules Israel came up with to make the law easier, that’s what’s being pushed aside.
Verse 18 “…until heaven and earth disappear not the smallest letter…will by any means disappear from the law…”
Thou shall not murder. The spirit here is you shall not get angry with your brother without just cause. We see Jesus got angry. Anger in and of itself is not a sin. Anger without cause is, holding a grudge is, turning others against someone to make ourselves feel better is.
Thou shall not commit adultery. Physical adultery is a sin but so is thinking of someone not your spouse in an intimate way, so is encouraging more than just a casual friendship with someone to fill an emotional void in your own marriage.
Thou shall not steal. We all know what stealing is but the eighth commandment much more than just taking. Theft is a sin, so is coercion, fraud and cheating. So is destroying or defacing another’s property or possessions.
Thou shall not covet. Behind this commandment is the actuality that everything is God’s. Property, possessions are all his, he created them all. God gives my neighbors their possessions, me coveting them is me telling God that I am jealous and envious of what he gave someone else, that I don’t like what he gives me.
It’s these spirits of the law that have not been removed by Jesus. Jesus is pointing out to his listeners that they have forgotten what God meant with the law.
Verse 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” You are the light of the world. Followers of Jesus shine and reflect God’s law in everything they do. We show the rest of the world God’s love and how full and joyous a life can be with God in it. When we live the spirit of the law we are like that house on a hill, it will be impossible for others not to see God in our lives impossible for others not to see God working in us, impossible for others to not see the changes in our lives.
Verse 13 “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt can be used for many things. It flavors food. It can be used as fertilizer. It melts ice. It can kill weeds. It sustains life.
We can be used by God for many things; raising children to know God, being a caregiver or just a good friend. God may lead us to be a nurse or a doctor, but he might lead us to be a librarian or a cashier at the grocery store.
Salt’s uses have value. Every person no matter what their calling has value. If you live at the end of a mile long driveway how valuable is the driver with a plow after a foot of snow.
As Christians we are life sustaining. We are life sustaining by our words and actions. We show God to the world. We show the world God’s love and his involvement. We show the world God’s salvation and life eternal through Christ.
Jesus tells us in today’s reading that as believers we are righteous. Not by being holier than someone else, we are righteous solely because Jesus is in our lives.
Jesus tells us we are to continue to keep the law, not just the letter of the law but the spirit of the law. And we are to be honest with ourselves, admit we can’t and understand we need Jesus in our lives.
Romans “…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus tells us that no matter who we are, no matter what we do, we have value in God’s eyes. And because everyone has value to God salvation is offered to everyone through faith in Jesus.
And last; each of us is ordained with a different destiny by God but we are all used by the Holy Spirit to show God. Our lives are our sermons to others. Let us be as Paul describes in Colossians 3:12 “…as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
God bless you all