The Word in Focus with Dr Larry Taylor

Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5-7

Part 6

When you read about law in the New Testament, it is always a reference to the Law of Moses, the Torah, not to secular law.

Jesus shows us that there is deep wisdom in the Law of Moses. He gives six examples dealing with contempt, dehumanizing, and manipulating, vs. generous and creative acts. (5:21-48)

There were scribes and pharisees who were understandably concerned that this upstart rabbi named Jesus was abolishing the importance of the Hebrew scriptures. The phrase “Law and the Prophets” was how they referred to what we Christians typically call the Old Testament, and specifically to Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) 

Jesus addresses the issue head-on: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

How, exactly does Jesus (literally) “fill the Law (of Moses) full?” How do we fill it full?

He does so, and we do so as we imitate him, by finding the deep wisdom under the legal commands. Scripture is meditative literature. You can’t just read it like a novel. Sit with it, hold it in the light, pray over it slowly, and be still so God’s Spirit can “guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13).

Jesus gives us examples. 

The Law says, don’t murder. I say, don’t harbor anger, unforgiveness, or contempt.

The Law says, don’t commit adultery. I say, don’t cultivate lust.

The Law says, give your wife a certificate of divorce. I say, don’t divorce in the unjust way it was then practiced (and too often is practiced today).

The Law says, carry through on your oaths. I say, don’t swear at all; just be honest all the time.

The Law says, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ Jesus says don’t resist evil people, turn the other cheek, go the second mile, respond to evil with goodness.

The Law says to love your neighbor, so we assume that gives us license to hate our enemies, but Jesus says to love everyone, including enemies. That is the pinnacle of ethical behavior – it exceeds anything in any other religion.

When you put God’s wisdom into practice in daily life, you are practicing a greater righteousness than the religious leaders of Jesus’ time.

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:20)

That, of course, was deeply shocking. The scribes and Pharisees were the most righteous people one could imagine. They were fastidious in their religious piety. But their righteousness was external and self-serving.

The word translated “righteousness” is dikaiosuné (δικαιοσύνη). It does not mean a legal transaction, or God looking at us through Jesus-tinted glasses. Dikaiosuné is doing what is right (by God’s standards) from right motives. Dikaiosuné is living in a right relationship with God, other people, and all creation. It involves justice for others and the environment. It is true inner goodness that results in right behavior.

Perhaps there were incredulous looks on some faces in the crowd. Jesus goes on to explain the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees with six examples – six areas where the religious leaders missed the deep wisdom that lies beneath the surface Law.