Matthew 5:17-20 (ESV)
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 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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
If you remember, chapter five kicks off this amazing sermon from Jesus, called the Sermon on the Mount. People have already heard stunning things from Jesus: the kingdom of God is open to everyone who will come, and its citizens are like salt and light, penetrating the world and changing old ways and practices.
Revolutionary stuff, and it's easy to see how listeners would think a new teacher has arrived with this exciting new thinking.
But that’s when Jesus gives a stunning clarification. Jesus says that He hasn’t come to do away with the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. Fulfill has a very literal meaning in Greek. It literally means to “fill it full.” So Jesus is saying that everything written in the Old Testament, all of God’s promises, is now finding its fulfillment in Him. In and through Jesus Himself, Immanuel—God with us—the Kingdom of God and all the promises of God from Scripture (the Old Testament) are now completely and totally satisfied.
But the fulfillment of those promises looks vastly different than what the religious leaders said it would look like. The religious leaders thought it could be taught and achieved by practicing personal righteousness.
But here too Jesus says something shocking to this great crowd of listeners, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
How do we understand that today? The Pharisees were known for their piety, for their emphasis on legalistic righteousness. They followed the Law and all the traditions strictly.
The Pharisees were the “hall of famers” in this kind of thing, and the crowd listening was most certainly not on the same playing field. Now Jesus says that unless your righteousness surpasses theirs, you won't enter the kingdom of heaven. What hope is there for all of us?
The hope is found in Jesus Himself because He is fulfilling all for us. Jesus is talking about a change in heart and mind that comes through a relationship with Him; the open door to the kingdom of heaven is found in Jesus Himself.
That’s the heart of the Old Testament: the Lord doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves, a righteousness that doesn’t and can’t come from our own efforts, but that is imparted to us if we simply and humbly come before the Lord.
We see that reflected throughout the Old Testament, but one of my favorite places is Psalm 51, where King David humbly confesses before the Lord right after he was busted for his sin with Bathsheba. David cried out:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
The righteousness Jesus speaks of is a changed heart and mind, a change that only Jesus Himself can impart to us. Jesus is the salt and light of the world, penetrating the darkness and changing everything as He fulfills all the Lord’s upper-story promises in the Old Testament. In His presence is the revealed reality of what was promised and the open door to the kingdom of heaven.
As I think about this, I think the greatest challenge that you and I face throughout our day is simply to seek Jesus and stand in His presence. If we do that, big or small, everything else will find its right place.
God bless you, and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott