Texts: Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 5:20-26
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Moses stood in fear and awe and trembling on Mount Sinai to receive the Law of God from the hand of the Lord. That which the Lord wills for our lives He hands down to the people. Israel would be different from all the other nations of the earth. If you want to know who the Lord’s people are they will be the ones who have no other gods, who don’t misuse the Name of the Lord, who remember the Sabbath Day, to keep in holy, etc. In giving the Law to His people He, in a way, marked them as His own and gave to them His standard for their lives and living.
The Pharisees also had this Law of Moses and they were, by all appearances, good at keeping it. That’s only how they kept the Law – by appearances. To the Pharisees the Law was something attainable, a short enough hurdle to jump over. They didn’t misuse the Lord’s name – in fact they refused to use it at all – even in praying or giving praise or thanks. They had never plunged a knife into someone, so they thought that they had kept the 5thCommandment.
The Pharisees’ idea of righteousness was all outward. If you didn’t actually murder someone then you could check off the 5thCommandment as having been kept. If you didn’t actually commit the physical act of adultery then you could check off the 6thCommandment as having been kept. The Pharisees are what Jesus called “white-washed tombs” – pure white on the outside but dead and rotting on the inside.
The Pharisees were convinced that they were righteous and had most everyone else convinced of that as well. They were sure that they would reach heaven because they had done the work in keeping the Law. They had never used God’s Name – even in prayer, they never did any work on the Sabbath – even in service to the neighbor, they had never run anyone through with a sword by their own hands – so they had never committed murder.
But Jesus unpacks the Law that He had given to Moses so long ago, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.”
It isn’t enough to hold your hands away from someone’s throat, the demand of the Law still isn’t met. The Law of God not only demands the obedience of our hands, but of our tongues, our thoughts, our hearts as well. If we think that we can check off the Lord’s Commandments, the Law steps in and says, “Not good enough! If you’ve ever called someone a fool, if you’ve ever harbored hatred in your heart, if you’ve ever thought nasty things about someone, you’re a murderer.”
To be sure, before men calling someone a nasty name is worse than killing them. And surely murder would weigh more heavily on our consciences than calling someone a fool. But in the courtroom of God, all sin is equally detestable, unholy, and damning. Before God hating someone bears the same hellish punishment as murder.
Before we ever sin with our hands or tongues we sin in our hearts. To curse is to kill, to look with lust is to commit adultery, to covet is to steal, and all of it, each and every sin is to commit idolatry, to worship a false god. What happens now is that Jesus, in teaching us what exceeding righteousness is, ends up showing us our exceeding sinfulness. When we try to measure up to the standard of the law that He teaches in the sermon on the mount, we fall short, desperately short, of the mark. This preaching condemns us. We don't keep God's law and we can't keep God's law. And the failure to do so, that lack of a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes demands hell.
Our righteousness, even if it exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, still falls short of the mark. God's law always accuses us; it condemns us; it kills us. If we want a righteousness that will prevail before the throne of God, and grant us passage through the judgment to the kingdom of heaven, then we need a righteousness outside of ourselves, a righteousness apart from the law. And we, dear saints, can give thanks to God this day that He has provided for us that righteousness.
We can’t keep the Law, though we war against our sinful flesh every moment of the day. But there is one who has: Jesus Christ. He kept every bit of the Law. Where you have hated your neighbor, He has loved you, His neighbor. Where you have cursed those who have done you wrong, He says of those who wronged Him, “Father, forgive them.” He kept every demand of the Law and His perfect life is credited to you. For He strove toward the cross bearing your sin, that you would be given a righteousness that isn’t your own, a righteousness that’s given to you, wrapped around you.
Hear these wonderful words of Paul from Romans 3, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law ... the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” There is a righteousness that truly exceeds that of the scribe and Pharisees, the very righteousness of God Himself, the perfection of Jesus applied to you in the declaration of the forgiveness of all your sins. You are forgiven, that is, you are completely righteous, perfect in the sight of God, holy to stand in the presence of God. The law that you couldn’t keep has been kept on your behalf, and this perfect keeping of the Law has been given to you.
So now you’ve been set free. Free to love your neighbor. Free to serve your neighbor. Free to forgive your neighbor because you have the confidence that you, yourself, are forgiven and loved by God, with the very confidence that He smiles upon you with His love and peace.
The Lord, on Mount Sinai gave the Law to Moses. On Mount Calvary the Lord has given grace and mercy to you. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
