Monday, February 06, 2023

Sermon - Epiphany 5 - Matthew 5:13-20 (especially 17-20)

 


Matthew 5:13-20 (especially 17-20)

Fulfill the Law

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.

Unless you’re more righteous than the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Well.  How’s that going for you?

The Pharisees, if they were known for one thing, it was their righteousness.  Held high as the standards of holy living, the Pharisees were the models of virtue for all of the regular, old, every-day Jews of Jesus’ time.  It might be like if someone today were to compare you to a Mother Theresa with the poor in Calcutta, or a Jimmy Carter who builds homes for homeless people.  They were thought of as the best of the best, they were admired above all, and their earthly riches were seen by many as a reward for their good lives.

But you and I know better, of course.  We know the dark side of the Pharisees – how they operated in the land of legalism, and made a pretense of doing good while devouring the homes of widows.  How they made a show of their righteousness, in order to be seen by men.  And perhaps worst of all – how they opposed the very Messiah himself, and conspired to have him put to death.  No, in another sense, from our view, the Pharisee’s level of righteousness isn’t very hard to exceed at all.  You’d just have to not be an absolute scoundrel to qualify.

But Jesus isn’t trying to relax the law for us.  He means that our righteousness should be tip-top.  Better than even the popular perception of the Pharisees.  Better than the zenith of man-made righteousness.  In fact he says anyone who even just relaxes the law will be least in the kingdom.  He wants his law taken seriously, and followed.  Not just in an outward sense.  Not just to be seen by men.  He wants the law kept in thought, word and deed, not just deeds. 

That’s what Isaiah writes about in our Old Testament reading – false fasting.  Doing only the outward show of good when the heart isn’t in it.  And you can tell, because they do the religious good works for show, but they turn around and mistreat the poor.  It would be like people who are “good church going people” on the outside, but on the inside they are just as petty and petulant as the next sinner.  They treat each other with contempt and only look out for their own good.  And the true good works of loving their neighbor don’t match up with their supposed “good religious character”.  God is not mocked.  He sees through it all.

But it gets even worse for us.  He wants his law followed perfectly, in its entirety, not in a horseshoes and hand grenades, close-enough-is-good-enough sort of way.  Keep the commandments!  Love God perfectly.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Have no other gods, don’t misuse God’s Name or despise his word.  Respect authority, cherish life, love your family.  Look out for your neighbor’s stuff, and even his good name.  And don’t even think about taking what is his, but be content.

So again, I might ask, how’s that going for you?  Does your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees?  Are you all about keeping the law, or do you relax it on yourself?  Are you following all the commandments all the time?  Or is an iota here and a dot there just a bit too much for you?  So get out your law-eraser!

And do you, in word or action, teach others to do the same?  How would someone looking at your life describe your keeping of the law, if they followed you around with a camera and recorded your words and deeds?

Do you act as if God’s holy and eternal law is something of no consequence, something you can bend and break at will, something you can ignore or rewrite to suit your fancy and circumstance?  How do you compare to it?  Or do you even bother, usually?

If we are honest with ourselves we will see and say and confess that of ourselves, none of us is righteous enough or righteous at all.  And that means that the kingdom of heaven is out of our reach.  That means that each of us is least in the kingdom.  It means that we are just as bad off as the Pharisees we love to mock and critique.  It means we are lost.

But then there is Jesus.  Jesus, who kept the law.  Who didn’t come to abolish it, but fulfill it.  And he did that in so many ways.

He fulfilled the law, first, by keeping every commandment perfectly, all the time, in every way.  That’s hard for us to even imagine, but that is what he did.  He was like us in every way yet without sin. 

That means he never had any other Gods but the one true God.  He never misused or dishonored God’s name or Word.  A perfect relationship with God, always trusting and loving and never disobeying his Father.  No idols.  No false worship.  Satan tried to tempt him that way – with an offer of all the kingdoms of the world!  But Jesus knew and obeyed the first commandment, and quoted it to the enemy, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him alone”.

And he always loved his neighbor – honoring his parents, submissive to them and all other authorities (even those who put him to death). 

Not only did he “not murder”, but he cared perfectly for the lives of all those around him – having great compassion on the sick and diseased, healing them. 

He was always faithful to his Bride, the church.  And he remains faithful to her even now.  He gives up everything for her, with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died. 

He never took what wasn’t his (for all belongs to him anyway), but had nowhere to lay his head, no earthly riches, no ill-gotten gains.  And he always spoke truly and kindly, gracious words for the benefit of any who had ears to hear, never a false witness, but words of Spirit and truth.

Jesus did all things well.  He perfectly obeyed his Father’s will in all things, even to the end.  The cup wouldn’t pass from him, the cup of wrath for all sin.  Death would not Passover him, the true Lamb of God.  He humbled himself even unto death, and even death on a cross. 

And along the way, he fulfilled everything written about in the Law and the Prophets.  He was born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem.  He was a son of David, also called a Nazarene.  He healed and cast out demons.  He preached good news to the poor.  He came to his own city humble and riding a donkey.  He bore our griefs, this man of sorrows, and became the Suffering Servant upon whom was laid the iniquity of us all.  He rose on the third day, showing forth the sign of Jonah, and ascended to the Father who makes all his enemies his footstool.  He even pours out his Spirit on all flesh, as the prophet Joel wrote, and he establishes his church, and sends his word and witnesses out even to the ends of the earth.

All of this fulfilling of the law – both the commandments and the prophecies – all of this Jesus does, for you, dear Christian.  Everything Jesus does, he does for you.  His incarnation as a man – literally every breath he takes – he didn’t have to do it, but he did it out of love for his fallen creation, yes, even, for you.  He fulfills all, for you, his rebellious subject, his wandering sheep, his wayward, wondering, creature.  And he turns the tables on all your law-breaking.  It is finished.

Or to put it another way, in Christ, you are more righteous than the Pharisees.  And the kingdom of heaven is yours.  For he takes away all your law-breaking, and he gives you his perfect righteousness.  He fulfills all righteousness for you, and me, and for all.

What is left for us to do then?  Nothing for salvation, that’s been done.  Nothing to fix anything with God; Jesus has done it all.  All that’s left for us is love.  Love God, love neighbor.  Fulfill the law as best we can, with the power of his Spirit.  Fulfill the law for the sake of love and nothing more.  Because that’s what Christians do.

So go and sin no more.  Keep the law.  For Christ has fulfilled it for you.  Love God, who loves you.  And love your neighbor, too.

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