A Greater Righteousness
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
This fall we covered the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1–16. Beginning now in verse 17, we get into the real heart of Jesus' radical teaching. Scholar Jonathan Pennington argues that verses 17–20 are the main thesis statement of the entire Sermon. So what is Jesus saying here?
On the one hand, it's clear that Jesus is insisting that he is not departing from the Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures, but is living and teaching in complete continuity with them. Already so early in his ministry, Jesus was facing accusations that he had come to dismantle the Law or do away with the Torah. Jesus insists that he is not, and that he has in fact come to "fill it full."
On the other hand, Jesus is also saying that he has come to bring something new, a new kind of righteousness that far surpasses that righteousness of the religious teachers. It is a righteousness that goes beyond surface obedience and behavior modification, and reaches deep into the transformation of the heart.
As we begin a new year together, this teaching from Jesus calls us to a higher level of goodness (embodied in love), and deeper capacity for change (enabled by the Spirit). As you prepare for worship this week, consider the following:
What do you think Jesus means when he says he has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it?
How does Jesus fulfill the Law through his life, death and resurrection?
Later in Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus teaches that the entire Law is summed up in two simple things: Love of God and love of neighbor. How does Jesus enable us to fulfill these two commands?
Matthew 5:17–20
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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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.