Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount. He began in Matthew 5:1-12 telling his audience ‘who’ followers of God are by their characteristics, known as the beatitudes. He then moved to the “what’ they are to be to the unbelieving world around them, Salt and Light, according to Matthew 5:13-16. After He deals with the ‘who’ and ‘what’, He spends the rest of chapter 5 describing the high standard of righteousness required to enter His kingdom.
Are you a good person? What does it mean to be a “good person”? A quick google search brings up thousands and thousands of various responses. They have everything from “Am I a good person?” quizzes to academic studies to varying definitions about what it means to be a “good person”. There is also an enormous amount of social media and blog chatter given to this topic.
One of the academic studies I read on the topic described two people, one who cheated on his wife regularly, and was arrogant and took advantage of people for his personal financial gain. And another who was a renowned neurosurgeon who saved lives every week, was respected in the community, was described as a good person by his wife and never missed his kids recitals and ball games. Then they revealed that both descriptions were of the same guy. So is this guy a good person or a bad person? Some would say to “focus on the good and ignore the bad”. That’s what the article ultimately advocated for. Others would disagree and say that he’s a bad person because he’s deceitful and his bad outweighs the good. Who gets to decide? What standard is being used to determine this big question?
THE STANDARD
In the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy we find the Law of Moses which contains the Ten Commandments. Most people are aware of the Ten Commandments to some degree, even today. The Ten commandments are further expounded in the book of Deuteronomy. God gave the written law to the Isrealites as they left Egypt and traveled toward the promised land. The law God gave was “perfect” (Psalm 19:7).
Psalm 19:7- The law of the Lord is perfect , restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The rest of the Old Testament shows how the Isrealites lived in either obedience or rebellion to God’s law. There are times when they lived in obedience, fearing God, and many times where they “did that which was right in their own eyes”(Judges 21:25) and were judged by God. At no point was the law ever perfectly fulfilled, that is, until Jesus came.
RAISING THE BAR
Jesus immediately puts to rest the idea that he’s removing the law or abolishing it in any way. In fact, in Matthew 5:17 he clearly states that he didn’t come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill it! He goes on to say that not one “letter or stroke” of the law will pass away (Matthew 5:18). And He warns anyone in vs. 19 who would remove or diminish any part of the law.
This is a huge clarifying statement for Jesus to make. He didn’t come to live in opposition to God’s perfect law, He came to perfectly fulfill every part of it. The rest of Matthew five is Jesus explaining the Mosaic law. From the time the law was given to Moses until the day Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, the law had been reduced to outward obedience and it had been amended by man.
In Matthew 5:20 He tells His audience that unless their “righteousness exceeds the scribes and Pharisees” they would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The scribes and Pharisees were the people whose entire lives were devoted to keeping the law. He wasn’t proclaiming the scribes and pharisees as righteous, after all; He’s correcting them. But he was making an important point, that unless your righteousness is greater than the greatest you know, you’re not going to make it.
YOU HAVE HEARD….BUT I SAY
Matthew 5:21-22a- You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court’. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.
Jesus chooses several areas of clarification of the Law. He will contrast what had traditionally been taught about each area but then elevate it to more than an outward expression. He raises it back up to the standard it was always meant to be: It’s a position of the heart before God.
MURDER/ANGER
Jesus starts with one you would think would be pretty obvious. If you commit murder you’re guilty and should be punished. But then he makes a shocking statement, if you’re angry at your brother you’re also guilty!? The sin of murder comes out of a heart of anger, its just taking anger to its worst manifestation. Who among them at the time Jesus is speaking, and who among us, wouldn’t be guilty?
ADULTERY/LUST
In Matthew 5:27 Jesus says “You have heard it said, ‘you shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus once again takes the outward act of adultery and moves it to an issue of the heart. Even a person who is lusting after another is in violation of what is required to enter the Kingdom.
SPEAKING TRUTH
Matthew 5:33 moves into a relatively confusing section dealing with making oaths or vows. It’s confusing to us, but it wouldn’t have been to the audience at the time. The scribes and Pharisees had taken passages from Leviticus (19:12), Numbers (30:2), and Deuteronomy (23:21), about making vows to God. They had created a structure by which to make oaths. A vow or oath to God was the highest level oath and meant the most. If you violate an oath to God, it placed you under his judgment. So they created “lesser” vows. Vows could be made “by the earth” or “by Jerusalem” or even “by my own head”. Jesus says to make no oaths, but rather let your “yes be yes and your no be no” (Matt. 5:37). In other words, speak from a heart of truth!
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
Matthew 5:43-45- You have heard that it was said: ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’. But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus has just dealt with retaliation, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and taught them to “turn the other cheek”. He then goes for the hardest of all, loving your enemies. As you read through Matthew five you can see Jesus methodically moving the emphasis from outward expression to the heart. He also condemned every single person in the hearing of his message, including you and I as we read it now.
This chapter can be summarized in its final verse. Matthew 5:48 says “Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
PERFECTION?
Jesus just answered the big question. “Am I a good person?” The standard is not others around us, it’s God! Who among us can achieve that standard!? Well, the answer is no one. Not me, not you, or anyone else. But Jesus fulfilled every part of the law perfectly and then took the punishment reserved for us for our transgressions, on the cross. He accomplished it all, and he loves you enough to die for you, but he arose and he sits in power at the right hand of the Father. His invitation is to place your trust in His redeeming work for forgiveness!