Matthew 5.20-37

BUT I SAY TO YOU

(Matthew 5.20-37)

Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never see the Kingdom of Heaven. Matt 5.20.

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These words would have seemed rather odd, as far as the early Jewish Christians were concerned, to whom Matthew wrote his gospel, sometime between 85 and 105 AD. After all, the scribes and the Pharisees were considered to be the experts on religion. People looked up to them as shining examples of what it meant to be a devout Jew. So why then did Jesus expect his followers to be better than the scribes and Pharisees?

As far as the Jews were concerned, God had laid down once and for all in the Ten Commandments, the guiding principles as regards their religious life. It was left to the Jews themselves to apply these principles to everyday life.

For example, the fourth commandment instructs the people of God to: 'Remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall do no work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, your cattle and the sojourner who is within your gates.' I am glad that it does not mention wives or else I would have no Sunday lunch!

This prohibition against work on the Sabbath day raised the question as to what is meant by the word 'work’?

‘Work’ they defined under thirty-nine different headings. One of them suggested that one should not carry a ‘burden’ on the Sabbath.

The question then arose as to what is meant by the word 'burden’?

A 'burden', they suggested, was milk enough for one gulp, honey enough to put on a sore, or oil enough to anoint the smallest member, which they further defined as the little toe of a child one day old!

They also classified as a 'burden' a pin which a tailor might carry on his robe, or a brooch which a woman might wear on her dress. Wearing false hair, or teeth, or the lifting up of a child, were all classified as 'work' on the Sabbath.

Those responsible for interpreting the principles of the Ten Commandments were called the scribes.

Initially, these petty rules and regulations were passed on by word of mouth. However, it soon became too complicated, and so it was necessary to commit them to writing in a book, which is called the Mishnah. This was the equivalent of over 800 pages in length.

Even this still left many questions unanswered. And so it became necessary to write a commentary on the Mishnah. This was called the Talmud and there were two. The Jerusalem Talmud which consisted of twelve printed volumes, and the Babylonian Talmud which consisted of sixty volumes.

Thus a simple religion, based upon the Ten Commandments became a library of petty rules and regulations.

The people who took obedience to these rules and regulations most seriously were the Pharisees. The word 'Pharisee' means 'separated ones' because they separated themselves from all ordinary activity in order to obey them.

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The author of Matthew's Gospel, which is the most Jewish of all the four gospels, and was written for the benefit of the early Jewish Christians, whilst anxious to maintain the Jewish tradition, is also anxious to show how Christianity varies from it. Jesus is therefore heard saying, ' I came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfil them’.

So we find Jesus saying time and time again, in Matthew 5 that: 'You have heard it was said in ancient times…’ and concluding with the words, 'but I say to you….' ln other words, Jesus not only goes back !o the basic principles concerning right outward signs, but also goes on to stress the need for the right inward motivation behind such actions.

For example, in quoting the sixth commandment Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to punishment’.”

Now, before you and I start to polish up our halos, and puff out our chests with self-righteous pride, for having never actually murdered anyone, Jesus goes on to say. 'But I say to you, that if you are angry with your brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement’.

In other words, whilst you and I may not have actually murdered anyone , are we equally innocent of having never been angry with another person? After all, it is anger which is the motivating force behind murder. Perhaps we are not so innocent as we first thought!

Or again, Matthew gives another example based on the seventh commandment. Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’”.

Again, before we start to polish up our halo, and puff out our chest with self-righteous pride, knowing that we have not yet jumped into bed with someone who was not our wife or husband, let us listen to what Jesus goes on to say: “But I say to you that anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart”.

I think it was the former American President, Jimmy Carter, who once shocked the American nation by claiming that he had committed adultery in his heart. He was mindful of our Lord's suggestion that whilst lust may appear innocent in itself, it can lead to the committing of adultery. After all, lust is the inward springboard to outward adultery.

Finally, in Matthew 5.20-37, Jesus, recalling the third commandment, says, “that it was said of those in ancient times, ‘You shalt not swear falsely’". In other words, we should not swear an oath bearing the name of God in order to convince a person that we are telling the truth, because it can lead us to using an oath to persuade a person to believe something which is not true.

In order to guard against such an action, Jesus says, "l say to you, do not swear at all”. That is to say, his followers should always tell the truth so that oaths become unnecessary. "Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No' be 'No’.”

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Jesus says: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven".

My friends, our following of Jesus is not just about right outward actions, which was the approach of the scribes and the Pharisees, but also about right inward motivation, or attitude, which reveals itself in right actions.

Just as God gave Moses the Ten Commandments upon Mount Sinai, for the benefit of his people in the Old Testament, so Jesus gives a new commandment in the Sermon on the Mount, for the benefit of his people in the New Testament.

Jesus expects you and me, to live lives of integrity. Lives which present to the outside world what finds a home in our innermost being. After all, to live otherwise can be extremely dangerous, because we will never know when the tiger of evil within might break out, and reveal itself in evil deeds.

Whilst we may fool other people, and indeed may fool ourselves, we can never fool God, 'to whom all hearts are known, and from whom no secrets are hidden' as we acknowledge Sunday by Sunday in the Collect for Purity.