Jesus is blowing minds. He is shattering expectations. Yesterday’s reading ended with, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
This isn’t crazy to us because we think “Pharisee” is synonymous with “hypocrite,” but that isn’t the way that Jesus’ first audience would have thought about it. The Pharisees would have commanded more respect than anyone in their culture because they were so righteous, and everyone admired the way they lived out their faith. It is like Jesus is saying, “You must be smarter than the people in Mensa. You must dunk better than Jordan. Unless you play cello better than Yo-Yo Ma, it isn’t good enough.”
Now Jesus quotes the law of Moses—the law given by God himself through the greatest Hebrew of all time. “You have heard …” he says, and of course they have heard. The law is the basis of their relationship with God and their whole society. “You have heard … but I say to you …”—Jesus repeats this pattern through the rest of the chapter.
He starts with murder. If you asked the average person back then, just like now, which of the Ten Commandments they have the easiest time keeping, I am sure most would say murder. I haven’t even come close to breaking the commandment not to murder (I’m sure you are relieved to hear that), but Jesus says we don’t get it—we are setting the bar too low. Maybe you haven’t murdered today, but have you been angry with someone or called them a name? Have you looked down on someone? Not only does Jesus say those transgressions are just as bad, but they are worthy of the fires of hell.
Remember what we learned on Monday? The way God sees the world is night and day from how we do. Remember what we learned on Tuesday? The main purpose of the law is to convict us of our sins and eradicate from our minds the idea that we can find salvation by the things we have done, so that we can find salvation only in the grace of Jesus. Remember what we learned yesterday? Jesus is the new Moses—the new deliverer who comes at just the right time because God’s people are enslaved, and the Sermon on the Mount makes this mountain the new Sinai where God meets his people with the words of everlasting life.
What is the message? The problem isn’t just with the way we act but the way we speak. And it isn’t just in the way we speak; it is in the way we think. And it isn’t just in the way we think; it is in our very hearts and souls. The corruption goes all the way down so that no one is safe, and there is no hope of escape until we find our escape in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is messing with the traditions and beliefs we cherish most. Why? He is ripping them from our hands so he can replace them with what God has for us instead. What does God give us? Humility and awe that come with the full awareness of our sinfulness. This awareness would lead us to despair if we didn’t have a full awareness of God’s amazing grace.
Prayer:
Awesome God, you’ve empowered us with the knowledge that you are for us, so that we gush like open fire hydrants, pouring out on everyone the love and grace that flows unceasingly from you to us. Your grace saves us but also transforms us. We can’t hold it back. Let this love flowing from us change the world, because it is the only thing that ever really has. Amen.
Reflection:
- When did you last lose your temper or judge someone? Ask for God’s forgiveness.
- How is God’s lavish grace going to pour out of you today?