In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:20) Jesus spoke these words, "For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven."

The theme of the sermon is righteousness. In the beatitudes Jesus has conveyed what the character should be of those who were to be citizens of the coming kingdom. The function of these citizens and their relationship to the world are illustrated by salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16).

As if Jesus were portending the accusation of His enemies that He was breaking the old law and even attempting to destroy it, He declared in Matt. 5:17-19 that His purpose was not to destroy it but to fulfill it. He stated that whoever would break one of the least commandments and would teach men so would be the least in the kingdom of heaven. In the verses that follow, Jesus clearly points out that the scribes and Pharisees are the ones who actually were not keeping the old law. Their professed righteousness must be exceeded if one expected to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The word "righteousness" is translated from the Greek word dikaiosune and it refers to the practice of piety. It is defined by Thayer in a broad sense: "the state of him who is such as he ought to be, righteousness; the condition acceptable to God." In a stricter sense as it is used in Matt. 5:20, he defines the word: "integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting. 3

The Quality of Righteousness

Jesus is not talking about a comparative degree of righteousness in Matt. 5:20. He is discussing quality. The scribes and Pharisees were guilty of a sham obedience and this is what Jesus is condemning. The usual interpretation and application of this verse by brethren is that the scribes and Pharisees (representing the Jews) gave a tenth of their income to the Lord and since we are living under a better covenant we are to give more. In the first place, tithing under the old law is not a basis for our giving under the new law. And furthermore, if that interpretation is true, then giving that exceeds the tithing of the Jews under the old law would be a prerequisite for entering the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is showing that the scribes and Pharisees did not keep the principles of the law. Appearing to be a most pious people, but who were actually corrupt from within, Jesus gave them a scathing rebuke for their hypocrisy (Matt. 23). They made a pretentious display of their piety (fasting, praying, tithing) while at the same time, being concerned only about their outward acts, they left undone the weightier matters of the law —justice, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23). It was empty formalism and no religion was more denounced by Jesus than that of these people.

Our Lord taught His hearers that their righteousness (quality, not quantity) must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). Then follows six illustrations in the form of antitheses. A controversy exists among Bible students as to whether Jesus was contrasting the old law with His teaching, or whether He was contrasting what the old law actually taught with the interpretation of the law by the scribes and Pharisees. Hendricksen comments: "The formula, 'You have heard that it was said' presents a difficulty, since the following phrase, considered by itself, can be translated either 'to the men of long ago' or 'by the men of long ago.'” Although the question, as to which of the foregoing views is correct, cannot be settled upon a purely linguistic basis, the use of the aorist "Ye have heard," would indicate that it was what the common people were used to hearing. It seems to us that the latter view (a contrast between the law and the interpretation of it by the scribes and Pharisees) is more in harmony with the context. We believe that the true sense of the expression "You have heard" is given in comment by Lenski, "from your teachers, the scribes and Pharisees, on whom you were entirely dependent for your instruction." This is another reason why Jesus was so severe in His criticism of these teachers. They were false teachers as well as hypocrites (Matt. 7:15). Jesus was not correcting the law itself but a false interpretation of it.

Jesus and the Law

Jesus Himself observed the old law even though the scribes and Pharisees accused Him of violating it. He also enjoined the obedience of it upon others when He said, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19). In view of the fact that Jesus obeyed the law, kept it perfectly, and enjoined obedience to it upon those who were living under it, we hardly see how Jesus would be contrasting what it taught with what He taught. We are aware that Jesus was preparing His hearers for citizenship in the forthcoming kingdom, and we are also aware that the old law was not carried over into the new. Jesus fulfilled the old law (Matt. 5:17) by His obedience to it, by accomplishing what He was prophesied to do (Lk. 24:44), and by paying the penalty of death as prescribed by the law (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 8:3). Unable to keep the law perfectly, all stood condemned; but by His vicarious death Jesus became a sin offering. The death of Christ procured for all who accept Him release from the condemnation that rests upon all sinners. Christ did for men what the law could not do. All sinned (Rom. 3:23); therefore, all stood condemned. Jesus freed men from sin and from the penalty of the law. The law is fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:4) in that what the law could not accomplish (freedom from sin) is fulfilled in those who obey the gospel. The law was also fulfilled in the nation of Israel, for that covenant was made with Israel (Ex. 31:16,17) and that nation came to an end with the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 24). So, the old law was fulfilled and therefore is not in force.

Obedience

Why then did Jesus teach obedience to the old law? Men who would break the commands of God in one dispensation would certainly do so in another. The principle of obedience and respect for the authority of God is being impressed upon those who heard Jesus deliver this great discourse on the mount. This is what would be expected of those who would be citizens in the kingdom that was soon to come.

The Pharisees were making out of the old law a sheer enactment of externals, a mere prohibition of certain overt acts. They failed to consider and teach the spirit of the law. To them it contained only the letter. A righteousness no better than the doing of mere outward acts, with no motivation of love for God in the heart, is not good enough for one to enter the kingdom of God. Obedience to the gospel must come from the heart (Rom. 6:17) and all acts performed by the Christian in his worship and service to God must come from a genuine love for God in the heart. The Pharisees honored God with their lips in the absence of their hearts (Matt. 15:8,9). Except our righteousness exceeds that, we cannot be in relationship with God.

A Form of Righteousness

What was wrong with the religion of the scribes and Pharisees? It was entirely external and formal. They were whited sepulchers (Matt. 23:27,28). They were more concerned with "sins" than they were with a sinful heart from whence they came. The kingdom of God is concerned with the heart.

They were more concerned with ceremonial than the moral aspects of the law. They were punctilious about the washing of hands and other traditions handed down by the venerable and learned rabbis, but wholly unconcerned with the very basis of the old law —service to God prompted by a genuine love in the heart (Deut. 6:5). The law prohibited sins of disposition such as hate, grudge and covetousness (Lev. 19:17,18; Ex. 20:17). As long as the Pharisee did not commit the overt acts of killing, adultery, stealing, etc., in his mind he had kept the law. This idea is reflected in the young ruler who came to Jesus and asked concerning eternal life. He had observed the commandments, in so far as he had not committed any prohibited overt acts, but he had overlooked benevolence which is prompted by a disposition of the heart. The scribes and Pharisees observed their traditions, performed their external rites, abstained from such overt acts as murder and adultery, so they had been to service! Brethren who are only concerned with outward acts of worship on Lord's day and abstaining from prohibited overt deeds during the week, yet have no regard for their proper attitude of heart (such as harboring a grudge or ill will toward a brother) are just as guilty as the scribes and Pharisees. They have a wrong concept of the new law just as the scribes and Pharisees did of the old law. There is more to Christianity than just going to services and staying out of mischief! Can we not see, how in the exposition of the sermon on the mount, Jesus was preparing His hearers for proper character and conduct for citizenship in the kingdom?

Commission and Omission

Violation of the law is not confined to committing an act prohibited by law, but it is also the neglect of that which is enjoined. The example of the rich young ruler is a case in point. The scribes and Pharisees neglected the care of their parents upon the basis that an amount due a needy parent was dedicated to Corban (a gift offered to God). These fellows were adept at working out their own traditions and cleverly and subtlety evading the demands of the law.

The scribes and Pharisees were self-righteous and self-satisfied. Jesus diagnosed their condition in stating that they "trusted in themselves and set all others at nought" (Lk. 18:9). It is dangerous when any of us compare ourselves with other men rather than the word of God. This was the problem of the Pharisee who prayed and thanked God that he was not like other men and boasted of his attainments, some of which were not even prescribed by the law (fasting twice a week). The Christian should be unsatisfied. He should be "poor in spirit," realizing that he is devoid of all that God wants him to be and therefore he is "hungering and thirsting after righteousness."

The scribes and Pharisees overlooked the heart from which stems sins (Mk. 7:21,22). They placed more emphasis upon the symptoms than the cause. While avoiding the act of the unlawful killing of a human being, they ignored the disposition of the heart (hate) which produces murder. They carefully avoided the physical act of adultery, but overlooked the condition of the heart (lust) which produces adultery.

The religion of the scribes and Pharisees was an ostentatious formalism, hollow to the core. It is no wonder that Jesus, in preparing character and conduct for His forthcoming kingdom, declared: "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Footnotes

1.            Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T. (University of Chicago: 1971), p. 195

2.            J. H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T. (Marshallton, Delaware), p. 149

3.            Ibid., p. 149

4.            William Hendricksen, New Testament Commentary, Matthew (Baker Book House: 1973), p. 295

5.            R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Matthew's Gospel (Augsburg Publishing House: 1964), p. 216

6.            R. L. Whiteside, Commentary on Romans (Miss Inys Whiteside: 1945), p. 169 •

Vanguard, May 1975

 

 

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• Caffin, B.C. (1950), II Peter – Pulpit Commentary, H.D.M. Spence and Joseph Exell, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

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