Live A Holy Life!

Only Sincere Love Produces Surpassing Righteousness

2.12.23 [Matthew 5:21-37] River of Life (6th Sunday of Epiphany)

Love & peace are yours in abundance through Jesus. Amen.

(Mt. 5:17) Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law. It’s the kind of thing we would think that Jesus shouldn’t have to say. Who could look at Jesus’ humble and righteous way of living and think this is a man who is in the process of abolishing the Law?

It would have to be someone who hated or was jealous of Jesus, right? Again and again, we hear about the Pharisees and the teachers of the law trying to embarrass Jesus, trap Jesus with tricky questions, and eventually put him to death. Some Pharisees and teachers of the law accused Jesus of abolishing the Law.

In John 8, we hear that accusation. (Jn. 8:3-6) The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery and said to Jesus: ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?’ They were using this woman as a trap. In other instances they challenge the fact that Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast or that he healed sick people on the Sabbath. Many Pharisees accused Jesus of abolishing the Law and the Prophets.

But Jesus isn’t speaking to the Pharisees in Matthew 5. Otherwise, he would not have told his listeners that their righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees & the teachers of the law. Jesus was speaking to (Mt. 5:1) his disciples.

As his disciples looked around, they saw all kinds of people. Some had checkered pasts. Others, bad reputations. Yet, it didn’t seem to matter much to Jesus. He would break bread with tax collectors, prostitutes, & Samaritans—anybody. Maybe what you've done doesn’t matter so much. Maybe the teachers of the law have been making a big fuss for nothing.

If that’s what some of Jesus’ disciples were thinking, they were half right. In these 17 verses where Jesus covers a wide array of topics: murder, slander, adultery, divorce, oaths and legal matters, Jesus acknowledges that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were making a big fuss over nothing. But, still, the Law wasn’t nothing. Jesus hammers that point home in our reading from Matthew 5.

Did you notice your Lord’s pattern here? He begins with what his disciples have heard that it was said to the people long ago. When Jesus speaks this way he is not referring to what Moses at Mt. Sinai. Whenever he quotes the Old Testament he says (Mt. 4:4) it is written. Instead, Jesus is holding up and examining the long-held, popular opinions about the Law from “expert" Rabbis.

Some of these “experts" had very narrow definitions of what murder, adultery, and a binding oath actually were. We do something similar in our legal distinction between homicide and manslaughter or in our informal cultural definitions of what it means to cheat on someone. And just like happens in our day and age, the more narrow the definition, the more popular it becomes.

Jesus begins with these statements and then sets forth something more. Something deeper. Murder isn’t just about physically ending someone’s life, it’s about what happens in your heart. Adultery isn’t just about how you interact with someone you’re not married to, it’s about what’s going on in your own mind. Divorce can be done legally and still make a mockery of God’s will. Oaths don’t become stronger the more you amp them up. You should always speak in a trustworthy manner. Jesus tells us quite simply the heart of the matter is what really matters to your God.

That forces us to take a long look at our own hearts, doesn’t it? Have we nursed loveless thoughts in our minds? Have we entertained lustful fantasies? Have we manipulated others and what words plainly mean in order to deceive another and get away with it? None of us can stand up and claim to be without these sins in our lives. Anyone who does deceives themselves, not God.

But I want you to also notice another small theme in Jesus’ way of teaching us. The people we commit these almost invisible sins against most are the very ones we say we love the most. Brothers and sisters. Spouses. These are our friends and family. These are the people we have chosen to love & publicly vowed to cherish.

Yet, at times, you've hated them. You have let little things become big things. Instead of asking them why you haven’t heard from them in a little while, you let silence—the lack of communication—poison the relationship. You've arrogantly assumed you knew what they were thinking. You presumed to make out malicious motives. You think you can read their hearts. Your intuition, your conclusions have convicted them of things they have not done or thought of.

And when you give birth to hate in your heart, the dominoes fall quickly. Suddenly your tongue strikes with the precision of a special forces sniper. You chose your moments—you wait until the company is in your camp—and you assassinate their character. You haven’t murdered them with your own two hands, but who they once were is dead and gone to those you’ve conversed with.

The same is true of lust and lies. We all like to think of ourselves as faithful and honest people. But we are not. You've slow danced with your spouse and sang I Only Have Eyes For You and you lied. Within weeks of your vows, your eyes wandered. And they did so for decades. Now, the only reason you don’t lust so much is because you’re tired, not more self-disciplined.

We're not honest people we like to think we are. How many times have you told a friend what they wanted to hear instead of the truth? Or spoken in a way you knew you’d be able to talk your way out later? How many times have you claimed you didn’t hear someone, when you did—but you just didn’t like what they had to say.

The sins our Great King lays bear here are birthed by our hearts. He has filled the Law with deeper meaning and greater power than any of those “experts". How will he treat us? Look back with me to John 8.

In John 8, Jesus heard all the accusations of the teachers of the law against that woman. She was caught in the act of adultery. But Jesus made a haunting offer. (Jn. 8:7) Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her. (Jn. 8:9) One at a time, each of them left, convicted of their own sin. Then Jesus asked a striking question. (Jn. 8:10) Woman, has no one condemned you? None had. Then Jesus responded powerfully. (Jn. 8:11) And I do not condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin. This is the verdict of our Just King.

When Jesus made this declaration, he was not contradicting himself. In his merciful patience, (Rom. 3:25) his forbearance, he left all the sins she had committed beforehand unpunished. His righteousness never wavered. But he came into this world to be our Just King and also the Savior who justifies sinners. When he declared, (Jn. 8:11) And I do not condemn you. he wasn’t giving her a special pass on her sin. He was promising to take her sin upon himself. He did not condemn her in that moment because he knew that he would be condemned in her place.

Jesus did all this because when he declared that God so loved the world, it was not lip-service, it was God laying out his plan of salvation. The God who is love told us the honest truth and kept his Word.

Jesus kept the words he gives to us here. He never hated anyone, never had a lustful thought, and never broke a promise. John, one of those disciples who was convicted by these words of rebuke, says: (1 Jn. 3:5) In Jesus is no sin. But it is impossible for us to see the absence of sinful thoughts. It’s hard to even imagine. Yet, it’s not just that Jesus didn’t do these things. These sins were committed against him.

People hated Jesus (Jn. 15:25) without reason. Their inward loathing led to slanderous words. They accused him of driving out demons with the help of Satan, (Mt. 12:24) the prince of demons. Finally, though they could not point to a single thing he had done wrong, they determined to kill him. And even though they did their best to do it the legal way, it was still an abject miscarriage of God’s definition of justice. But it was not just his enemies who sinned against our Savior.

The people of Israel were unfaithful & disloyal. One moment they wanted to make him King. Later, they demanded his crucifixion.

But it wasn’t just the masses. His own disciples abandoned him. When they saw him get arrested, they scattered rather than dying alongside Jesus. Even Peter, the most bold & confident of the disciples, who promised, (Mt. 26:33) Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will was intimidated into calling down curses upon himself if he even knew Jesus.

All this Jesus endured from loveless disloyal sinners. Jesus did this because he loved us. (Rom. 5:8) He demonstrated his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus’ sincere and sacrificial love for sinners like us makes us righteous. His love transforms us to be people who love as he has loved us.

That is what we, as God’s holy people, pursue. Sincere love in thought, word, and deed. You already know the difference. Go to the store and you will see the aisles inundated with all kinds of gifts a person can get for another. Should you just go to the store, fill up a cart, bring it home and say to your spouse: Here’s my love for you! Is that all they really want? Of course not! Your spouse wants your heart—your very self—to care for, cherish, and love them.

Why should God who is love and has loved you more than all we can ask or imagine settle for any less? This is how we show love to God. (Jn. 14:15) We keep his commands, joyfully. We do not view them as burdens, but as wise guidance in how to navigate life in this world. So love your brothers and sisters—and your enemies while you’re at it! Pray for them. Bless them when you suspect they’re muttering curses under their breath. Make reconciliation your goal.

Love your spouse daily, deeply, and sacrificially. Honor your vows. God has joined you two together. Don’t let your selfishness or lack of self-discipline drive you apart. Be cognizant of their needs—especially the ones they neglect. Be patient and kind. Don’t keep a record of their wrongs. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.

If you are already divorced and reconciliation is no longer an option, speak well of your ex. Be quick to acknowledge your own sin. If you weren’t able to show cause when you were getting divorced, don’t act as if you have it now. Pray for your ex. Honor them in front of your children. Forgive them as the Lord has forgiven you.

Be people of integrity. Not just when you’re around your friends and family. All the time. Not just when your career hinges on it. All the time. When you can’t keep your word, be quick to repent. Integrity means confessing our sins to God, not making excuses or pointing fingers.

This is how each of us must live. Not because doing so will get us into heaven. But because the One who made heaven and earth— and is, even now, preparing a place for us in heaven—has made us to be his holy people. His sincere love for us produces in us surpassing righteousness—sincere love for God and man. Amen.