Exceeding Righteousness- Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Matthew 5:13-20

Main Point

Righteousness is not about what we do; Righteousness is about who we reflect.

Review

Epiphany is about revealing who Jesus is to the world. It is shining a light on the whole of God’s objective mission for and in the world. Following the beatitudes, which highlight the character development of those who choose to follow Jesus, we have a directive for these disciples.

Hook

Show off a few items (hammer, salt container, and flashlight) and ask what they are and what they do/are used for.

Philosophically, we know things based on what they do. We understand a hammer because we have seen how it can drive nails into wood. We know salt because of how it seasons our food, maybe too little or too much. We know light because of the darkness that we are surrounded by and the ability to still see.

Just as we understand a hammer, salt, or light based on what they do, disciples are known by what they do. Yet that presents a particular problem: We know that our faith is not based on what we can do, thus VS. 20 becomes very difficult for us to accept.

How can our righteousness exceed that of the pharisees if the foundation of our faith is built on the understanding of a rejection of what we can accomplish through ourselves? Said another way; how can we follow what Jesus says without drifting into works righteousness?

Book

It should come to no surprise that by studying the scripture for today, we will be able to unravel this very issue and gain a far better appreciation for what it is that Jesus is commanding his disciples to do.

Salt and Light vs. 13-16

Large picture- This particular section is designed to help us understand that there is an expectation placed on disciples. It is not a free ride, there are actual expectations and outcomes placed on those who choose to follow Jesus.

Salt is critical for life

Salt is only salt if it is actually salty

— Salt does not exist outside itself. You cannot change the molecular makeup of salt and still have it remain salt.

Talk about the “No Salt” stuff, blah!

Salt becomes worthless if it does not do its job

— Brings flavor, works as an electrolyte, enhances and changes the properties of everything around it: corrosive, changes boiling point of water

Light also serves a critical function in our lives

Light must be seen to fulfill its primary purpose

Light impacts those around it

— Causes growth, resets our bodies

Discipleship connection vs 16- Disciples are only true disciples if they are producing the results expected by disciples. Salt does not decide one day to be salty and the next day not. Light doesn’t have a choice to shine in the dark, it just does. Both produce these natural byproducts by simply being what they are. As disciples of Jesus, we become fundamentally different in such a way that we also will have this byproduct flowing from us. It is one that adds flavor to life and shines in the dark parts of this world.

Godly Righteousness vs. 17-20

Jesus takes a short break in these following verses in order to bridge the ideas that he has been presenting and to prepare them to hear the rest of what he has to say. It is also where we will be able to address the issue of verse 20.

Vs. 17-18 Concerned that people may mistake Jesus for trying to deviate from God’s law, he assures them that it is not his goal

— Jesus and the Pharisees actually had a lot in common and they were not upset with much of his teachings, as it relates to truth. Yet it was these teachings that they began to struggle with because it felt like a deviation. Change is always hard.

Vs. 19 Jesus then connects faithful discipleship, the stuff we just got done talking about, to status within the kingdom of God.

— This could even be applied back onto Jesus as a sort of checks and balance situation

Vs. 20 Then we come to the sticky part of the passage; we must somehow exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees if we desire to be part of the kingdom of God.

— It is important that we hear passages, like from Isaiah 58, again.

3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day and oppress all your workers. 4 You fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

— This is the kind of dysfunctional discipleship that Jesus is warning about. Instead we get the salt and light aspects of discipleship.

6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

— Yes God established a sacrificial system but it was meant to help teach the deeper truths, to build the fundamentals of life. This passage is highlighting the effective change that should have been developed through the following of the law.

Look

The reason Jesus can expect disciples to behave a certain way and to even go so far as to make claims of their righteousness exceeding that of the mainstream religious leaders of the day is based on how Jesus understands the function of righteousness.

Righteousness is not about what we do; Righteousness is about who we reflect.

There are two main components to righteousness: Faith and movement.

Faith

Salvation only comes through faith

Ephesians 2:8 NRSVue

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—

Faith is transformative, it changes those who embrace it

— Observe, Believe, Follow, Reflect

Faith thus leads to true righteousness

Hebrews 11:7 NRSVue

By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

— This is part of a long stream in the book of Hebrews that highlights all these people who responded in faith and received righteousness as part of their response.

Movement

We should be careful though when considering any criticism of the Pharisees. They were, mostly, acting on faith and seeking the righteousness of God. The problem came when God moved and they did not.

Pharisees were based on Moses- good for sure, but not Jesus and remember our righteousness is about who we are reflecting.

God has been constantly moving throughout human history and there is this progressive development.

Funnel drawing- How God is moving and changing which necessitates alignment

By having faith, we are able to steer clear of self-righteousness and by having faith in God through Christ, we are able to embrace the movements of God and become aligned with God’s intentions. This produces within us a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees.

Took

Yet, what happens when things do not feel like they line up?

There are days where I don’t feel salty

There are days when I don’t feel bright (wait for laughter)

It is true, some days will feel off. We will go through “dry times” and there will be periods where it feels more like motions than movement. It is those moments we remember what produces righteousness, our faith and who is our faith in? And faith is more than just a head idea, it is observing, believing, following, and reflecting.

Many of the new ways of Christ will feel awkward for us because they are using muscles, figuratively and literally, that we are not used to using in ways that are foreign to us. Don’t stop!

Embrace the dry times

— They are important phases within our spiritual development that moves us away from sensationalism and towards commitment to Jesus

Whether we like it or not, every day we are providing a witness to others

— Are we shining a righteousness that reflects Jesus? our ourselves? The most important thing within our lives becomes the very thing we reflect.