The Righteousness Required

Introduction

As we return this morning to that scene on the mountain where the Lord Jesus Christ has opened his mouth and began to teach the people authoritatively let us be reminded briefly of all that we have covered to this point in the gospel of Matthew. As we previously discussed Matthew was a Jew writing to other Jews proclaiming the one that was to come, the King to whom all of the Old Testament pressed us towards. At this point in our text Matthew has identified Christ as the promised King, the Son of both Abraham and David, the one who is obedient where men have fallen and literally that Chris is Immanuel, God with us, the great Light that has dawned on those walking and dwelling in darkness.

Coming into this scene on the mountain we see the King first described His people, starting with the characteristics that define them not giving us a list by which sinners climb into the kingdom, rather marks of grace identifying those brought under Christ’s reign. This is the identification of the church, of us, as believers we are the poor in spirit, we mourn over our sin, we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we mercy, pursue purity, seek peace without compromising truth, and we shall endure persecution. His people are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Grace transforms the heart leading to a transformed life, a life that shines before men glorifying the Father.

This description of God’s people, of believers should raise the question of what relationship does this kingdom, this King, have to the revelation God had already given? Was Jesus setting Moses’ teaching aside, replacing the Law and the Prophets? We saw that our Lord answered in verses 17 and 18, emphatically stating that He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. He, himself, is the goal of all that had been revealed, He obediently fulfilled the Law and the Prophets; He is the substance to which their types and shadows pointed. We are reminded, as they are reminded, that not the smallest letter or stroke of God’s revelation can fail, it will stand until all is accomplished, and it stands because God, who revealed this truth, cannot lie, change, or fail.

Continuing to press forward verses 19-20 pick up draw out the necessary conclusion to this truth. If the Word cannot be dissolved, then none has the authority to loosen its commandments. If Christ fulfills the law rather than abolishing it, then as His people we certainly cannot claim His grace while despising His rule. It is at this critical juncture that Christ gives warning, ensuring that we understand that careful teaching and visible obedience, resulting outward efforts or appearance without inward transformation, are not enough. The scribes taught the law. The Pharisees were publicly known for religious discipline. Nevertheless, Jesus declares that unless our righteousness surpasses theirs, we will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The truth before us is this: because Christ fulfills God’s Word and confirms its absolute authority, His disciples must neither loosen His commands nor separate teaching from obedience; yet entrance into His kingdom requires a righteousness deeper than outward religion—a righteousness grounded in Christ, received by faith, created inwardly by the Spirit, and displayed in sincere obedience. This brings us to our text for today. I invite you to turn in your copy of God’s word to Matthew 5 as we once again read verses 17-20 and then spend our time this morning focusing on verses 19-20.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s holy, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient, complete and certain Word...

Matthew 5:17–20 LSB

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Most gracious, heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unchanging Word. You have spoken with perfect authority, and not one word You have declared can fail. As we come now to hear the teaching of Christ, guard us from weakening Your commands or hiding behind outward religion. Search our hearts and expose every place where we have excused sin, trusted in ourselves, or appeared righteous before men while remaining unchanged within. Show us the perfection of Your law, the sufficiency of Christ, and the transforming power of Your grace. Give us humble hearts, attentive minds, and obedient wills. Through the power of Your Spirit, enable us not merely to hear Your Word, but to receive it, believe it, and walk according to it. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The King Forbids Us to Loosen His Commandments

Verse 19 begins with an important word often translated as therefore, here in the LSB it is the then in the opening two words “whoever then”. The importance in this word is that it is a conjunction and it requires us to understand that Jesus is not introducing a new thought that is detached and merely about good behavior. He is drawing an unavoidable conclusion from what He has just said regarding the permanence of God’s Word.

The verb translated “breaks” or “annuls” carries the idea of loosening, dissolving, or setting free from obligation. This is not the ordinary fact that believers still stumble into sin. Instead it is a warning concerning a settled posture toward God’s authority demonstrated in our response to His Word by treating it as though it no longer binds, or by reducing its force, creating an exemption God has not given, or to persuading others that obedience is unnecessary.

Our error is often that of the view that sees only gross negligence of the law as rebellion however, we must recognize that we can loosen Scripture without tearing a page from our Bibles or by what we would probably define as egregious actions in defiance of God’s word. The scribes preserved the words but shrunk their reach. As we will see in the coming weeks they forbid the physical act of murder while making room for hatred, contempt, and unrighteous anger; or condemn the physical act of adultery while leaving lust unchallenged in the heart; or they could insist upon carefully worded oaths while tolerating ordinary dishonesty. They spoke of loving one’s neighbor while granting permission to hate an enemy. They did not always remove the command, yet they often loosened or shortened its reach through interpretation.

As we press forward in the coming weeks our understanding of verses 17-20 become paramount. William Perkins rightly said that Christ proceeds to “restore the moral law to its true sense and meaning.” Christ is not replacing an inferior word and command with a better one. He is exposing the traditions, evasions, and shallow readings by which men had made, and still make, the holy law manageable.

We face the same temptation. We loosen the command when we rename sin so that repentance no longer seems necessary. We loosen it when we judge biblical teaching by the mood of the culture rather than judging the culture by the Word of God. We loosen it when we speak boldly about sins that do not attract us but softly about sins we cherish. We loosen it when we say that grace means Christ no longer cares whether His people obey. We loosen it when we insist upon commands for others while quietly constructing exceptions for ourselves.

This warning must be handled carefully. Jesus is not sending His disciples, then or now, back to old covenant shadows. This is a timely truth because we have seen a resurgence in the world today that is harkening back to this exact thought in movements such as the Hebrew Israelite movement. We need the reminder that the sacrifices and ceremonies find their substance in Christ as the perfect fulfillment. Israel’s judicial laws belonged to that covenant nation, though their general equity still instructs us. The moral law, because it reflects God’s holy character, continues to direct His people. Fulfillment is not failure: the shadow gives way because the substance has come. Christ is our Passover, our great High Priest, and the final sacrifice, while the moral law continues under His authority.

The Second London Baptist Confession states that Christ does not “dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.” The believer is not under the law as a covenant of works by which we must earn life. Christ has fulfilled that covenantal demand for His people and borne the curse due as a result of our transgressions. Romans 8:1 declares that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But freedom from condemnation is not freedom from the King. We are not justified by obedience, yet as the justified, we are brought into a life of obedience.

C. H. Spurgeon put the matter plainly: “Partial obedience is actual disobedience. The loyal subject respects the whole law.” That does not mean the Christian obeys perfectly in this life. It means he no longer claims the right to choose which commands deserve submission. We may fall, but we cannot make peace with rebellion. We may struggle, but we cannot crown ourselves judge over the Word. The heart renewed by grace says with the psalmist, “Oh how I love Your law!” and, “I esteem all Your precepts concerning everything to be right” (Psalm 119:97, 128).

Jesus speaks of “one of the least of these commandments.” Scripture recognizes that some matters carry greater weight than others. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus says ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” This statemetn demonstrates that a command of lesser comparative weight is not an optional command. Its authority does not finally rest upon how significant it appears to us. It rests upon the majesty of the One who gave it. The smallest command still comes from the mouth of the great God.

The question, then, is not merely whether we profess a high view of Scripture. The question is whether we bow to Scripture when it contradicts us. John MacArthur has said, “Whatever Jesus thought of the Bible, that’s what I think.” That is a sound confession, but any confession must move from our lips into our life. Jesus did not merely affirm the inspired word as an abstract teaching. He submitted Himself to it, answered temptation with it, was the fulfillment of it, and declared that it cannot fail. We, who call Him Lord, cannot stand above the Bible as editors, embarrassed by the truths revealed within, rather, we sit in submission to it as servants of the King.

The King Measures Greatness by Doing and Teaching

Christ then compares the one who loosens and teaches with the one who “does and teaches.” The order is searching. He does not say, “Whoever teaches and occasionally considers doing.” He says, “Whoever does and teaches.” The teacher’s life must stand beneath the message he proclaims.

This does not require sinless perfection. If only perfect men could teach, no man except Christ could ever open the Scriptures before the church. Peter failed seriously and was restored. Paul confessed the continuing conflict with sin. James acknowledged that we all stumble in many ways. The issue is not whether the teacher needs grace; the issue is whether he submits to the truth he declares. He must be repentant rather than defiant, governed by the Word rather than using the Word to govern others while exempting himself.

1 Timothy 4:16 joins life and doctrine as Paul writes “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” James 3:1 contains a warning regarding stricter judgement for those who teach “Do not, many of you, become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.” Paul told Titus that an elder must be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine and soundness in speech. The man who handles holy things publicly must first tremble before them privately.

This applies with special force to pastors and elders. A preacher may be called great by a generation because he is eloquent, original, influential, published, or popular. Yet heaven does not measure greatness by platform, applause, institutional reach, or rhetorical power. A man may fill a room and empty the commandments of their force. He may attract thousands while training them to treat holiness lightly. He may be praised as compassionate because he refuses to name sin, or praised as courageous because he condemns only the sins his audience already despises. Christ’s verdict overturns the verdict of men.

But the text does not belong only to the pulpit. Parents teach by words, habits, and reactions. Employers and employees teach by the integrity of their work. Every believer exerts influence, and our conduct interprets our doctrine before others hear our explanations. This understanding transforms the kingdom ranking that we see here in the words least and greatest. The church has often taught that this has to do with the final fulfillment of the kingdom, however, we must keep in mind that the kingdom is already but not yet, this delineation therefore deals with the current rather than the future, meaning that kingdom greatness is therefore ordinary faithfulness under the eye of God. It is the pastor who refuses to soften the text when obedience is costly. It is the parent who confesses sin to a child rather than protecting an image of perfection. It is the believer who obeys when no one applauds, who speaks truth when falsehood would be profitable, who guards purity in secret, who forgives because he has been forgiven, and who teaches others not merely by command but by example.

R. C. Sproul warned, “Spirituality can be a cheap substitute for righteousness,” and then defined the issue plainly: “Righteousness is doing what is right in the sight of God.” Religious language, emotional experience, public visibility, and a reputation for seriousness can all exist without submission to God. Jesus is not impressed by the appearance of spirituality detached from obedience. The King calls great the one who does and teaches His commandments. We must take great care not to see this as a means by which to attain, Ephesians 2:8–10 helps us to preserves the order, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” We are saved by grace through faith, not as a result of works; yet we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Works are not the root of salvation, but they are its appointed fruit.

The King Exposes the Failure of Pharisaic Righteousness

The word translated “for” at the beginning of verse 20 is a conclusive conjunctive, meaning that the conclusion we see here is built from that which proceeds it. Our Lord moves to an explanation of why the act of loosening commandments is so serious and why doing and teaching matters. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The original construction carries emphatic force: you certainly will not enter.

Those words would have shocked the first hearers. Jesus does not compare His disciples to notorious criminals, open idolaters, or pagan libertines. He names the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes were recognized interpreters of the law. The Pharisees were known for disciplined religious practice, careful tithing, fasting, prayer, ritual purity, and zeal for tradition. To many observers, they represented the highest visible level of religious seriousness. Yet Jesus says their righteousness is insufficient. We will see this in Matthew 23 where Christ exposes this truth with devastating clarity. In summary however, we see that they cleaned the outside of the cup while the inside remained corrupt, appearing outwardly beautiful while resembling tombs within. Their religion regulated visible conduct while leaving pride, greed, unbelief, and hardness untouched.

That is why the righteousness of verse 20 must exceed theirs not in quantity but in quality. Jesus is not telling His disciples to become more industrious Pharisees—to add more fasts, more rules, more public prayers, and more visible religious activity. The kingdom requires righteousness from a different source and of a different character.

As we move forward we will see that surpassing righteousness does not stop with avoiding physical murder, with avoiding the physical act of adultery; not manipulate vows while preserving loopholes, or demand personal vengeance. It even goes to the point of loving those who hate and persecute you, then in chapter 6, it gives, prays, and fasts before the Father rather than performing before men. It is heart-deep, whole-person, Godward righteousness.

J. C. Ryle said of the moral law, “It cannot save us. We cannot be justified by it. But never, never let us despise it.” This reveals and reminds us of two great truths, First, that the law cannot justify because the law demands righteousness; it does not create righteousness in fallen men. Romans 3:20 says that by works of the law no flesh will be justified, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Secondly, the failure of sinners does not make the law defective. The law remains holy, righteous, and good. It exposes our guilt, reveals God’s standard, restrains evil, and directs the grateful obedience of those saved by grace.

Pharisaic righteousness is much like using a filter or an application when we take a photo of our self or others. We take the photo and then run it through filters and editing software until we get a picture that we are happy with, even if it looks nothing like reality. Pharisaic righteousness reduces the standard until the sinner can admire himself. Gospel righteousness looks honestly at the unedited picture, sees the truth, confesses the stain, and flees to Christ for cleansing. In Luke 18:9-14 we see the Pharisee saying, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people.” The tax collector will not even lift his eyes toward heaven but cries, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner.” Jesus says that the second man went home justified (Luke 18:9–14).

This warning should hit respectable church people with force. A person may know theological vocabulary, attend worship, defend sound doctrine, and avoid public scandal, yet remain a stranger to grace. Orthodoxy may be held in unrighteousness, and moral conservatism may substitute for conversion. A man may oppose the age’s corruption while never seeing his own.

The question is not whether your righteousness compares favorably with your neighbor’s. The question is whether it stands before the searching holiness of God. Isaiah, a prophet among the covenant people, saw the Lord high and lifted up and cried, “Woe is me, for I am ruined.” Job was called blameless in relation to men, yet when God revealed Himself, Job repented in dust and ashes. Paul could list his Pharisaic credentials and call himself blameless regarding external righteousness, but when Christ opened his eyes, he counted those gains as loss and desired to be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of his own derived from law, but that which comes through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:4–9).

The King Provides the Righteousness He Requires

If Jesus’ words only announced that we must surpass the Pharisees, they would crush us without hope. But the One who speaks this demand is the same One who said, “I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” The righteousness the King requires is found first in the King Himself.

Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. Where Adam disobeyed, Christ obeyed. Where Israel tested God and turned aside, Christ trusted the Father and resisted the devil. He loved God and neighbor perfectly, honored the Father in secret and public, spoke only truth, and never failed in purity or love. His obedience was personal, perfect, entire, and continuous.

Then, at the cross, the righteous One stood in the place of the unrighteous. The curse of the law did not disappear; Christ bore it. The standard was not lowered; Christ met it. The justice of God was not set aside; Christ satisfied it. Second Corinthians 5:21 declares that the One who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Romans 5 contrasts the disobedience of the first Adam with the obedience of the last Adam: through the obedience of the One, the many are constituted righteous.

Therefore, the legal ground of the believer’s acceptance is not his inward improvement, his obedience, or even the progress of his sanctification. It is the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to him and received through faith alone. We are justified by grace, apart from works, on account of Christ. Faith contributes no merit; it is the empty hand that receives Him.

But Matthew 5:20 cannot be reduced to an invisible legal status considered in isolation from the rest of the sermon. Jesus is describing a righteousness that appears in anger restrained, lust mortified, truth spoken, enemies loved, secret devotion guarded, and the Father’s will obeyed. The righteousness that justifies is Christ’s alone; the righteousness that characterizes the justified is the Spirit’s work within them. These must be distinguished, but they must never be separated.

The new covenant promised precisely this. God said in Jeremiah 31 that He would put His law within His people and write it upon their hearts. In Ezekiel 36, He promised to remove the heart of stone, give a heart of flesh, put His Spirit within them, and cause them to walk in His statutes. Romans 8 explains that what the law could not do because of the weakness of sinful flesh, God did by sending His Son, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit.

Thomas Watson captured the balance: “Though the moral law be not a Christ to justify us, it is a rule to instruct us.” The law is not our Savior, but the Savior does not leave us lawless. Christ pardons the guilty, clothes the naked, and then, by His Spirit, conforms His people to His image. Grace does not merely cancel a record; grace trains us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11–14).

This gives us the proper order. The ground is Christ’s righteousness; the means of reception is faith alone; the inward beginning is regeneration; the continuing expression is sanctification; and perfection awaits glorification. The believer’s obedience remains imperfect, but it is real. He does not obey to become accepted but because he is accepted in the Beloved. He works from the verdict of “no condemnation,” not for it.

The righteousness that exceeds is therefore Christ-given in its origin, Christ’s righteousness in its legal ground, Spirit-wrought in its inward character, and whole-person in its visible expression. To confuse justification and sanctification produces legalism. To separate them produces antinomianism. The gospel does neither. It freely justifies the ungodly through faith in Christ and then necessarily begins to make the justified person holy.

Conclusion

Our Lord’s words leave us with searching questions.

Where have you loosened what God has commanded? Perhaps you have not denied the Bible openly, but you have reduced its claim upon your anger, your speech, your purity, your marriage, your money, your forgiveness, or your worship. Perhaps you insist that Scripture is inerrant while living as though it is negotiable. The King does not call you to explain away His command. He calls you to repent.

What are you teaching by the pattern of your life? Parents, what gospel are your children seeing? Teachers, does your conduct adorn or contradict your doctrine? Church, do we measure greatness by faithfulness to Christ or by the standards of the world? A man may be called great on earth and least in heaven. The only verdict that finally matters is the verdict of the King.

And what righteousness are you trusting? The righteousness of the Pharisee may impress men, but it cannot open the kingdom. Church attendance cannot bear the weight of your guilt. Sound doctrine cannot substitute for a new heart. Moral respectability cannot cleanse the conscience. Family heritage cannot reconcile you to God. You need a righteousness better than your own.

That righteousness is found in Jesus Christ. Come to the One who fulfilled what you have broken. Come to the One who bore the curse deserved by lawbreakers. Come empty-handed, poor in spirit, mourning over sin, and trust in Him alone. He does not merely make bad people slightly better. He justifies the ungodly, gives a new heart, puts His Spirit within His people, and teaches them to love what they once resisted.

Believer, do not hear this text as though Christ were sending you back to Sinai to earn what Calvary has purchased. There is no condemnation for you in Him. But do not use that comfort to loosen His commands. The grace that pardons is the grace that reigns. The Christ who fulfilled the law for you is the King who writes His law within you. His commandments are not the price of His love; they are the path upon which those loved by Him learn to walk.

The King has not lowered the standard. He has fulfilled it. The King has not approved external religion. He has exposed it. The King has not left His people without righteousness. He has become their righteousness and given them His Spirit. Therefore, let us not loosen what He has spoken. Let us do and teach His commands. Let us renounce the righteousness that boasts in self, and let us be found in Christ—clothed in His righteousness, transformed by His grace, and living for the glory of our Father in heaven.

Closing Prayer

Our gracious Father, we confess that Your law is holy, righteous, and good, but we have broken Your commandments in thought, word, and deed. Forgive us for every attempt to lessen what You have commanded and for every outward display of religion that has concealed pride, unbelief, or disobedience within.

We thank You for Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all righteousness, obeyed where we have failed, and bore the curse that our sins deserved. Keep us from trusting in our morality, our religious activity, or anything within ourselves. Teach us to rest entirely in the righteousness of Christ received through faith.

By Your Holy Spirit, write Your law upon our hearts. Cause our lives to agree with the truth we confess. Make us faithful in both doing and teaching Your commandments, not to earn Your favor, but because we have received mercy through Your Son. May our obedience display the power of Your grace and bring glory to our Father in heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.