Kingdom Righteousness

Good morning church! I pray that you have had a good weekend so far!

I don’t know what y’all did yesterday, but at the Haney house, we had what we call, “Football Day.” That means, we don’t watch cartoons. Kids are better off if they play in their rooms most of the day. Judge me all you want, but that’s what we do, alright!

This is really the first football we have gotten to watch. And from year to year, I feel like I forget how freakish these guys are! They are some talented dudes! So strong, So FAST!

One of the most intense moves of a running back is the juke. It’s when he is going in one direction and quickly changes to go in another. When done well, it leaves defenders looking silly or icing their ankles. But there is a key to the move. It’s the plant leg. The running back has to plant the leg of the direction he is going and push his body weight fully into that new direction.

The verses we are reading today feel like that plant foot of Jesus’ juke towards a new direction.

Jesus has been talking about the principles of the kingdom and the influence humans can have as part of the kingdom. And now he shifts his weight towards a pretty particular topic. In the month of October, we are going to look at several statements from Jesus that begin, “You have heard it said, but I tell you...” Jesus will be taking quotes from the Jewish practice and pushing them a little. Some of these are directly from the Hebrew Bible but others are the common teachings of the rabbis of his day.

So, naturally, Jesus is going to sound a little edgy, a little controversial, a little liberal when he pushes against the common understandings of those teachings.

Let me read Jesus’ words here and we will pray and talk through this.

Matthew 5:17–20 CSB

“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

PRAY

Alright, let’s start looking through this passage. We probably won’t mine everything there is to mine out of these verses, but there are a few major things to understand here.

1. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of the HEBREW BIBLE (Old Testament).

The term Hebrew Bible may be one you are not used to. But I think it is good for us to remember that the part of the Bible we call the Old Testament WAS the Bible for God’s people for a LONG TIME. By the time Jesus comes on the scene the Hebrew Bible is formed, agreed upon, and circulated.

The Hebrew Bible contained the same books that we have in the Old Testament, but it is actually laid out differently.

I would argue the Old Testament has 5 sections of books inside it..

Law

History

Poetry

Major Prophets

Minor Prophets

But these are not the sections of the Hebrew Bible! There were only three to them...

Torah

Nevi’im

Ketuvim

This was shortened to TaNaK. Guess what those words mean?

Torah actually means “teaching” but got translated early on in the Greek as “law” and it stuck. Nevi’im means “Prophets.” And Ketuvim means “writings.”

So, when Jesus says he didn’t come to abolish but to fulfill the LAW and PROPHETS, he is clearly referring to these two sections! He is saying, “I know it’s about to sound like I don’t believe what God has spoken through our ancestors and what we have studied for generations, but it’s more than that! I actually came to FULFILL God’s word! I am the embodiment of God’s covenant and promises! Jesus is the one who crushes the head of the snake in Genesis 3. He is the son of Abraham who would be a blessing to all nations. He is the true Passover Lamb. Though Israel had a tabernacle to experience God’s presence on earth, Jesus was the walking and talking presence of God on earth. He is Isaiah’s “Immanuel”. Jesus is the one who Moses spoke of that would bring God’s law not on tablets of stone but on the hearts of man! He is the red cord of Rahab. He is the son of David who sits on a forever throne. He is the one Isaiah wrote of when he called one “Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, everlasting father, prince of Peace.” He’s the lowly king riding on a donkey in Zechariah. and the “messenger of the Covenant” in Malachi.

Church, the whole thing is really about Jesus! Jesus doesn’t wait til the end to begin to teach this point. He does so throughout his ministry, typically in smaller groups, because that’s some intense claims!

If you want more details on some of these, we did a series a while back called “Christ-Centered.” Those will be found on our podcast and on our facebook page.

But let’s look at what else Jesus says...

Matthew 5:18–19 CSB

For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

2. The Hebrew Bible is IMPORTANT.

The law of God will exist as long as creation does!

It should be taught and obeyed.

He would be getting amens from the religious elite at this point if they were there!

But then he drops the bomb...

Matthew 5:20 CSB

For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

3. Righteousness greater than the SCRIBES and PHARISEES does exist.

Scribes - professional students devoted to the practical application of the law in daily life.

Pharisees - a reformist branch of Judaism that saw themselves as leading a reform to keep God’s laws more faithfully.

They were the pros of the day. No logical thinker would have thought you could exceed the righteousness of these two groups!

But Jesus shows them that they have been thinking wrongly about this righteousness thing.

Abraham believed God and it was CREDITED to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS.

4. Jesus’ righteousness has been IMPUTED TO US!

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Great Exchange! Jesus wasn’t given our sin… He BECAME OUR SIN.

We aren’t given his righteousness that could be taken back away. WE BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!

When we trust in Christ, we become his righteousness.

This evening, is the beginning of Yom Kippur. This is the most holy of Jewish holidays. It’s origins can be found in Leviticus 17. It means “Day of Atonement.” The priest would carefully perform sacrifices while the people were called to treat the day as a Sabbath of Sabbaths.

By God’s commandment, the high priest followed a specific protocol on Yom Kippur. He bathed and dressed in white linen clothing, an act of purification, before entering the Holy of Holies. There the high priest made two sin offerings: a bull for his house and a goat for the people. The priest would lay the sins of the people on the head of a second goat, which had been chosen by lot as the “scapegoat”. After the high priest spoke the sins and iniquities of the people and put them on its head, the scapegoat would be removed into the wilderness.

For those of us in Christ, our sins weren’t atoned for by the blood of a goat. They were forgiven through the blood of the perfect spotless lamb! And our sins haven’t been sent off into the wilderness on the head of a goat! They have been placed in the body of God’s only son who was buried and didn’t come up out the ground with them!

What a more fitting day to discuss Christ’s fulfillment of the Hebrew Bible than on that of Yom Kippur!? And what better way to worship than through the Lord’s Supper! Amen?

Under your seat is a one stop shop bread and juice combo. Instead of passing out among this chaotic seating, we thought this would be easiest for this week.

Go on and grab it. Even if you don’t plan to partake, go on and grab it.

Today, we take the Lord’s Supper. If you are a baptized follower of Jesus who is walking with the Lord, you are welcome to take of this meal with us. You don’t have to be a member of this church to partake, but you do need to be known by Christ.

If that does not describe you, I want you to do something very important. Please, don’t eat with us! This is something we would love to talk with you about if you would like, but the Bible is clear that you will do more harm than good to your spiritual walk to take than to just hang out while we do. But I want you to hold it in your hand while we do. OK?

Passages for Lord’s Supper