Matthew 5:19-20 "Being Great in the Kingdom of Heaven"

Marc Transparenti
Calvary Chapel Lake City
Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented 4 years ago • 46:23
Matthew 5:19–20
Kingdom of God
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The Sermon on the Mount: Being Great in the Kingdom of Heaven
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﻿Good Morning CCLC! Turn in your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 5. We are continuing our chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Matthew, currently looking at what is classically entitled the Sermon on the Mount...which is the Sermon of the King.

As Jesus addresses His disciples, He has been teaching them how blessed they are to be kingdom citizens and therefore they should live out the blessings (what we call the Beatitudes). Their witness to the the world should be as salt and light, so when men see their good works they glorify our Father in heaven. The mention of "good works" possibly made the disciples think of the Law...after all the law is all about good works, but it was impossible to obey. 613 commandments in the Mosaic Law, plus all the other teachings and traditions piled on by the Rabbis...quite overwhelming! And, maybe...just maybe the disciples were thinking, "He is going to do away with the law." For Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." And, this is the heart or the central message of the Sermon on the Mount...Jesus approves of the law, and Jesus came to fulfill the law...which He did by who He is. He is God, and God is love, and love fulfills the law (Rom 13:10). In Jesus' life, His obedience, His sinlessness, His teachings, and His sacrificial death, He fulfilled all of the law and all the prophecies that pointed to His 1st coming. That's what He did, and today we are going to look at our response...Today message is entitled, "Being Great in the Kingdom of Heaven." 

Let's pray and then we will look at the word of truth, and after the message today, we will have communion. 

Matt 5:19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, 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."

Last week, we clarified that as believers today, we are not under the Mosaic law...we are under Christ's law (to love God and love others). The Mosaic law was given to Israel and guided them Morally, Ceremonially, and Judicially. The law is holy, just, and good, and had a purpose.
Gal 3:23-25 clarifies the purpose of the law. "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."
The law served as a disciplinarian to educate Israel on God's standard to live a life of holiness. Paul said, "I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." Ro 7:7.
And this is what the law does. It lays out the standard, just like a 55 MPH sign on the Highway. And, then you have to decide are you going to obey the law! If we are all honest, most of us break the law or justify bending the law (which is still breaking the law)...Some people, not you people, other people justify "Well, the Police extend 10 MPH of grace, so I can actually drive 65 MPH." But, is that the law? No. And, so as we realize we cannot keep the law, the purpose of the law is to point us to the only means by which we can stand right before God...by faith in Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for all the times we broke the law. When God sees us law breakers, He does not extend punishment to us for our transgressions, because Jesus already paid the price, thus God only sees us as righteous (right with Him) and justified (just as if the transgression never occured) IF we have faith in Jesus Christ. 
So, here in Matt 5:19 Jesus states "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments..." What is Jesus talking about when He refers in Matt 5:19 to the "least of these commandments"? Is He talking about the Ten Commandments, the OT Law...is this what we are to do and teach? 
Yes, but let me clarify. We are to do and teach the entirety of the OT Law and Prophets. But, remember what we just talked about...what is the purpose of the law? "...the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." 
Once you have faith in Christ, the laws purpose is fulfilled. You are now living out the intent of the law...to bring you to Christ. This is the beginning of how you fulfill the "doing" of the law. 
But, there are also behavioral requirements...expectations for us as kingdom citizens. Now that you are saved, here's how you are to be... 
James 1:22 tells us "...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Rom 8:4 states "...the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
On Rom 8:4 MacDonald stated, "As we turn over the control of our lives to the Holy Spirit, He empowers us to love God and to love our neighbor, and that, after all, is what the law requires."
The law places a demand on your walk...how you live your life...it is to be a life of holiness...according to the Spirit...not a life centered on sin...according to the flesh. The OT law emphasized holy living, and the NT law of Christ is no different. 
Listen to what John wrote regarding our Christian walk, how we are to live our lives...
1 Jn 2:3-6 "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."
As we walk as Jesus did (namely by loving God and loving others) we will keep His commandments motivated out of our love for Him.
Notice what happens to the person that breaks even the least of the commandments...they are called least in the kingdom of heaven. A stern warning! 
This does not mean they are kicked out of the kingdom of heaven. They don't lose their salvation. They are still going to heaven, but there is a penalty in their ranking....they are not called the greatest, but the least. 
In this verse, and in other verses, we observe a gradation amongst kingdom citizens. I don't know exactly how it works in heaven, but there is a ranking of kingdom citizens. Your faithfulness and obedience now, will determine your hierarchy in eternity. 
I don't know about you, but I want to be called great in the kingdom of heaven, so I'm going to take this literally. I'm going to do and teach these commandments. 
And, just so there is no confusion, remember the commandments of the OT law were divided into Moral, Ceremonial, and Judicial Laws. 
The Ceremonial laws and Judicial laws were given to Israel, and fulfilled in Jesus' life and death, and no longer are applicable to believers. The whole sacrificial system whereby Jews sacrificed animals to as a covering for their sins...this was done away with for the Christian because we trust in Jesus' perfect sacrifice that fully propitiated or satisfied God's wrath on sin. 
So, we are not in danger of breaking the Ceremonial and Judicial laws...we do not need to be concerned about being called least in the kingdom for not following these commandments, because we have faith that Jesus already accomplished this.
We should still read the OT and teach the law especially under the understanding and context that the Ceremonial and Judicial systems are a shadow of Christ. 
However, the Moral laws, most of which are summarized in the Ten Commandments, stand to this day because we see them reiterated numerous times in the NT. 
As we go through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will address numerous Moral laws. He will not only address them, but He will correct the wrong teaching of them. The Pharisees only taught an outside observance, but Jesus will cut to the heart, the intent, our motives and whether they are pure...laying out a higher standard of keeping the law in the NT than that of the OT law.
Later Jesus will state the Greatest Commandment is to Love God, and your neighbor as yourself...this summarizes the Ten Commandments (1st four - love God and last 6- love neighbors) and Jesus said, "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Mth 22:40 
So, if you want to be great in the kingdom of God, it's important to observe the commandments and to teach the commandments..."the whole counsel of God"...the entire OT and NT, but it's also important that we "rightly divide the word of truth." It's important that we understand the totality of scripture and what applies to us today, being that we are under Christ's law, so that we do not oppress believers with legalistic demands, and a works based philosophy for salvation.

continue to verse 20 

Matt 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus just laid out a strict warning in the previous verse, and now He makes this daunting statement...imagine what His audience, the disciples were thinking at this point. I imagine their heart sank into their chest because, from their perspective, this is an impossible statement. No one exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. 
The Religious leaders (the Scribes and Pharisees) devoted their lives to the law...and no one kept the law like they did. When it came to studying, teaching, and observing the Law (at least externally)...they were professionals. BECAUSE, they held to a works based system to achieve righteousness...to be right with God. They believed their right standing with God came by what they did, and what they did not do. 
I want to quickly break down the law (a quick recap from last week). And, I want to overwhelm you a bit by the law, not just for the sake of overwhelming you (I'm not a sadist), but I do want you to feel a little overwhelmed to empathize with the Disciples, because Jesus said "...unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." 
I imagine He took the wind out of their sails when He made that statement because the law plus all the rules the Jews added to it was overwhelming. And, Jesus said the Disciples would not enter the kingdom of heaven, unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus presents the Disciples with an impossibility...at least by sight. 
So, here's the recap...God gave The Law to Moses. The law is called the Written Torah...the first 5 books of the Bible. 
The law has 613 Commandments (or Mitzvot) mostly in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, but Numbers also lists a few laws...613 laws (365 Don'ts and 248 Do's).
Imagine having that list on your fridge?
Jews did not think there was enough clarification in the Bible on how to keep these laws, so they added a mile wide hedge of protection around these 613 laws. 
They did this by adding Oral Torah (supposedly laws also given by God, but not in the Bible) and then added various customs, traditions, decrees, and interpretations from Rabbis. In Jesus' day, all that the Jews added to the law was already overwhelming, and by the 2nd Century it became formalized. 
The Oral Torah was later ascribed into the Mishnah and Gemara which form the Talmud- which consists mainly of commentary and discussions on Jewish history, Jewish law (especially practical life applications), and culture and customs. 
in Judaism, the commentaries of the Talmud are just as important as the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh). So, not only do they hold the Hebrew Bible as authoritative, but also they hold the commentaries of the Talmud as authoritative. I love a good commentary as much as the next guy, but I don't elevate any of them to the level of scripture. 
The first commentary, the Mishnah, is a work compiled from various Rabbis from A.D. 70 to A.D. 200. A.D. The Mishnah contains 63 discussions on the law which are broken down by six orders (topics about seeds, festivals, women, damages, holy things, and purity), and then within each of these topics were 7-12 tractates or dissertations, each of which was divided further into chapters. 
From A.D. 200-500 additional commentaries on the Mishnah were recorded called the Gemara.
The Gemara was studied in Jerusalem and in Babylon, so there became 2 Gemaras. 
Since there are 2 Gemaras, there are 2 Talmuds (a Jerusalem Talmud and a Babylonian Talmud). 
Listen to this, last detail, and if your not overwhelmed yet, this should do it...The Babylonian Talmud alone has 2,711 pages...2,711 pages...that's a lot. 
My Cambridge New King James Bible has 1065 pages. The Talmud has almost 3x the amount of content as the Bible...and they hold it as divinely inspired. 
I hope you are somewhat overwhelmed. Next time you see a traditional Jew, give 'em a hug! They need it! 
And, I recognize that the expanded commentaries came after Jesus' time, but the foundation of excess was already there in Jesus' time. 
Later in Jesus' ministry He would say, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith." Mt 23:23.
The scribes were meticulous to keep the law...paying tithe from their herb gardens even. But, they missed the central teaching of the law. They majored in the minors. They had ritual, but no reality. Religion, but no relationship. 
Don't let that be said of you. 
And so, back in Matthew I hope you can appreciate what Jesus is saying to His disciples "...unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
The Disciples must have been thinking, "Well, how is that possible? EXCEED the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? Impossible." 
Actually, Not impossible at all. 
What was the basis of how the Pharisees were attempting to be righteous? 
Outside observance...works. And if that is your system...who are you trusting to earn your righteousness? Yourself. 
And, that is exactly the problem with this type of system and why it will never work. BECAUSE it does not operate in faith. It removes God from the picture. It is a self-righteous system. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was entirely external and therefore insufficient. 
Do you know what the Bible says about our righteousness?
Isa 64:6 "...we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags..."
So, how do you exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees? Do you keep the law better than they did? No. 
You do it by faith. When your system for righteousness is based on faith, you remove yourself from picture. It's no longer about you. You are not trusting yourself, but you are bringing God into the picture and placing your trust in Him. And, by doing that, you exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
Notice, in Matthew, Jesus didn't explain that to the Disciples, He doesn't, at this time, tell them that it's by faith they will enter the kingdom of heaven...it's by faith they exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. He just continues teaching looking deeper into the intent of the law...imagine what they were thinking and feeling. But, His teaching method causes a person to search spiritually. Each time you are in the word or listening to a biblical teaching, prayerfully you are being effected as well. I pray that when I read or hear that living word, that the Lord deals with me. That He reveals deficiencies and the areas of my life that I need to give to Him. I thank God that I can come to the Lord, in faith, and ask Him to help me to live a life of holiness, because I cannot do it on my own. 
Being righteous by faith was not a new teaching- this has always been how man stands righteous before God...even in the OT.
Rom Chapter 4 is a great chapter to read on this topic. Rom 4:6 tells us that "God imputes righteousness apart from works..."
Imputes in Gk. lŏgizŏmai, log-id´-zom-ahee; is an accounting word that means to take an inventory. 10x in the short 25 verses of Rom 4; appearing as: imputed, accounted, counted. 
In Rom 4 we observe repeated accounts of how Abraham was righteous because of his faith in God, not because of his works. 
Rom 4 begins with, "... if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? [Quoting Gen 15:6} "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
Since Genesis, righteousness has always come by faith, not by works. As one has faith in God, God imputes righteousness. It's like he gives a credit to your account. Because of faith, you are credited with righteous before God. 
Rom 4 concludes on how all of us also can get that same credit to our account. 
"It [righteousness] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..." Rom 4:24-5:1 
Faith is how your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, and faith is how you enter the kingdom of heaven. All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags and will not grant us entrance into the kingdom of heaven, no matter how meticulous you are in keeping the law. That's not how God works. It did not work for the Pharisees and it does not work in any religious system that teaches works today. 
He did not accept the offering of Cain- the fruits of his labor; God accepted the offering of Abel- a blood offering in faith. Heb 11:4 states. "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous." 
He is God, and we are not. He standard is we have to come to him by faith...not by our standard...not by our works. And, I'm glad. How much easier is it to come to God in faith? Just let go...and trust God. 

Let's continue to verse 21...we are not really going to delve into this next segment, but we are going to look at a phrase in this next segment, that appears in several subsequent segments. Starting in verse 21, Jesus states, "You have heard it that it was said..." and then He follows with, "But I say to you..." 

We will see these phrases, or a similar phrase, repeated six (6) times in Matthew Chapter 5 (verse 21, verse 27, verse 31, verse 33, verse 38, and verse 43). In Matthew, Jesus explains the common teaching of the time from the Rabbis on Murder, Adultery, Divorce, Oaths, Retaliation, and Love. The teaching of the Rabbis was falling short of the true intent of God's word, thus Jesus will say, "But I say to you..." which highlights His greater authority over the teaching of the Rabbis. 
At the end of the sermon in Matt 7:28-29, it is recorded "...the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." 
That's a huge statement. The scribes and Pharisees lacked authority because they were quoting other Rabbis. They found their authority in the commentary and traditions of men, whereas Jesus was the authority, and went directly to the source- Himself, since He is God. 
When I prepare a message, I look at the commentaries of men, but my sermon is not shaped by them, it's shaped by the Holy Spirit and prayer. God's Holy Spirit in-dwells me and in-dwells you, and we have access to the source when we walk "...according to the Spirit."
And, so as Jesus makes this statement "You have heard it was said"..."But, I say to you..." which expounds upon everything we have talked about today. The importance of doing and teaching these commandments, and especially accurately "rightly dividing the word of truth," so that you are called great in the kingdom of heaven. The importance of applying the heart of the scriptures by faith which exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. 
There is a logical flow to Jesus's teachings that bring us to this next section of His sermon. 
When Jesus states "you have heard it was said"..."But I say to you" and there are 2 major observations we can pull from these statements. The Jews were being taught, but they were not being taught entirely accurately.
"You have heard it was said" tells us that the Jews were being taught...they were receiving oral instruction from the Rabbis, Scribes, and Pharisees about the scriptures. Oral Instruction was needed because of a few issues common in Jesus' time: 
The first issue Jews faced was accessibility. The printing press was not yet invented, and the word of God was not readily available. Not every home had a Bible. In my house, I have more Bibles than people, plus Logos Bible Software. Anyone with internet has access to a number of great free resources like blueletterbible.com. We have it so good!
There are many countries today that do not even have 1 Bible. Don't take your privilege for granted. Jesus said, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required..." Lk 12:48. 
Here's a soul searching question to take a walk with this week... "What are you doing with your privilege?"
Ps 1 states this about the blessed man "...his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night."
We have no issue with accessibility to the word of God. Our struggle is we have too much accessibility to everything else, and our spiritual lives have become highly distracted. 
The second issue Jews faced was language translation. If you were fortunate enough to have a scroll of the Hebrew Bible, you may not understand the language because it was written in Hebrew. In 1st century Judea, Aramaic was the common language and Koine Greek was rapidly spreading, so not everyone spoke Hebrew. 
The third issue was literacy, it's difficult to say what percentage of the population could read in 1st century Judea. Many of the men were literate as the Law commanded reading the scriptures. But, certainly not everyone read, especially since girls were not given a formal education. Around 400 B.C., Ezra began instituting education systems in Jerusalem, but the school system did not officially begin until 64 A.D. 
So, when you see "You have heard it was said..." now you get a picture why. Many of the Jews exclusively heard the word of God through the teaching of the Rabbis, and those who had the privilege of owning a copy of the Scriptures still heard teachings from the Rabbis. And, all were getting taught inaccurate doctrine...
...As observed by Jesus' statement, "But I say to you..." 
What the Jews were hearing was not accurately capturing the intent of the law. They were being taught a strict external observance of the law, but the leaders were neglecting the true intent of the law, internal holiness.
And, to be honest with you, how many of us a guilty of this in reverse today? How many of us read the scriptures, or listen to a sermon, and neglect the message of the word of God. The Scribes and Pharisees followed the law down to the letter. Many Christians today treat the Bible like an elective course. God forgive us! 
In Jesus' day, there were many Rabbis that the people heard from, but two of the most influential Rabbis were Shammai and Hillel. Their commentaries on the Torah influenced Jewish theology for hundreds of years. 
Shammai was said to have very conservative teaching- emphasizing the need for worship in the temple; and interpreting the scriptures in a strict, literal, and Israel-centric fashion. 
Hillel's teaching was more liberal- less concerned about temple worship, less strict and literal, and tolerant and accepting of Gentiles. 
After the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, the more liberal Hillelite school gained dominance...sadly the people liked the liberal ideas. 
So, which of these schools of thought did Jesus line up with? Trick question...neither. Jesus lined up with the truth...with Himself. Now there were aspects of both schools that lined up with Jesus' true teachings. Jesus was more strict and literal, but not legalistic; and certainly He was accepting of the Gentiles "for God so loved the world."
John 12:49-50 sums up Jesus' teachings nicely, "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
Thus Jesus says to His disciples, "You have heard it said..."; "But I say to you..." Jesus taught by direct authority of the Father, with whom He is one.
Like the Jews, we too "...have heard it said..." You have access to the teachings of many religious leaders, and there are some who are not rightly dividing the word of truth. It is important for us to go to the source...Jesus said, "But, I say to you..." What's He saying to you? 
If you do not have an answer to that question...if Jesus is not saying anything to you...I must ask a second question... How much time are you spending with Him? How much time are you in prayer, in His word, listening to teachings from trusted teachers? 
We are instructed to "do and teach" the commandments of Jesus, but we have to get in order to give. In order to do, we should have already have done. 
We are going to take communion today, and if you are feeling convicted, if you are feeling lacking...pray to God today to help you have victory in these spiritual disciplines. Pray the Holy Spirit would give you a passion and a desire for the word of God...starting today!
Let it be said of you in eternity that you are great in the kingdom of heaven. 

Worship team come.
We have looked at some big topics today. The importance of doing and teaching the word of God accurately, and the warning or commendation of being called least or great in the kingdom of God depending upon our faithfulness in this lifetime. Part of our accurate teaching hinges upon us coming to God in faith, not by works...by doing so we exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. And, we looked at the importance of who has our ear... "You have heard it was said..." We can listen to messages that tickle our ears, but what is Jesus saying to you? Are you going direct to the source for truth? 

Let's Pray! 

Read ahead...the rest of Chapter 5 as we will delve into some of the specific commandments starting next week. Now we are going to have communion. 



Communion: 1 Cor 11:23-29
"...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

Examine Yourself
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Usher please come...

As our ushers is coming around, please take a moment search your soul and silently confess anything you need to God...maybe meditate on where you are in comparison to the Beatitudes. As Paul exhorted, we are to examine ourselves and take communion in a worthy manner. Once you are finished doing business with God, go ahead an take the communion elements, individually, when you are ready. We are not going to take the elements together, I want you to have an intimate time of prayer and communion with the Lord. Our worship team will play a worship song, and then close us in prayer. 

If you are not saved, if you have never confessed Jesus is your Lord, you have a couple options, either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion because then you would be taking the communion in an unworthy manner, -or- the better option... if you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, come up to me as the ushers are distributing the bread and the grape juice, and we will pray together, and you can partake in communion today. 

Please distribute the elements...
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