Christ’s Disciples and the Law
Matthew 5:19-20
As Jesus began His ministry, He began proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. He was calling people to repentance and to follow Him. But as His influence grew so did the questions about His teaching.
In the day of Jesus our Old Testament, what they often called “the law and the prophets” (Matt. 5:17), was their holy scripture. As the ministry of Jesus grew and people became familiar with His teaching questions began to arise about His views of the Old Testament Scriptures. Does He hold to the law and the prophets? Is He teaching something apart from the Old Testament Law? Is He trying to abolish the Law or replace it?
1. Christ’s relationship to God’s law (Matthew 5:17-18).
Last time we considered the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament in Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus said that He did not come to abolish or destroy the law or the prophets. He came to fulfill them: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures.
The basis for Jesus fulfilling the scriptures is found in the abiding authority of the God’s word. Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18). The scriptures, by its very nature as the word of the eternal God, could never be annulled or set aside. It had to be fulfilled. Everything will happen just as God has said it will happen. When heaven and earth itself have finally passed away, it will be known to all that not a single word that the Lord had spoken will have failed.
That is what Jesus taught about the scriptures. And that truth lays the foundation for the what Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:19-20. Here He answers the questions: What is the relationship between the disciple of Christ and the commands of God? What’s our relationship with the Law? And how do we obtain righteousness?
Our relationship to the Law is a direct consequence of Jesus’ assertion that the law of God would never pass away until all of it is fulfilled, and that He Himself did not come to set it aside but to fulfill it. So, Jesus teaches, “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. 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.”
2. Christ’s disciples’ relationship to the law (Matt. 5:19-20).
I want us to follow the logic here again. The conjunction, “For,” in Matthew 5:20 tells us that what follows is the basis for what Jesus stated in Matthew 5:19. So let’s look at Matthew 5:20 first.
Jesus makes the assertion that the righteousness of His disciples must exceed the righteousness of even the scribes and the Pharisees, or they aren’t really His disciples and that they will “by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now; that must have shocked His listeners! People in that culture couldn’t imagine anyone who was more righteous, more of a law-keeper, than a scribe or a Pharisee.
A scribe was a careful scholar of the law of God. The scribes had drawn out from God’s written law 613 specific commandments; 248 of them positive commands, “you shall do this,” and 365 of them negative prohibitions, “you shall not do this.” And a Pharisee was a member of an order of devout laymen who devoted themselves to conform their lives to these various commands and prohibitions and to promote them in public life.
What was wrong with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees?
By saying, “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” (Matt. 5:18), Jesus revealed a common misconception of His day. The Jewish people had actually started to replace God’s Law with a new standard. They replaced God’s Law with the standard of “the scribes and Pharisees.” The scribes had so teachings about the Law that most Jews followed those teachings instead of the Law itself. The result was that instead of studying the Law and seeking to be like God, the Jewish people studied the oral traditions and teaching of the Pharisees and sought to be like them. They had replaced God’s divine and holy standard with a man-made one.
They had substituted a legalistic code of regulations that better suited the abilities of man, and were using this code as a means of declaring themselves righteous. It was this misuse and neglect of the written law that provokes Jesus’ teaching in the second half of Matthew 5 where Jesus repeatedly teaches, “You have heard that it was said …but I say” (Matt. 5:21, 22; etc.). The people were actually avoiding God’s Law by seeking to fulfill a different standard, a man-made standard.
And people are still doing that today. So many, even in Christian churches, want to redefine God’s holy standard, degrade God’s laws to conform to their preferred behavior, and therefore consider themselves to be right with God. The problem with that is what Jesus has already taught in Matthew 5:17-18. God’s holy law, God’s written word, cannot be amended or annulled. It stands as the abiding authority now and forever. Regardless of whether you believe God’s word or not, God will use His word as the standard. God will judge men by the standard of His law.
You will not be measured by the standard of men. You will be measured by the standard of God. Isaiah 28:16-17 says,
16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. 17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.”
When you stand before God, He will not drop a Pharisee down beside you. When you stand before God, He will not prop you up next to a scribe. God will measure you by the perfect standard of His holy Law and the one man who perfectly fulfilled that law, Jesus Christ the sure foundation, the precious cornerstone.
You cannot remove the Law, annul the Law, or ignore the Law. It stands forever, all of it. If you don’t fully obey the whole Law of God, if you do not have the righteousness of Christ, you will not enter heaven. James 2:10 says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
The main problem with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was that their conformity to God’s law was an external and superficial one. It hadn’t reached down to the heart. Jesus had a favorite term for those whose righteousness was only skin deep: hypocrites. Seven times in Matthew 23 Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). Listen to what Jesus said about the hypocrites later in the Sermon on the Mount, He said:
Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly (Matthew 6:1-4).
Or;
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him (Matthew 6:5-8).
Or;
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:16-18).
You see; God is concerned with an obedience to His law; but He seeks an obedience that comes from the heart. This explains Jesus’ comments on the law in the rest of chapter 5. He was not giving a new law; but calling for a level of obedience to the law that went past external conformity to the letter of the law and on to the internal conformity to the very spirit of the law. The letter of law, for example, said that we should not murder; but Jesus showed that this means not even calling someone a name in anger, and being ready to make peace with those whom we have wronged (Matthew 5:21-26). The letter of the law says that we are not to commit adultery; but Jesus showed us that this means not even looking at someone with lust in our hearts (Matt. 5:27-30). The Jews had interpreted the law to command divorce; but Jesus showed that the real intention was to honor marriage (Matt. 5:31-32). The law permitted the use of oaths; but Jesus showed that the intention was to promote the telling of the truth (Matt. 5:33-37). The law permitted “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth“; but Jesus showed that the intention of the law was to prevent revenge and call us to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:38-42). The law said that we should love our neighbor; but Jesus showed that the intention was that we also love our enemy (Matt. 5:43-48).
Jesus taught that the law was summed up in this: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind“; and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). He showed us that, for us, in the words of Paul: “. . . He who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). Jesus did not come to lower the standard. He showed that it was higher than any of us could ever attain on our own. Jesus didn’t remove the standard, He made a way for us to attain it.
Jesus brought obedience to God’s commandments to the heart level. And the only way this could happen is if we are given a new heart. God promises, “. . . I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezk. 36:25-27). He does this for us as a gift of His grace through Jesus Christ. And then, we are made new creations in Christ, not to set His law aside, but to keep it by His enabling power through His indwelling Holy Spirit.
Jesus has fulfilled the law perfectly. He fulfilled it through His obedience to it. He fulfilled it in accomplishing what the Scriptures promised. And He will see to it that, till heaven and earth pass away, nothing of the law will ever fail. But He doesn’t come to us and say, “I have fulfilled the law. You’re now released from any obligation to it. Stop. You no longer have to keep it.” Instead, He unites us together with Him in His death and resurrection so that He now lives through us to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. Paul writes about it this way:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom 8:1-4 NKJV)
You see when people seek to get rid of the Law, all they are really doing is trying to get rid of their need for Jesus. Because if the Law doesn’t matter then Jesus isn’t needed. But if the Law is still in full effect, then everyone in this place needs the righteousness that only Jesus can provide.
If you have never died with Christ and been raised with Him then you had better get to studying the law in your Old Testament. And you had better make sure you never break a command, because the Law explains the righteousness that God requires and by which He judges. And by it you will be condemned.
Or, you can place your faith in the only One Who ever did fulfill it and depend on His righteousness instead of your own. The Law still stands. It can never be removed. But Jesus Christ has made a way for you and I to fulfill it. As the apostle Paul has written, “. . . Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Gal. 2:16). 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 says, “20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
You see, unless your righteousness exceeds that superficial, outward conformity to letter of the law that characterized the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. But if you have the righteousness of Christ imputed to you and imparted in you, yours in the kingdom of heaven. John R.W. Stott wrote, “Christian righteousness far surpasses Pharisaic righteousness in kind rather than in degree . . . Christian righteousness is greater than Pharisaic righteousness because it is deeper, being a righteousness of the heart . . . The righteousness which is pleasing to God is an inward righteousness of mind and motive. For the Lord looks at the heart.”[i]
And that kind of righteousness serves as the basis of what Jesus says in Matthew 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.”
What is Jesus doing here? I take it that the people Jesus is speaking of will be in heaven, because Jesus is speaking to disciples; and besides, someone would naturally have to be “in” heaven to be the “least” in it. But clearly, Jesus is teaching us that our experience of honor in the kingdom of heaven is determined, in part at least, by how we treat God’s precious law on earth.
Here Jesus gives:
- A warning for those who neglect God’s commands (Matt. 5:19a). Jesus is making it clear that the Law of God is not to be ignored. He warns those who would minimize His commands or teach others to do the same.
- A blessing for those who obey God’s commands (Matt. 5:19b). The emphasis is clear in the contrast – there’s a warning for those who neglect His command and blessing for those who do them and teach others to do the same.
Is Jesus taking us back to some kind of obedience to the Law as a means of salvation? No! But He is focusing His lens on the connection between faithful, heartfelt obedience and those who assume they will have a position in the kingdom because of their own home-made, self-justifying righteousness. If His disciples believed that they could earn a place in the kingdom by legalistic, self-justification, instead of with heartfelt obedience to God, they were wrong. That attitude has no part in the kingdom. Instead, kingdom righteousness requires what the Law itself required. It requires heartfelt obedience characterized by the love of God.
One of the characteristics of someone who is a true disciple of Jesus Christ is that they have a transformed heart with respect to the law of God. They love God’s law as their Savior loved it, and they seek to honor it as He honored it. And they are enabled by the indwelling Christ to keep it from the heart. They obey God’s word from the heart and they teach others to do the same. And they are blessed with greatness in the kingdom of heaven.
This is why we concentrate on teaching the whole truth of the word of God. This is why we teach it verse-by-verse. Our God’s holy word abides forever. May that fact drive us back to The Beatitudes, back to the beginning as those who are poor in spirit before God; as those who mourn over our short-fallenness with respect to God’s holy demands; as those who are meek before God in seeking His pardoning grace; and most certainly, as those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” so that we may be filled with the righteousness of Christ.
[i] John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 80.
