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"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 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. 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."
- Matthew 5:17-20
We are reading the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 - 7 in Matthew's Gospel. We began with the Beatitudes, or blessings. In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven."
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." My study bible tells us that "Jesus fulfills the Law in His Person, words and actions by: (1) performing God's will in all its fullness (3:15); (2) transgressing none of the precepts of the Law (John 8:46; 14:30); (3) declaring the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which He was about to deliver to them, (4) granting righteousness -- the goal of the Law -- to us (Rom. 3:31; 8:3-4; 10:4). He fulfills the Prophets by carrying out fully what they had foretold about Him."
"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." My study bible explains, "Assuredly is amen in Greek, meaning 'verily,' 'of a truth,' 'so be it.' Christ uses it as a solemn affirmation, a form of oath, even using it to preface certain proclamations. He takes an oath by Himself to underline the authority of His words. A jot is the smallest letter in the Greek and Hebrew alphabets; a tittle is the small stroke in certain Hebrew letters. Thus, the whole of the law is the foundation of the new teaching. It is fulfilled by Christ and will not pass away till heaven and earth pass away (Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17)."
"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." Another note tells us: "Righteousness which is according to the Law is a unified whole: the observance of the least of these secures the observance of the greatest, while the violation of the very least is equivalent to the violation of the greatest." Additionally, "To teach what one does not practice condemns the teacher (Romans 2:21), to do right without guiding others lessens the reward of righteousness. Jesus Himself set the doing before the teaching. We ought to do right and teach ourselves, before we attempt to set others right."
"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." My study bible says, "Righteousness is more than proper behavior, such as the scribes and Pharisees were advocating, and holy thoughts. It centers upon our relationship with God."
In the readings that follow, Jesus will clarify what He means by the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. He will take the Law to new levels, and new ways of seeing and doing. But I think that the things we take from today's reading that are important to understanding the text are Jesus' central place in all of the Scriptures. He is not just here to fulfill all righteousness (as in His allowance of the baptism in the Jordan by John) but He is present as authority itself, as the Person embodied in the Law, and the much more that He will give through His ministry. Therefore God the Word isn't limited to Jesus as we think of Him as a person or even as a divine Person, but rather Scripture is also in this sense the "living Word." As a human being, He will embody all righteousness, the word of Scripture, and we come to understand the presence of the Son throughout the spiritual history of Israel. (See John 5:39 for Jesus' testimony to this, and John 5:46-47.) My study bible points out that Jesus "swears by Himself" as an indication of authority; it's not just here in Matthew's Gospel that this happens, but throughout the Gospels there is great contention about Jesus' authority, and people remark that His teaching style is as one of authority, although He hasn't studied under a famous rabbi and made Himself a name this way. He also confers authority upon the disciples. So the verses in today's reading prepare us for Jesus' authoritative reading of and expounding upon the Law which will come in next week's readings. Jesus has just finished proclaiming His disciples to be the salt and light of the world, giving them courage to go forward with boldness embodying the gospel message, glorifying God through the light their good works are to shine in the world. His encouragement, even through persecution for His sake, is followed by His own boldness in preaching, in declaring authoritatively His doctrine, this gospel. Jesus sets His own example after His word in preaching to others. It's a kind of hidden circle in His teachings today when He declares, "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," and then He Himself proceeds to fulfill His own command through His vigorous, bold and courageous preaching and declaration of His own authority. He sets the example for His disciples. So, in so many ways, Jesus embodies the things He teaches about, even the righteousness of the Scriptures and the things He says Moses wrote about Him. He doesn't just call us to discipleship, but embodies the things He teaches first, so that we can follow. This is not just the example of true authority, it's not just the example of the great teacher, but it is the mark of true leadership, and will remain so for the rest of us for all time. He doesn't just embody this authority and teaching and leadership, but invites us to come along on this same journey toward imitation, being like Him, as adopted sons and children of God. So let us understand what true authority and leadership mean, and set our own accordance in understanding how it is we are to live our lives and think of what leadership and authority is among ourselves. His commandments of love will follow in the readings to come. We will also read His word on hypocrites.
