Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: Matthew 5,20-26. 6. Trinity

Matthew 5,20-26 3921

6. Trinitatis 051

Pius, Bishop of Rome, Martyr 150

11. Juli 2021

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, we confess that we are poor, wretched sinners, and that there is no good in us, our hearts, flesh and blood being so corrupted by sin, that we never in this life can be without sinful lust [desire to sin] and concupiscence [corrupted nature]; therefore we beseech You, dear Father, forgive us these sins, and let Your Holy Spirit so cleanse our hearts so that we may desire and love Your Word, abide by it, and thus by Your grace be forever saved. Amen. (Veit Dietrich)

2. »Jesus taught them: „For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ²¹You have heard that it was said to those of old: You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says: ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴then leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then go and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.“«

3. Jesus tells us that righteousness is the key to entering the reign of heaven. The Gospel according to St. Matthew says that there are two types of righteousness, but only one of them unlocks heaven. The first type of righteousness is that of the scribes and Pharisees. The disciples were familiar with this righteousness, for it had become part and parcel of 1. century ad Judaism and most likely they heard it taught and preached by their rabbis in the synagogues. The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous in keeping the entire Law of Moses, and to ensure this they crafted 600 additional precepts from the law that, if one followed, then one was certain it to be keeping and obeying the 10 Commandments. They called these additional precepts the tradition of the elders (Matthew 15). The Pharisees followed the letter of the law, the Mosaic covenant and the traditions of the elders. They prayed, tithed and worshiped. They did not murder, commit adultery or steal. As to righteousness under the law, the Pharisees were blameless (Philippians 3,6). Ultimately, the scribes and Pharisees determine and measure of righteousness quantitatively: like a checklist (Gibbs 274). Jesus’ Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector highlights this approach. The Pharisee: fair in my financial dealings, acts justly, faithful to my wife, fast twice a week and tithed; check, check, check, check and check, ergo I am righteous. The tax collector: extortioner, unjust, can’t tithe because my income is obtained by stealing others wealth; demerit, demerit and demerit, ergo, the Pharisees judges that the tax collector is unrighteous.

4. The disciples, on the other hand, have a different, a second, type of righteousness. Jesus fills them with righteousness (Gibbs 274). This is a qualitative and relational righteousness; it is not one determined or measured quantitatively as the Pharisees did (Gibbs 274). Thus, good works do not cause salvation (Gibbs 273). The Pharisee would say: I am keeping the Law and here are my list of good works that prove I am keeping the law, therefore I am righteous by the merit of keeping the law. The Christian says: I am righteous on account of Jesus, and from this righteousness I do good works.

5. This is why Jesus tells us: your righteousness shall exceed more greatly than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. To understand what Jesus is saying here is simply this: the scribes and Pharisees are not Jesus’ disciples (Gibbs 273). They are Jesus’ opponents who reject His claim that He is the Messiah. They do possess a certain kind of righteousness, and they manifest it in their behavior (Gibbs 273). It is, however, a righteousness that is entirely cut off from Jesus and so is not true righteousness, not truly good works at all (Gibbs 273).

6. Just a few verses earlier Jesus said: »Do not think that I have arrived to do away with the Law or the Prophets; I did not arrive to do away with them, rather, to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until the heavens and the earth pass away, one letter or one stroke will certainly not pass away from the Law, until all things take place« (Matthew 5,17-18). Jesus has not arrived to abolish or negate the Law and the Prophets, nor has He arrived to merely repeat what the Law and the Prophets say; but He has arrived to fulfill them (Gibbs 267). Why does He fulfill the Old Testament? A: God’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) in dealing with Israel and the world was incomplete in the Old Testament; an underlying theme of the Old Testament is that it looks forward to, and hopes for, God to enter this world in a decisive way. The Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Malachi, to name just a few, are examples of speaking of a future arrival of God. »The time is arriving to gather all nations and languages, and they will go and will see My Glory, and I will set a sign among them« (Isaiah 66,18-19). »Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers« (Jeremiah 31,31-32). »For behold, the day is coming, … for you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings« (Malachi 4,1.2).

7. Martin Luther wrote: „All of Scripture … is pure Christ, God’s and Mary’s Son. Everything is focused on the Son, so that we might know Him distinctively and in that way see the Father and the Holy Spirit eternally as One God. To him who has the Son the Scripture is an open book; and the stronger his faith in Christ becomes, the more brightly will the light of Scripture shine for him“ (Luther 339 ¶ 1). The Old Testament is about Jesus and preparing for His Advent and proclaiming His arrival. As the Subject of the Old Testament, only Jesus can fulfill the Scriptures. The Pharisees have that same Scripture, but they have interpreted it wrongly. They had focused on the minutia of the particular laws and commandments but neglected Whom those Scriptures speak of and long for: the Messiah. The Pharisees criticized Jesus and His disciples because they don’t follow the traditions of the elders: why aren’t you fasting or washing your hands (Matthew 9,14; 15,2)? They want Jesus to conform and fit into their interpretation of the Scriptures, but Jesus cannot and will not conform because to do so will not fulfill those Scriptures.

8. First century ad Judaism was not completely wrong about everything; it preserved some elements of Old Testament teaching (Gibbs 480). The starting point, however, has to be new; Jesus Himself must be the starting point (Gibbs 480). No person or system of thought can take Jesus as an add on to an existing theology (Gibbs 481). You cannot simply slap Jesus on as a patch to repair a larger structure already in place: to do so will destroy the structure. You cannot pour Jesus like new wine into an old wine skin because that will destroy the old wine skin. All faith and practice must begin with Jesus as the Center (Gibbs 481).

9. Jesus fulfills the Scriptures. He is the Source and Center of the Scriptures. Faith in Jesus is already a surpassing righteousness to that of the Pharisees. Christian righteousness leads to the fruit of good works, and Christian good works far surpass anything the Pharisees can produce, or the 21. century people can boast of with their moral and political posturing. Jesus is the Light of the world, and we shine as little lights of Christ. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Lord,Your Name is worthy to be praised; uplift the preaching of Your Scriptures in the midst of the congregation, so that people hear and believe that You, O Christ Jesus, are Lord. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Matthew 5,20-26. 6. Trinity

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