Nielsen’s Nook

View Other Posts in this Series:
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII

This begins a serial posting in which we will reflect and contemplate Matthew 5:13-20.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:13-20 ESV)

Introduction: Russian Roulette

There are some things in this world that are as foolish as they are deadly. Russian Roulette is a brutal and devilish game that is played by taking a revolver which holds six bullets and placing a single bullet in one of the cylinders, spinning the cylinder with the bullet inside, placing the gun to one’s head and then pulling the trigger. The participant has a 1 in 6 chance of killing himself or herself.

Now imagine that someone put one bullet in each of the six chambers in the cylinder of that revolver so that it was fully loaded. The odds would be impossible. The participant would have a one hundred percent chance of ending his or her life.

I do not know why anyone in his or her right mind would engage in this activity or even think of it in terms of a game. I suggest to you that this is precisely the parallel to the inevitable outcome of playing the “Self-Righteousness Game” - a spiritual version of Russian roulette with a fully loaded revolver - to which Jesus has directed his attention in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus has given us a paradigm here in our text for understanding what righteousness truly is. He gives us a description of those who in fact hunger and thirst for righteousness. He further exposes the destructive consequences of following our own self-made prescriptions for righteousness (i.e., for playing spiritual Russian roulette).

In verse 20, Matthew makes clear for us that Jesus is emphatic that there is no way ever that anyone who does not have righteousness that abundantly exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Apparently Jesus’ understanding of righteousness was fundamentally different than that of the Pharisees who were the Bible Teachers and Preachers of the day.

In order for us to understand the meaning of Jesus’ words in context, we must consider three things by way of introduction:

1. We need to understand what the Law of God taught.
2. Next, we will consider what the Law of the Pharisee is and how it essentially differed from the Law of God.
3. Then, we will consider what bearing Jesus’ words here - in the Sermon on the Mount - have on the Law of God and the Law of the Pharisee.