Sermon Tone Analysis

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Carson, D. A. (1984).

Matthew.

In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.),

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol.

8, p. 161).

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

1_Jesus said what?

2_Why is God called “perfect”?

Nowhere is God directly and absolutely called “perfect” in the OT: he is perfect in knowledge () or in his way (), and a man’s name may be “Yahweh is perfect” (so yōṯām [Jotham], ; ).

But here for the first time perfection is predicated of God

Nowhere is God directly and absolutely called “perfect” in the OT: he is perfect in knowledge (Job 37:16) or in his way (Ps 18:30), and a man’s name may be “Yahweh is perfect” (so yōṯām [Jotham], Judg 9:5; 2 Kings 15:32).

But here for the first time perfection is predicated of God

Job 37:

;32

3_The Law points to all the perfection of God

Psalm 19:

4_Jesus is summarizing God’s will for you in the OT in one verse

Genesis

Genesis 2:25

5_Jesus has a special plan for you

"— “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees did have righteousness, but they had the wrong kind of righteousness.

They went about trying to establish their own righteousness ( ).

The Messiah was the goal of studying the law, and only he could provide divine righteousness.

What is so sad as you study the gospel accounts is that the religious leaders had spent so much of their lives studying and learning, but they had neglected the Torah’s true teachings.

How could this happen?

Man’s traditions and interpretations of the scriptures blind men from seeing their need of Christ Himself.

This is exactly why the Messiah healed on the Sabbath, because the religious leaders were not showing mercy to others; they were worried about looking pious on the outside.

The righteousness that allows a person to enter into the kingdom of heaven is the righteousness that has been provided by faith in the sinless Savior ( ).

The Lord Jesus the Christ is our righteousness Yehovah Tisedkenu!

( , )." from Matthew, the Hebrew Gospel by Carroll Roberson.

"— “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees did have righteousness, but they had the wrong kind of righteousness.

They went about trying to establish their own righteousness ( ).

The Messiah was the goal of studying the law, and only he could provide divine righteousness.

What is so sad as you study the gospel accounts is that the religious leaders had spent so much of their lives studying and learning, but they had neglected the Torah’s true teachings.

How could this happen?

Man’s traditions and interpretations of the scriptures blind men from seeing their need of Christ Himself.

This is exactly why the Messiah healed on the Sabbath, because the religious leaders were not showing mercy to others; they were worried about looking pious on the outside.

The righteousness that allows a person to enter into the kingdom of heaven is the righteousness that has been provided by faith in the sinless Savior ( ).

The Lord Jesus the Christ is our righteousness Yehovah Tisedkenu!

( , )." from Matthew, the Hebrew Gospel by Carroll Roberson.

"— “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees did have righteousness, but they had the wrong kind of righteousness.

They went about trying to establish their own righteousness ( ).

The Messiah was the goal of studying the law, and only he could provide divine righteousness.

What is so sad as you study the gospel accounts is that the religious leaders had spent so much of their lives studying and learning, but they had neglected the Torah’s true teachings.

How could this happen?

Man’s traditions and interpretations of the scriptures blind men from seeing their need of Christ Himself.

This is exactly why the Messiah healed on the Sabbath, because the religious leaders were not showing mercy to others; they were worried about looking pious on the outside.

The righteousness that allows a person to enter into the kingdom of heaven is the righteousness that has been provided by faith in the sinless Savior ( ).

The Lord Jesus the Christ is our righteousness Yehovah Tisedkenu!

( , )." from Matthew, the Hebrew Gospel by Carroll Roberson.

"— “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees did have righteousness, but they had the wrong kind of righteousness.

They went about trying to establish their own righteousness ( ).

The Messiah was the goal of studying the law, and only he could provide divine righteousness.

What is so sad as you study the gospel accounts is that the religious leaders had spent so much of their lives studying and learning, but they had neglected the Torah’s true teachings.

How could this happen?

Man’s traditions and interpretations of the scriptures blind men from seeing their need of Christ Himself.

This is exactly why the Messiah healed on the Sabbath, because the religious leaders were not showing mercy to others; they were worried about looking pious on the outside.

The righteousness that allows a person to enter into the kingdom of heaven is the righteousness that has been provided by faith in the sinless Savior ( ).

The Lord Jesus the Christ is our righteousness Yehovah Tisedkenu!

( , )." from Matthew, the Hebrew Gospel by Carroll Roberson.

"— “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

The ultimate goal of a person in God’s kingdom is to be like God!

The cultural and traditional teachings of the Torah had been lowered to fit their own lifestyles ( ).

But the Messiah came to rightly explain the Torah, and this would guide the people to be more like the Father, not just like other so-called good people.

When we read these kingdom standards, there is no way that we can live up to them, and this is the point.

It is impossible without God’s presence in our lives.

We admit that we cannot live up to these standards, then God forgives us, and we get back in the race again, setting our goal on being like Jesus." from Matthew, the Hebrew Gospel by Carroll Roberson.

Nowhere is God directly and absolutely called “perfect” in the OT: he is perfect in knowledge (Job 37:16) or in his way (Ps 18:30), and a man’s name may be “Yahweh is perfect” (so yōṯām [Jotham], Judg 9:5; 2 Kings 15:32).

But here for the first time perfection is predicated of God

6_As flawed as we are, Jesus calls us to live with “naked integrity”

Hebrews 10:2

7_Seek to be complete in Christ

7_Seek to be complete in Christ

Completely in love

Completely in awe

Completely in touch

Completely dependent

Completely in obedience

In the light of the preceding verses (vv.

17–47), Jesus is saying that the true direction in which the law has always pointed is not toward mere judicial restraints, concessions arising out of the hardness of men’s hearts, still less casuistical perversions, nor even to the law of love (contra C. Dietzfelbinger, “Die Antithesen der Berg predigt im Verständnis des Matthäus,” ZNW 70 [1979]: 1–15; cf.

further on 22:34–35).

No, it pointed rather to all the perfection of God, exemplified by the authoritative interpretation of the law bound up in the preceding antitheses.

This perfection Jesus’ disciples must emulate if they are truly followers of him who fulfills the Law and the Prophets (v.

17).