Sermon Tone Analysis

*Matthew 5:20.

Your Righteousness must Exceed that of the Pharisees, for it was Hypocritical and Ugly.*

*Everton** **Community** **Church**.

**January 20th 2008**.*

There are *many differences between* *Americans and Canadians*.

One prominent public one is the *moral expectations* that *Americans require of the political leaders*.

*Republican candidate Mitt Romney*, has been *striving expensively* and *perhaps successfully for the Republican Party nomination* for *President of the United States*.

With *South Carolina's Republicans* *voting yesterday* and *Super Tuesday* *just ahead*, *great debate* has been going on *if Americans are ready for a Mormon president*.

What’s the *standard of morality* *expected?**

*

*Quote:** * Marlisa Fullmer, a Morman reflecting on the situation said: *“*If following the *Nicene Creed* is the only determining factor for being Christian, then *I guess we're not Christians*,*"*.

*She stated that: *the *Prophet Joseph Smith*, the *first head* of the Morman Church, was *himself a declared candidate for the **U.S.** presidency in 1844*, when he was shot to death by an anti-Mormon mob while being held in an Illinois jail.

(National Post: January 18, 2008.

http:~/~/www.nationalpost.com~/newsletter~/story.html?id=247793).

With the amount of *scrutiny of political candidates*, you wonder *how anyone can run*.

But let’s *take it one step further*.

*What if the requirements for the job said* that you had to be *more gracious than Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and Guandi*.

*Who could run?*

Who would be *qualified to hold the office?*

*Jesus said:*

*Matthew **5:20*   [20]For I tell you, unless your *righteousness exceeds* that of *the scribes and Pharisees,* you will *never enter the kingdom of heaven*.

(ESV)

 

*Please turn to Luke 18*

 

It is the *false teaching of salvation by self-effort* that *Jesus confronts head-on in this verse *and which all of Scripture, from beginning to end, contradicts.

As Paul makes clear in the Book of Romans, even *Abraham*, *the father of the Jewish people*, was *saved by his faith, not by his works* (Rom.

4:3; cf.

Gen. 15:6).

In Galatians the apostle explains that “the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Gal.

3:22).

Outside of sin itself, *the Bible opposes* nothing more vehemently than the *religion of human achievement*.

*Jesus:*

*Luke 18:9-14*   [9]He also told this parable to some who *trusted in themselves* *that they were righteous*, and treated others with contempt: [10]"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

[11]The *Pharisee,* *standing by himself, prayed* thus: 'God, *I* thank you that *I* am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

[12]*I *fast twice a week; *I* give tithes of all that *I* get.' [13]But the *tax collector*, *standing far off*, would *not even lift up his eyes to heaven,* but *beat his breast*, saying, *'God, be merciful* to *me, a sinner!*' [14]I tell you, this man went down to his house *justified*, rather than the other.

For everyone who *exalts himself will be humbled*, but the one who *humbles himself will be exalted*."

(ESV)

 

*The least-esteemed* and *most-hated man in Jewish society* was the *tax-gatherer*, a *fellow Jew who had sold out to **Rome** for the purpose of collecting taxes from his brethren.*

*He extorted* *all he could get from the people*, *keeping for himself* *everything he purloined above what **Rome** required*.

*He had forsaken* both *national, social, family, and religious loyalty* *for the sake* *of money*.

*The Pharisee*, on the other hand, was *the model Jew*, *highly religious*, *moral,* and *respectable*.

Yet *Jesus said *that, *despite the tax-gatherer’s treachery and sin*, he would be *justified by God* because of his penitent faith, whereas *the Pharisee*, *despite his high morals* and *religiousness,* *would be condemned, because he trusted in his own righteousness and good works.*

In *Matthew **5:20* *Jesus teaches* that *the sort of righteousness exemplified by the Pharisees* was *not sufficient* *to gain entrance into His kingdom*.

*To Jesus’* *legalistic, works-oriented hearers*, this was doubtlessly *the most radical thing He had yet taught*.

*If the meticulously religious and moral Pharisees* *could not get into heaven, who could?*

 

*After showing *the *preeminence *(v.

17), *permanence *(v.

18), and *pertinence *(v.

19) *of Scripture*, *Jesus now shows its purpose*.

From *the context of those preceding three verses *it is clear that *He is still speaking of “the Law and the Prophets,*” the *Old Testament Scriptures.* *In saying that true righteousness exceeds the kind displayed by the scribes and Pharisees,* Jesus said that, *whatever they did with man-made tradition*, they did *not live up* *to the standards of Scripture.*

*The implied truth of Matthew **5:20* is this: *The purpose of God’s law* was *to show* that, *to please God and to be worthy of citizenship in His kingdom*, *more righteousness is required than anyone can possibly have or accomplish in himself.*

*The purpose of the law* was *not to show* *what to do in order to make oneself acceptable*, *much less to show* *how good one already is*, *but to show* *how utterly sinful and helpless all men are in themselves*.

(That is one of Paul’s themes in Romans and Galatians.)

As the Lord pointed out to the Jews *in the first beatitude*, */the initial step toward kingdom citizenship/* is *poverty of spirit*, *recognizing one’s total wretchedness and inadequacy before God.*

Therefore *Jesus shows*:  *1) The Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees 2) The Righteousness God Requires, 3) The Righteousness God Gives*

* *

*1) The Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees*

* *

Like Ezra (Ezra 7:12), the earliest /gramraateōn/ (*scribes*) were *found* *only among the priests and Levites.*

Theirs was *a profession*, a job.

*They* *recorded, studied, interpreted*, and *often taught Jewish law.*

Although there were *some* scribes *among the Sadducees*, *most *were *associated with the Pharisees.*

Israel had *two kinds of scribes*, *civil and ecclesiastical*.

The *civil scribes* *functioned somewhat like notaries*, and were *involved in various governmental* *duties*.

Shimshai (Ezra 4:8) was such a scribe.

The *ecclesiastical scribes* *devoted their time to study of the Scriptures*, and *came to be its primary interpreters* and *articulators.*

Yet, as Jesus repeatedly made plain, *they failed* *to understand** what they studied and taught.

*With all their exposure to God’s Word, being *superficially immersed* in it continually, *they missed* *its profound spiritual intent*.

The *influential, rigid* *Pharisees* were particularly confident in *their system of righteousness*.

Theirs was *a sect*.

*The Jews had a saying*, *“*If *only two people go to heaven*, *one will be a scribe* and *the other a Pharisee*.*”*

Those men were *completely convinced that God was obligated* *to honour their devoted and demanding works*.

In *comparing themselves with the standards they had established*-and especially in *comparing themselves with the average Jew,* not to mention Gentile-*they could not* *imagine* *God was not favourably impressed with their goodness.*

Yet, like many serious and capable scholars throughout the history of the church, the Pharisees of Judaism were *also blind* *to the meaning of the words they diligently studied and discussed.*

* *Before we get too comfortable with ourselves* and right off the bat *distinguish ourselves from these two groups consider possible parallels:*

* *Do you ever tell yourself*: I’ve been a *Christian for many years*.

I’ve *done so much work* for the kingdom.

I’ve been to *the mission field*, *taught children*, *taught classes*, I *know God so well.*

*I’m not like* my *neighbour, colleague at work* who *doesn’t care about God*.

He sure *will face judgement.*

* Although *intellectually we can reject* *self-righteousness*, it is easy unless we *continually check ourselves*, to *slip into subtle pride*.

* *

*Quote: *One commentator said that *Religion* is *what someone does with their own solitude.*

If you want to know *what you really are*: look at your *thoughts and desires in private*.

Are you the *same person* in *public* that you are in *private?

*If not, then *your righteousness* may be that *of the Scribes and Pharisees.*

The standard of *righteousness* that *the scribes and Pharisees* *taught *and* practiced, and the one we have to guard ourselves against,* *differed from God’s righteousness* *in several important ways*.

It was *A) external, B) partial, C) redefined, and D) self-centered.

In these four warnings I will spend just about all my time.*

*A) external*

First of all the *scribes and Pharisees concerned* themselves *entirely with external observance of the law and tradition.*

They *took little consideration* *of motives* or *attitudes*.

They thought, no matter how much they may have *hated* a person, *if they did not kill him* they were *not guilty of breaking the commandment*.

No matter how much they may have *lusted*, they did not consider themselves guilty of *adultery or fornication* as long as they did *not commit the physical act.*

* *

* *Are we concerned* most about *programs and numbers* *or objectives* and *intents?*

* *Do we rationalize* that we keep *busy with religious activities* so that should *excuse the occasional* *harsh thought* or *distraction*.

Come on, *it’s not like we do* all the things we *read about in the paper*s and *see on TV*.

*We’re good people.*

* *That’s not how God sees it.*

* *

*Jesus’ next teachings in the Sermon on the Mount show *that *God’s first* *concern* is *with the heart: Further on in Matthew 5:*

*Matthew 5:22*   [*22*]But 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.

[*27*]"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit *adultery*.' [28]But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

(ESV)

* *Hypocrisy cannot substitute for holiness*.

*Quote:  C.

S. Lewis explains the conflict in /The Four Loves/.*