A Place of Righteousness

¹⁹Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:19-20

The Kingdom of God is a place of righteousness, a place where what is true abounds without hindrance. Therefore, it is a place where the will of Yahweh is continually birthed before us (Matthew 6:10).

The Lord began this teaching above with declaring who was truly blessed. The ones listed were ones that the world system normally despised and looked upon as outcasts. Yet Christ revealed that it was those who were after God's heart that would receive the things everyone is seeking (Matthew 5:1-11).

He expounds by saying these people have been sprinkled upon the earth to preserve it. They are the true being of what we call "salt." They give an otherwise bland earth a good taste to Yahweh, and preserve it from His judgment. They, therefore, are to be careful not to lose what makes them that "salt." The good works that flow from their complete trust in Him would be the way to do this, to shine as the light that they were.

Jesus then anticipates their reaction, that He was not unloosing the Law or the Prophets, but was in fact filling them up to completion. Here was standing the Agent by which they would be able to receive true righteousness, and be the salt and light of the world. All things must be completed.

Here was the goal of this teaching:

²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:20

The scribes and Pharisees claimed to be following all the Law, but as the Lord showed several times, they would often leave the important things undone (Matthew 23:23). They would strain out a gnat and swallow a camel (Matthew 23:24). Those who would enter the Kingdom would need a righteousness exceeding that of those people, they would need to live in a way that was different.

Christ then explains some of the signs of this new kind of life, which was pointing to the heart and not just the outer person.

Not just murder is against what is right, but so is the anger that leads to it, the kind of anger that seeks to put a person down without cause.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna. Matthew 5:21-22

Those harbored feelings lead not only to physical death but to relational separation, or the dividing of brothers, which Yahweh hates (Proverbs 6:16-19). And the strife that results will not only separate you from God in its sin but cause the offending person to be put in a position of losing what they think is theirs (Matthew 5:23-26).

Not only adultery is unjust, but so is the drive that leads to it.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ ²⁸but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28

The calculation to steal another's wife, and the coveting of her (Deuteronomy 5:21), is adultery in one's heart. It is separating oneself from God by dishonoring the model He has given called marriage, which reflects His relationship with us, His people. To look to another with lust, who belongs to another, is to do violence to the high calling of Yahweh. The natural progression of those feelings is fearful enough that we should cut off what is causing it in our flesh in order to preserve our spirit (Matthew 5:29-30). Sometimes, this is even done for us in various ways, so that we do not do too much damage to the image which God has given for the world to see (1 Corinthians 5:3-5) (1 Corinthians 11:29-32).

Yes, for divorce also then is that agent of violence against the perfect image of Yahweh, which denies the eternal bond He shares with His people. To be truly righteous, one must go beyond the allowance of the Law to the Heart of God.

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’ ³²but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery. Matthew 5:31-32

For as man and woman become one flesh until their death in earthly marriage (Matthew 19:4-6), so does the believer become one spirit with Yahweh for all ages (1 Corinthians 6:15-17) (Ephesians 5:29-32). Thus, God's people would need a righteousness greater than that of the scribes, who though following the allowance of divorce in Moses' Law, did not arrive at the height of Yahweh's goal which is only found in Christ Jesus: that of never breaking the bond of marriage before death, reflecting the spiritual truth of God and His people. For those who have known and forsaken Christ and are joined to another can never return to Him, having despised the Blood He shed for their redemption (Hebrews 6:4-8) (Hebrews 10:26-29), just as the wife who leaves and joins another can never return to her first husband (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

Jesus continues His teaching by referring to those who vow to Yahweh would bind themselves by the things of this world, as though giving more power to what they were saying.

³³“Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ ³⁴but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. Matthew 5:33-36

The true way was to simply do what one said, where "Yes" meant "Yes" and "No" meant "No." For anything more than this, of putting oneself in God's place by putting natural things in jeopardy by dependence on the vow, spoke against the truth that Yahweh alone is God and Creator, and came from the Evil One (Matthew 5:36-37). The scribes did not live out the righteousness of God by doing what they said, but rather desired the praise of men by being heard in great public prayers and oaths (John 12:43).

The Lord finishes this teaching about the righteousness necessary to enter the Kingdom of God by speaking about how to treat one's enemies.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42

This teaching of "eye for an eye" applied to three different situations in the Law of Moses: a man attacking his neighbor, a person attacking a pregnant woman, and a false witness testifying against his neighbor. In each case, either the wrong done or the wrong intended, was to then be applied to the wrong-doer. However, it does not state that the one wronged was the one to do it, only that it would be done to the wrong-doer.

Jesus tells us that we are not to be the ones executing judgment, as that is the job of the only Judge, God (Matthew 7:1-2) (Romans 14:10). This sums up the whole of His message, that of love without limits for us. This kind of love that seeks Yahweh first and then to treat one another as oneself is the pinnacle of righteousness; it is truth lived.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? Matthew 5:43-47

We do not return cursing for cursing, but love for cursing (Romans 12:14) (1 Corinthians 4:12). When we suffer wrongly, we bear it patiently as did Christ (1 Peter 2:19-23). As we enter into this life, we enter into the completeness intended for us by our Heavenly Father. We become complete just as He is complete.

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Yahweh's Kingdom is a place of righteousness, not of earthly matters like eating and drinking (Romans 14:17). It is a place where truth is evident and unhindered, where there is no lie. It is where God reigns in power and His people walk as He walks: in righteousness. But as we see elsewhere, we cannot even see such a place as this Kingdom, if we have not been born again; for we must begin a new life to see and enter this Kingdom (John 3:3).