Do you live by the letter of the law, or the heart of the law? What’s the difference? If we live the Beatitudes, these attitudes in our heart, our inner being, the Ten Commandments, The Law, will be NO problem and our “standard of righteousness” WILL exceed that of those who live by the letter of the law.
You see, the religious leaders in that time, (in fact, just like many people do now), lived by the letter of the law to a fault and Jesus points out.
Matthew 5:20 (TNIV)
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“The Law” says in Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder”, however, Jesus tells us that God’s intention was that we should not, not only not kill someone but that we should not hate because hate is killing someone in our heart.
“The Law” says in Exodus 20:8 to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”, a day that God prescribed for our rest. The Pharisees and teachers of the law broke that down to where you could only walk a short distance on that day or it was called “work” and it was “work” to help someone in need. Many, many other restrictions were put on the Sabbath and all were punishable. Jesus tells us that God’s intention is that we take a day of rest, but we never circumvent our care for others because caring for others is Holy.
“The Law” says in Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery”. Just as adultery is a sin, Jesus tells us that if we look at someone else in a sexual way we are committing adultery in our heart.
Let’s get to the point of things here, let’s look at the beginning of what Jesus is teaching us here:
Matthew 5:17-20 (TNIV)
17 “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. 18 Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
The point is that Jesus didn’t come to change the wisdom that God revealed to us in Scripture (the Law) and from the prophets. Jesus came to set the record straight! If we are not careful, just like in that day, we pervert God’s Law. We “don’t kill”, however, we “kill” others in our heart because of our hate. Hate takes on many forms (anger, retribution, racism, you get the picture), but it is still hate.
It’s funny that we devise simple as well as complex methods to determine who we should hate and who we should not. We say, “I don’t really hate them, I just wish the worst for them”. Ehhhh (that’s a buzzer going off!) Whether we waller in hate, or smile and hate….it’s the same thing–HATE. You may say, “But I can’t help it!”. I say…that’s the point….it’s not easy to follow Jesus. These things don’t come magically. We have to pray, wrestle, and learn to love with a purer love that transcends all understanding.
Again, it’s funny that we devise simple as well as complex methods to determine that our sin is okay. If we commit adultery, we may rationalize that, “well, we really aren’t in love”. Or “I’m a man (or woman) and I have needs, I still love my spouse”. “I just don’t get the love I need from my spouse”. Ehhhh (that’s a buzzer going off!) The bottom line is, adultery is a sin! Whether we actually stray outside our marriage or whether we indulge our lust by looking and desiring others…..wrong is wrong and sin is sin.
I believe that Jesus came to reveal and put the “Heart” into what was taken as a set of rules. As followers of Christ our goal is that our “doing right” is based on the heart. Remember the Beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” and “Blessed are the pure in heart”? As we apply these attitudes to our heart our righteousness will surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in Jesus day.
Our goal is to live in peace and harmony, in love and commitment, to God and others–ours is a DEEPER righteousness. We should not be content with simply obeying the letter of God’s Law. Jesus is telling us that to live full and fulfilling lives. We must have an inward righteousness of MIND and MOTIVE. Because God looks at our heart.
1 Samuel 16:7 (TNIV)
“….The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”Luke 16:15 (TNIV)
He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts….”