Matthew 5:17-20 Alex Bryan (San Diego 2015) HD

(Applause & about 5 seconds with no mic)

(I'm lip reading here): The story has been

told of Ellen White, who lists her height

and weight at 5' 2" and 140 lb.

Apparently, she received the gift of a

sweater, in the mail, from a church member

but when she tried it on it would not fit,

the sweater too small and she too round.

She instructed her secretary to send

a thank you note, which included

this line: "There's more to Mrs. White

than many people think." (Laughter)

There's more, than we think.

In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus first
articulates His confidence in Scripture.

He believes in good doctrine,
strong theology,

and so, it is true that we who
proclaim to follow Him

must consider every jot and tittle of this
book as significant.

But then He turns and makes
a curious, odd statement.

He says, "Unless your righteousness--"

that is, your 'right thinking' about
these scriptures --

"unless that righteousness exceeds that of
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,

you will by no means enter the
Kingdom of Heaven."

Strange. For no one takes doctrine,
theology, Scripture, more seriously

than the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law.

What is Jesus up to in this statement?

Is it possible that he is simply taking a
political swipe at His opponents?

If so, we might rightly push back on Jesus
and say, "Is that really necessary?

I mean, can't You articulate your own
affection for the Bible

without trying to take a punch
at somebody else?

Or is it possible that, in a sobering
way, He's serious--

Unless you take your righteousness
to unprecedented levels,

no salvation for you!

Or might this be a magisterial statement
of grace?

"Guess what. All of your righteousness
isn't going to do it.

It is only a guest from heaven that
will get you into heaven.

Or might there be a better explanation?

I believe so, but it requires of us, careful
attention to the exact words of Jesus.

"Unless your righteousness exceeds that
of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law

you will by no means enter the kingdom,
the Kingdom, of heaven.

The word, "Kingdom" would have immediately
elicited in the hearts and in the minds

of the listeners of Jesus, strong feelings
and thoughts.

For the scribes, the Pharisees, the teachers
of the law, the whole of Judaism,

saw these scriptures as
building toward a moment of climax.

The arrival of a Messiah, a messianic king

who would bring deliverance and
justification for Israel.

This is where the story was going.

And by the time of Jesus there
were two conclusions

about what this messianic king would do.

First, He would bring a massive, military,
political, violent overthrow

of the oppressors of Israel.

If Moses had drowned the
Egyptians in the Red Sea,

and David had gutted the
Philistines with the sword,

this king would surely perform
a mass crucifixion,

slaughtering those dirty Roman dogs,
and while he was at it,

hanging those sell-out Jews who were not
part of the true Jewish remnant.

This is what they believed.

A military, political, violent overthrow,
vindicating Israel.

The second act of this messiah would
be the exaltation, purification,

the construction of a better-than-ever
Temple

that would justify the worship of the true
remnant of Israel.

This was it!
When Jesus uses the word "kingdom",

immediately His first century
hearers would think,

a mass crucifixion, and a temple built
for the few and the faithful.

So what does Jesus mean then
when He says

that your right thinking about
these scriptures

must exceed that of the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law?

What does Jesus mean
by "the kingdom of heaven"?

Let me save you some time.

This phrase is nowhere in
the Old Testament.

We do not discover it
in the inter-testamental literature.

It is not in the gospel of Mark,
Luke or John.

It is not in the writings of Peter,
Paul, or James.

Neither do we find it in the
book of Revelation.

It is only here in the gospel
of Matthew.

But here, it is everywhere.

Thirty-two references,
including the three in this passage.

Once from the lips of John the Baptist.

Thirty-one times from the mouth of Jesus.

In the twenty-nine references outside this
passage, we find twice,

"The kingdom of heaven is valuable".

Three times, "The kingdom
of heaven is near".

The remaining twenty-four references
all sing on a common melody --

the constituency of the kingdom of heaven --

who's invited,
who will be a part.

In seven of those references, a stern warning
to those self-appointed of the remnant:

"Not so fast!"

To the powerful, to the rich, to those
with religious influence,

the word, "Be careful. There's more."

And then in those final 17 references,
the vast majority,

it is all about "them",
the outsiders.

Watch where Matthew goes,
recording Jesus.

We learn that the kingdom of heaven
includes the poor,

the persecuted,

the least,

the lowly,

and the many who will come from East
and West to be part of the kingdom.

The kingdom will be huge.

It will grow.

Including not only the old, but new.

Ordinary men will be given power in it.

The humble will be understood as great.

Children will be at its center.

The enemies of Israel's remnant
will be there,

and even eunuchs, latecomers,

and unexpected guests will find residence.

It seems that Jesus is using new
terminology for new theology;

fresh diction for a fresh doctrine;

revolutionary nomenclature for a
revolutionary new narrative.

You see, the Pharisees and
the teachers of the law

cared deeply about doctrine, theology,
in these scriptures.

But they believed that these
historical documents

were pointing toward a moment with a
mass crucifixion of Israel's enemies,

and a temple built to exalt the remnant few.

But Jesus says, "No, that's not where
this book is going.

Your eschatology is wrong.

Your vision of what's to come
in the end is off-base."

"No, no," he says,
"not a crucifixion of the masses,

but a cross for One.

And not a temple built for the few, oh no,

but a brand new temple for One
greater than the temple, is here."

"And my house," Jesus says,
"shall be a house of prayer for

ALL people."

Both Jesus and the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law

care about theology, doctrine,
and the scriptures,

but they have completely different
ideas about where it's all pointing.

And it couldn't be different.

At the cross, Jesus breathes His last breath,

and in that moment when He dies,

no other man ever need die.

And it is that moment that God tears the
temple from top to bottom--

--yes, that curtain's open.

And the old temple is put out of business.

And a new temple arrives, He, Jesus Christ

with enough square footage
for the whole world.

So, here's the question:

Which narrative are you living in?

Pastors in the room,
which story are you preaching?

Brothers and sisters, our congregations,

are they marked by a vision of where
these scriptures are pointed,

that render the mass destruction of the many,
and the exaltation of the remnant few,

or do they celebrate the cross of One,

and a huge banqueting table for the many?

Whose righteousness are you embracing?

In Christmas of 2009,

I was carefully placing the figurines for
the nativity scene in our living room:

Mary, Joseph, the wise men, shepherds,
the various animals, all in their place.

When all of a sudden, our
then three-year old daughter, Audrey,

comes bounding into the room.

"Daddy!" she says, "Where is Herod,
where is king Herod?" (laughter)

I said "Well, Audrey, King Herod is not
part of the nativity scene."

"But, daddy, he's part of
the Christmas story!"

I said, "Well, he wasn't very nice. He doesn't
want to be a part of the nativity scene."

Well, we went back and forth.
She was having none of it.

Bounded out of the room,
back to her bedroom,

and I continued to meticulously
place each piece.

A couple moments later, she bounds
back into the living room,

with a doll overhead.

"Look, daddy, it's king Herod." (laughter)

"He told me he's ready to play nicely now!"
(laughter / applause)

And in the year of our Lord, 2009,

in the living room of the Bryans
of Walla Walla, Washington, USA,

the community of the nativity of
Jesus Christ, included one king Herod.

Out of the heart of a three-year old:

"Daddy, there's got to be more!"

Jesus takes doctrine, theology,
the scriptures, seriously.

And all of us who proclaim Jesus,
must take them seriously.

But we must make certain that we are not
following the master narrative

of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,

but rather the eschatology,
the future vision, of Jesus Christ.

Not a cross of damnation for the many,
but a cross for the One.

And not a small temple to
exalt the few faithful,

but a temple that's huge, for the many.

There's more than we think.

More to our prophet;

more to our movement;

more to our church;

more to Christianity; more to our lives.

There's more, much more.

For our own sakes,
and for the sake of our children,

we need a bigger story;

we need a braver narrative;

we need a more beautiful picture
of where God is taking our world.

Amen. (Applause)