Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20
“Good Works Shine!”
That last sentence of today’s Gospel reading always sounds very harsh to me. Jesus tells his followers that “unless [their] righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, [they] will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
It doesn’t sound like the grace and mercy that we usually associate with Jesus, does it? Normally when people do wrong things (the opposite of righteousness) Jesus is the one who loves them anyway, who gives them another chance, who forgives them and welcomes them into the family of God.
But this morning we hear him preaching about strict adherence to the commandments, and making it clear that it’s not acceptable to ignore some of the rules or the finer points of God’s law. Not if you want to go to heaven, anyway.
In the first century, the scribes and Pharisees were two largely distinct groups. Scribes were professionals who had knowledge of the law and could draft legal documents like contracts for marriage, divorce, loans, inheritance, or sale of land. Every village had at least one scribe, and Jesus interacted with a number of them during his ministry.
Pharisees were not typically professional scribes, but they were also well-known as legal experts. They … Read more »