Impossible Expectations
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Click here to read the sermon.
Scripture: Matthew 5:17-32
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, after the wonderfully encouraging Beatitudes, in Matthew 5:20, Jesus says this: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
These words are not encouraging. They sound nothing like all the promises of blessing at the beginning of Matthew 5. They sound impossible.
To be righteous is to be virtuous, pure, honourable, upright, or ethical. To be unrighteous is to be corrupt, immoral, unjust, or dishonest. When it’s used in the Bible, it refers specifically to behaviour that is approved by God. In first-century Judaism, no one valued righteousness more than the Pharisees and the Scribes. These two groups spent hours studying and teaching God’s Law. No one was more righteous than them. So when Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees…”, it likely sounded like an impossible expectation to Jesus’ audience.
On Sunday we’re going to be digging into that impossible expectation, looking much of the rest of Matthew 5 to better understand what Jesus might have meant by exceeding the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. As you prepare for Sunday, it might be helpful to read through these verses ahead of time. Maybe read them over a couple days, taking time to listen for anything you find particularly challenging in Jesus’ words. Is there something God wants you to hear? Is there something God wants you to notice? Is there anything you need to change?