317: Greater Righteousness

The SimplyRevised Podcast

Encourage, Equip, Grow, and Strengthen Our Faith In The Lord

EPISODE 315 | STEVE & BRENDA ELLIS

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Jesus sits down on a mountain, surrounded by a growing crowd of disciples. This isn’t just a picturesque backdrop—this is intentional. It echoes the story of Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. But Jesus isn’t receiving Torah—he’s teaching it. Not just repeating it, but showing what it was always meant to be.

Let’s read:

“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. For 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.” (Matthew 5:17–18, NIV)

Jesus begins by clearing up a misconception: people might think he’s tossing out the Scriptures to start something new. He’s announcing the Kingdom of Heaven, healing on the Sabbath, touching the unclean, and welcoming outsiders. It looks like he’s breaking all the rules.

But he says the opposite is true—he’s not abolishing anything. He’s fulfilling the Law and Prophets.

Jesus Fulfills the Story

The word “fulfill” is plēroō in Greek (πληρόω). It means to bring to full expression, to complete, to fill up. Jesus isn’t erasing the Hebrew Scriptures—he’s demonstrating their intended goal. Like a story that builds to its final act, or a shadow that gives way to the real thing, Jesus is revealing what the whole story, the Law and the Prophets, was pointing toward.

The Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy, was never just about rules. It was a covenant story about God rescuing a people to reflect his character and bring blessing to the world. The Law gave shape to that calling, and the Prophets kept calling God’s people back when they failed.

Jesus steps into that story—not by copying and pasting laws but by embodying them. He is the faithful Israel, the Torah in flesh.

Every Stroke Matters

Jesus goes on:

“Not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (v. 18)

In Hebrew, the smallest letter is the yod—like an apostrophe. The “stroke of a pen” refers to tiny marks that differentiate one letter from another. Jesus is saying that every detail of the Scriptures matters, and we should pay attention to each part as it plays a crucial role in the unfolding story.

Keep and Teach

Then Jesus offers a warning and a promise:

“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (v. 19)

This isn’t about legalistic rule-following. It’s about loyalty to God’s purpose. Jesus is forming a community that doesn’t just talk about the kingdom, but actually lives it.

These people will keep and teach even the small things—not to earn God’s favor, but because they’re becoming the kind of people God desires.

Greater Than the Pharisees?

Then Jesus says something that must have been very shocking:

“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.” (v. 20)

To the average listener in the first century, the Pharisees and Torah teachers were the standard of religious devotion. They knew the Scriptures, followed traditions carefully, and were meticulous about purity.

So, what does Jesus mean by greater righteousness?

The Greek word for “righteousness” here is dikaiosynē (δικαιοσύνη). It’s not just about moral behavior or religious performance. It means living in right relationship—with God and with others. It’s a justice-infused, covenantal way of life that reflects God’s own character.

Jesus isn’t calling for more rules—he’s calling for a transformed heart.

Looking Ahead

And here’s the brilliance of Jesus’ teaching: he doesn’t leave us wondering what this “greater righteousness” looks like. In the following passages of Matthew 5, Jesus gives six case studies, providing a higher standard that has always been at the heart of the Scriptures.

Murder and Anger – It’s not just about avoiding violence, but rooting out resentment.
Adultery and Lust – It’s not just physical boundaries, but purity of imagination and desire.
Divorce and Faithfulness – It’s not just about legal permission, but covenant loyalty.
Oaths and Honesty – It’s not about swearing to be trustworthy, but being trustworthy.
Revenge and Mercy – It’s not about getting even, but turning the other cheek.
Enemies and Love – It’s not just loving the lovable, but loving like God does—indiscriminately and generously.

Each example deepens our understanding of the law, not by adding weight, but by cutting to the heart.

A New Kind of People

Jesus is forming a new humanity—people whose lives reflect the heart of God. People who live not just with external compliance but with internal transformation. People who don’t just follow the rules but become the kind of people the Law and Prophets imagined.

Towards the end of Matthew’s gospel, as Jesus is tested, He says the following:

“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV)

Through the biblical story, anticipation builds for God’s awaited Messiah. The Scriptures are meant to form us into the people of God. Jesus is the One who fills up the entirety of the story. As a light that shines in a dark world (John 8:12), Jesus demonstrates how to live and love in God’s kingdom. He not only teaches but shows what it is to fill up the Law and the Prophets.

Are we ready to step into the kingdom, to learn and practice the way of Jesus?