When Jesus stated that our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, was He not alluding to the legal righteousness that would be imputed to us as a free gift? No, He was not, and for good reason. First, the context does not fit this interpretation. Before and after this statement (and throughout the entire Sermon on the Mount), Jesus was talking about keeping the commandments, that is, living righteously. The most natural interpretation of His words is that we must live more righteously than the scribes and Pharisees. And how absurd it would be to think that Jesus was holding the scribes and Pharisees to a standard to which He was not holding His own disciples. How foolish to think that Jesus would condemn the scribes and Pharisees for committing sins for which He would not also condemn His disciples simply because they had prayed a “salvation prayer.”^[1]

Our problem is that we don’t want to accept the obvious meaning of the verse, because it sounds to us like legalism. But our real problem is that we don’t understand the inseparable correlation between imputed righteousness and practical righteousness. The apostle John did, however. He wrote: “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7). Nor do we understand the correlation between the new birth and practical righteousness as John also did: “Everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29).

Jesus could have added to His statement of 5:20, “And if you repent, are truly born again, and receive through a living faith My free gift of righteousness, your practical righteousness will indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees as you cooperate with the power of My indwelling Spirit.”

^[1] Moreover, if Jesus was talking about the imputed, legal righteousness that we receive as a gift for believing in Him, why didn’t He at least hint at it? Why did He say something that would be so easily misunderstood by the uneducated people to whom He was speaking, who would have never guessed that He was talking about imputed righteousness?

By using the sixth commandment as His first reference point, Jesus began teaching His disciples God’s expectations for them, while at the same time also exposing the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.

You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, “You fool,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell (Matt. 5:21-22).

First, note that Jesus was warning about something that could cause a person to go to hell. That was His primary theme—Only the holy will inherit God’s kingdom.

The scribes and Pharisees preached against murder, citing the sixth commandment, apparently warning that murder could land one in court.

Jesus, however, wanted his disciples to know what the scribes and Pharisees didn’t seem to realize—there were much “lesser” infractions that could land one in court, apparently God’s court. Because it is so important that we love one another (the second greatest commandment), when we become angry with a brother we should consider ourselves already found guilty in God’s court. If we verbalize our anger by speaking in an unkind way to him, our infraction is even more serious, and we should consider ourselves guilty in God’s highest court. And if we go beyond that, spewing out hatred for a brother with a second slur, we are guilty enough before God to be cast into hell!^[1] That is serious!

Our relationship with God is gauged by our relationship with our brothers. If we hate a brother, that reveals that we do not possess eternal life. John wrote,

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15).

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).

How important it is that we love each other and, as Jesus commanded, work for reconciliation when we are offended at one another (see Matt. 18:15-17).

Jesus continued:

If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering (Matt. 5:23-24).

This is to say that if our relationship with our brother is not right, then our relationship with God is not right. The Pharisees were guilty of majoring on minors and minoring on majors, “straining out the gnat and swallowing the camel” as Jesus said (Matt. 23:23-24). They stressed the importance of tithing and giving offerings, but neglected what was much more important, the second greatest commandment, to love one another. How hypocritical it is to bring an offering, supposedly to show one’s love for God, while violating His second most important commandment! This is what Jesus was warning against.

Still on the subject of the strictness of God’s court, Jesus continued:

Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent (Matt. 5:25-26).

It is best to stay out of God’s courtroom altogether by living at peace with our brothers as much as is possible. If a brother or sister is angry with us and we stubbornly refuse to work for reconciliation “on the way to court,” that is, on our journey through life to stand before God, we may certainly regret it. What Jesus said here is very similar to His warning regarding any imitation of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-35. The servant who was forgiven but who refused to forgive had his debt reinstated and he was handed over to the torturers “until he should repay all that was owed” (Matt. 18:34). Here Jesus is likewise warning of the dire eternal consequences of not loving our brother as God expects.

^[1] This applies to our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus called certain religious leaders fools (see Matt. 23:17), as does Scripture in general (see Prov. 1:7; 13:20).

And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them (Matt. 5:1-2).

It seems as if Jesus purposely reduced the size of His audience by walking away from the “multitudes” and up a mountain. We are told that “His disciples came to Him,” as if to indicate that only those who were hungry to hear Him were willing to huff and puff up the mountain to where He finally rested. Apparently there were quite a few; they are called “the crowds” in 7:28.

Jesus then began His sermon, speaking to His disciples, and from the start we get a hint of what His overriding theme will be. He tells them that they are blessed if they possess certain traits, because those traits belong to the heaven-bound. That will be His overall them for this sermon—Only the holy will inherit God’s kingdom. The Beatitudes, as they are called, ring with this theme.

Jesus enumerated a number of different traits that characterize the blessed people, and He promised a number of specific blessings to them. Casual readers often study the Beatitudes like people who are superstitious scan horoscopes, thinking that each person should find himself in one, and only one, Beatitude. Careful readers, however, realize that Jesus was not listing different kinds of people who will receive varied blessings, but one kind of person who will receive one all-encompassing future blessing: inheriting the kingdom of heaven. There is no other intelligent way to interpret His words.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:1-12).

The fourth characteristic, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, describes the God-given inward longing that every true born-again person possesses. He is grieved by unrighteousness in the world and in himself. He hates sin (see Ps. 97:10; 119:128, 163) and loves righteousness.

Too often, when we read the word righteousness in Scripture, we immediately translate it, “the legal righteousness imputed to us by Christ,” but that is not always what the word means. Quite often it means, “the quality of living right by God’s standards.” That is obviously the meaning Jesus intended here, because there is no reason for a Christian to hunger for what he already possesses. He already has an imputed righteousness. Those who have been born of the Spirit long to live righteously, and they have assurance that they will one day “be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6), certain that God, by His grace, will complete the work He’s begun in them (see Phil. 1:6).

Jesus’ words here also foresee the time of the new earth, “in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet.3:13). Then there will be no sin. Everyone will love God with all his heart and love his neighbor as himself. We who now hunger and thirst for righteousness will then be satisfied. Finally our heart-felt prayer will be fully answered, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

As Jesus continued His concluding remarks, He next warned His audience about false prophets who lead the undiscerning down the broad road to destruction. They are those who are not truly of God, yet disguised as so. All false teachers and leaders fall under this category. How can they be identified?

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:15-23).

Clearly, Jesus indicated that false teachers are very deceptive. They have some exterior indications of being genuine. They may call Jesus their Lord, prophesy, cast out demons and perform miracles. But the “sheep’s clothing” only hides the “ravenous wolf.” They aren’t of the true sheep. How can it be known if they are true or false? Their true character can be identified by examining their “fruits.”

What are the fruits of which Jesus was speaking? Obviously, they are not fruits of miracles. Rather, they are the fruits of obedience to all Jesus taught. Those who are true do the will of the Father. Those who are false “practice lawlessness” (7:23). Our responsibility, then, is to compare their lives with what Jesus taught and commanded.

False teachers abound today in the church, and we should not be surprised, because both Jesus and Paul forewarned us that, as the end approaches, we should expect nothing less (see Matt. 24:11; 2 Tim. 4:3-4). The most prevalent false prophets of our day are those who teach that heaven awaits the unholy. They are responsible for the eternal damnation of millions of people. Of them, John Wesley wrote,

How terrible is this!—when the ambassadors of God turn agents for the devil!—when they who are commissioned to teach men the way to heaven do in fact teach them the way to hell….If it be asked, “Why, who ever did…this?”…I answer, Ten thousand wise and honourable men; even all those, of whatever denomination, who encourage the proud, the trifler, the passionate, the lover of the world, the man of pleasure, the unjust or unkind, the easy, careless, harmless, useless creatures, the man who suffers no reproach for righteousness’ sake, to imagine he is in the way to heaven. These are false prophets in the highest sense of the word. These are traitors both to God and man….They are continually peopling the realms of the night; and whenever they follow the poor souls they have destroyed, “hell shall be moved from beneath to meet them at their coming!”^[1]

Interestingly, Wesley was specifically commenting about the false teachers whom Jesus warned against in Matthew 7:15-23.

Notice that Jesus again plainly said, contrary to what so many false teachers tell us today, that those who don’t bear good fruit will be cast into hell (see 7:19). Moreover, this applies not just to teachers and prophets, but to everyone. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). What is true for prophets is true for all. This is Jesus’ main theme—Only the holy will inherit God’s kingdom. People who aren’t obeying Jesus are destined for hell.

Also notice the connection Jesus made between what a person is inwardly and what he is outwardly. “Good” trees produce good fruit. “Bad” trees can’t produce good fruit. The source of the good fruit that shows up on the outside is the nature of the person. By His grace, God has changed the nature of those who have truly believed in Jesus.^[2]

^[1]The Works of John Wesley (Baker: Grand Rapids, 1996), by John Wesley, reprinted from the 1872 edition issued by the Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, London, pp. 441, 416.

^[2] I can’t resist taking the opportunity to also comment here about a common expression people use when trying to excuse sins in others: “We don’t know what is in their hearts.” In contradiction to this, Jesus said here that the outside reveals the inside. In another place, He told us,”The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:34). When a person speaks words of hate, it indicates hatred fills his heart. Jesus also told us that “from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). When a person commits adultery, we do know what is in his heart: adultery.

The question that would naturally come to mind in response to Jesus’ statement in 5:20 is this: How righteous, exactly, were the scribes and Pharisees? The answer is: Not very.

At another time, Jesus referred to them as “whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). That is, they appeared outwardly righteous, but were inwardly evil. They did a great job at keeping the letter of the Law, but ignored the spirit of it, often justifying themselves by twisting or even altering God’s commandments.

This intrinsic flaw in the scribes and Pharisees, in fact, was Jesus’ major focus in much of what remains in the Sermon on the Mount. We find that He quoted a number of God’s well-known commandments, and after each quotation, revealed the difference between keeping the letter and spirit of each law. In so doing, He repeatedly exposed the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees, and revealed His true expectations for His disciples.

Jesus began each example with the words, “You have heard.” He was speaking to people who had probably never read, but only heard, the Old Testament scrolls read by the scribes and Pharisees in the synagogues. It could be said that His audience had been sitting under false teaching all their lives, as they heard the scribes’ and Pharisees” twisted commentary on God’s Word and observed their unholy lifestyles.

Finally we come to the last section of the body of Jesus’ sermon. It beins with some encouraging prayer promises:

Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be gopened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matt. 7:7-11).

“Aha!” a reader somewhere might be saying. “Here’s a part of the Sermon on the Mount that has nothing to do with holiness.”

That all depends on what it is we’re asking, knocking and seeking for in prayer. As those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” we long to obey all that Jesus has commanded in His sermon, and that longing is certainly reflected in our prayers. In fact, the model prayer that Jesus previously shared in this same sermon was the expression of a desire for God’s will to be done and for holiness. Additionally, Luke’s version of these same prayer promises under consideration ends with, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). Apparently, Jesus was not necessarily thinking of luxury items when He promised us “good gifts.” In His mind, the Holy Spirit is a “good gift,” because the Holy Spirit makes us holy and helps us spread the gospel that makes other people holy. And holy people go to heaven.

The next item on Jesus’ list of grievances was a Pharisaic perversion of a very well-known verse in the Old Testament. We have already considered this passage in the chapter about biblical interpretation.

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matt. 5:38-42).

The Law of Moses declared that when a person was found guilty in court of injuring another person, his punishment should be equivalent to the harm he caused. If he knocked out someone’s tooth, in fairness and justice, his tooth should be knocked out. This commandment was given to insure that justice would be served in court cases for major offenses. However, once again, the scribes and Pharisees had twisted it, turning it into a commandment that made obtaining revenge a holy obligation. Apparently, they had adopted a “zero tolerance” policy, seeking revenge for even the smallest offenses.

God, however, has always expected more from His people. Revenge is something He expressly forbade (see Deut. 32:35). The Old Testament taught that God’s people should show kindness to their enemies (see Ex. 23:4-5; Prov. 25:21-22). Jesus endorsed this truth by telling His disciples to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile when dealing with evil people. When we are wronged, God wants us to be merciful, returning good for evil.

But does Jesus expect us to allow people to take gross advantage of us, allowing them to ruin our lives if they desire? Is it wrong to take a nonbeliever to court, seeking justice for an illegal act committed against us? No. Jesus was not talking about obtaining due justice for major offenses in court, but about getting personal revenge for petty, ordinary infractions. Notice that Jesus did not say that we should offer our neck for strangling to someone who has just stabbed us in the back. He didn’t say we should give someone our house when they demand our car. Jesus was simply telling us to show tolerance and mercy to a high degree when we daily encounter petty offenses and the normal challenges of dealing with selfish people. He wants us to be more kind than selfish people expect, and to be unselfish with our money, generously giving and lending it. To that standard, the scribes and Pharisees didn’t come close.

Why are so many professing Christians so easily offended? Why are they so quickly upset by offenses that are ten times smaller than being slapped on the cheek? Are these people saved? The disciple-making minister sets an example of turning the other cheek, and he teaches his disciples to do the same.

Jesus’ next set of commandments to His followers concerns the sins of judging and faultfinding:

Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Matt. 7:1-5).

Although Jesus didn’t directly or indirectly indict the scribes and Pharisees in this passage, they were certainly guilty of the sin under consideration; they found fault with Him!

What exactly did Jesus mean in this warning against judging others?

First, let us consider what He did not mean. He did not mean that we should not be discerning and make fundamental determinations about people’s character by observing their actions. That is quite clear. Directly after this section, Jesus instructed His disciples not to cast their pearls to pigs or give what is holy to dogs (see 7:6). He was obviously speaking figuratively of certain kinds of people, referring to them as pigs and dogs, people who don’t appreciate the value of the holy things, “pearls,” they are being given. They are obviously unsaved people. And obviously, we must judge if people are pigs and dogs if we are to obey this commandment.

Moreover, Jesus shortly told His followers how to judge false teachers, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (see 7:15), by inspecting their fruit. Clearly, in order to obey Jesus’ instructions we must observe people’s lifestyles and make judgments.

Similarly, Paul told the Corinthian believers:

I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one (1 Cor. 5:11).

To obey this instruction requires that we examine people’s lifestyles and make judgments about them based on what we observe.

The apostle John also told us that we can easily discern who is of God and who is of the devil. By looking at people’s lifestyles, it is obvious who is saved and who is unsaved (see 1 John 3:10).

All of this being so, discerning people’s character by examining their actions and judging if they belong to God or the devil is not the sin of judging against which Christ warned. So what did Jesus mean?

Notice that Jesus was talking about finding small faults, specs, with a brother (note that Jesus uses the word brother three times in this passage). Jesus was not warning us against judging people to be unbelievers by observing their glaring faults, as He will shortly instruct us to do in this very sermon. These are instructions for how Christians should treat Christians. They should not be finding little faults with one another, and this is especially so when they themselves are blind to their own larger faults. In such cases, they are hypocritical. As Jesus once said to a crowd of hypocritical judges, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7).

The apostle James, whose epistle often parallels the Sermon on the mount, similarly wrote, “Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door” (Jas. 5:9). Perhaps this also helps us to understand something of what Jesus was warning against—finding faults with fellow believers and then broadcasting what we’ve found, complaining against one another. This is one of the most prevalent sins in the church, and those who are guilty place themselves in a dangerous position of being judged. When we speak against a fellow believer, pointing out his faults to others, we’re violating the golden rule, because we don’t want others to speak ill of us in our absence.

We may lovingly approach a fellow believer about his or her fault, but only when we can do so without hypocrisy, certain that we are not guilty (or more guilty) of the same sin of the one we confront. It is, however, a complete waste of time to do so with unbeliever, which seems to be subject of the next verse. Jesus said,

Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces (Matt. 7:6).

Similarly, a proverb says, “Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, Reprove a wise man, and he will love you” (Proverbs 9:8).

Finally, Jesus listed one more God-given commandment that the scribes and Pharisees had altered to accommodate their hateful hearts.

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:43-48).

In the Old Testament, God had said, “Love your neighbor” (Lev. 19:18), but the scribes and Pharisees had conveniently defined neighbors as being only those people who loved them. Everyone else was an enemy, and since God said to love only our neighbors, it must be proper to hate our enemies. According to Jesus, however, that is not at all what God intended.

Jesus would later teach in the story of the Good Samaritan that we should consider every person to be our neighbor.^[1] God wants us to love everyone, including our enemies. That is God’s standard for His children, a standard by which He Himself lives. He sends crop-growing sun and rain, not only on good people, but also on evil people. We should follow His example, showing kindness to undeserving people. When we do, it shows that we are “sons of [our] Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:45). Authentic born-again people act like their Father.

The love God expects us to show our enemies is not an emotion or an approval of their wickedness. God is not requiring us to have warm fuzzy feelings about those who oppose us. He is not telling us to say what is untrue, that our enemies are really wonderful people. But He does expect that we will be merciful towards them and take willful action to that end, at least by greeting them and praying for them.

Notice that Jesus once more reinforced His primary theme—Only the holy will inherit God’s kingdom. He told His disciples that if they only loved those who loved them, they were no better than pagan Gentiles and tax collectors, two kinds of people whom every Jew would agree were hell-bound. It was another way of saying that people who only love those who love them are going to hell.

^[1] It was a Jewish teacher of the Law who, wishing to justify himself, asked Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbor?” You can be sure he already thought he had the right answer. Jesus answered him with the story of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37).