Jesus Played by the Rules for You

Sixth Sunday after Trinity

July 3, 2016

Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus Played by the Rules for You

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

If you play, you have to play by the rules. This is true for basketball, mortgages, and political primaries. But what happens when they change the rules. For a while you don't know where to shoot your three-pointers from, you don't know how many years it's going to take to pay off your house, you don't know which district you get to vote in. But humans are good at making up rules and learning new ones.

God's Commandments are His rules that never change. They are simple and straight-forward. And no one can win by playing by these rules. Winning means entering the kingdom of heaven; the rules say be perfect.

My sinful flesh wants me to think that perfection means avoiding really bad stuff: “I've never murdered anyone.” Maybe I even adds extra rules: drive very carefully, recycle plastic, eat healthy food. And I can feel very good about how well I am keeping myself and others safe.

But feeling good and right in my own mind isn't always the same as being good and right before God. Jesus said:

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. (Matthew 5:20)

How right and good were the Pharisees? They were a group of religious practitioners who wanted to good and right. They believed that observing all the rules down to the last dotted i and last crossed t would guarantee their goodness and rightness.

But their goodness and rightness didn't go far enough. They held grudges and hated Jesus, but they still felt they were avoiding murder. They spoke to Jesus, not to save Him, but to expose Him as a false prophet and then have the Roman authorities do the murdering for them. Even after Jesus was crucified, most Pharisees doubtlessly told themselves that they hadn't murdered Jesus. They had played by the rules and they thought they had won.

Jesus taught that no one can play by His rules.

²¹You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21-22)

We were in danger of hellfire. For this very reason Jesus came to keep the rules for us. During His life and on the cross, He prayed for His enemies and forgave them. He was good and right. And then through Baptism He made us good and right before His Father in heaven.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4)

So the final ruling about us is based not on our rightness and goodness, but on the righteousness of Jesus that He has given to us.

The rules of this world are changing, but His decision about you will never change. You are His righteous brothers and sisters.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Alleluia! Amen!