A thought for your consideration. We discussed this one recently, and then I randomly found an article about it, noticed a couple of social media posts on it, and then heard a sermon about it on Sunday. No idea why.
“Do not assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter or mark will ever pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will absolutely not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:17–20 (REV)
Have you ever read this closely? Notice anything weird?
Jesus says that whoever breaks even the least of these commandments, or teaches others to do the same, “will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” But then he immediately says that unless your righteousness “exceeds that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will absolutely not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So… which is it? If you break it, you’re least in the kingdom. But unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees, you won’t even get in. And the Pharisees were the people whose entire life, identity, and reputation was built around keeping the Law carefully. Maybe there’s something deeper going on here.
He Is Not Lowering the Standard
Jesus is not lowering the standard. He is raising it beyond reach! He is not saying, “Try a little harder than the Pharisees.” He is showing that even the most disciplined, religious, externally righteous people still fall short if righteousness is measured before a holy God.
If the Pharisees are the benchmark, most of us are in trouble. If God himself is the benchmark, all of us are.
Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, as though God’s holiness no longer mattered. He came to fulfil it. Every command, every sacrifice, every prophecy, every boundary. And then Jesus did it:
“And Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from the top to the bottom.” — Mark 15:37–38 (REV)
And Hebrews explains what that means:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter into the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the way that he dedicated for us, a newly made and a living way, through the curtain, that is to say, his flesh.” — Hebrews 10:19–20 (REV)
The curtain of the sanctuary! The flesh of the tent of meeting. The body and blood of the Way into the Holy of Holies. Torn — not from bottom to top, as if man forced his way in, but from top to bottom. God opened the way.
And what did Jesus say as he died?
“It is finished.” — John 19:30 (REV)
Not “it is relaxed.”
Not “it is ignored.”
It is finished. Fulfilled.
The Law Was Not Destroyed — It Reached Its Goal
The Law was not destroyed. It reached its goal in Christ.
Sacrifice was fulfilled in the perfect Lamb. Priesthood was fulfilled in its Great High Priest. The Temple was fulfilled in its true meeting place between God and man. Righteousness was fulfilled in Christ!
So how does our righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees? Not by becoming better Pharisees. Not by perfecting the appearance of holiness while the heart remains unchanged. Not by lowering the bar until we can step over it.
Our righteousness exceeds theirs because it is not finally ours. It is Christ’s righteousness given to us. He fulfilled what we could not. He stood where we could not stand. He entered where we had no right to enter. And now, by his blood, we have confidence to enter the holy places — see 1 Corinthians 1:30, Philippians 3:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 3:21, and more.
This Is Where Freedom Begins
That does not make obedience meaningless. It makes obedience possible, and puts it in the right place.
We do not obey to tear the curtain. We obey because the curtain has already been torn; we are now holy — a kingdom of priests unto God.
The result is, we now have a choice. We are empowered and indwelt by the very spirit of Holiness. We have true freedom in Christ! We can sin… but why would we want to? Because now we can not sin! Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:29–32). Partake instead in the divine nature, living by the spirit and not the flesh:
”…Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. By his divine power he has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. By these things he has given to us precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.
Now for that very reason, make every effort to add to your trust, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, endurance; and to endurance, godliness; and to godliness, affection for God’s family; and to affection for God’s family, love.
For if these things are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the one who lacks these things is blind, because he is nearsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make your calling and being chosen firm, because if you do these things, you will never stumble.
For in this way, a rich welcome into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be provided to you.” — 2 Peter 1:2–11 (REV)
So the standard was never lowered to meet us. It was fulfilled — completely — and then handed to us as a gift. The bar is still beyond reach. But the One who cleared it now stands in our place, and pulls us up into a freedom we could never have climbed to on our own.
Which leaves the only question worth asking: if you can not sin — if you’ve been made a partaker of the divine nature — why would you want to?