13 June 2024 Matthew 5:20-26
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:20
We are all going to hell.
“Whoever says, ‘You fool’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” We have all said far worse than that to someone. Probably many times. Probably we will do it again. So, we are all going to hell.
And that’s not the only reason. In Matthew 5 there are six “antitheses,” i.e.opposite propositions that show we will never, ever surpass the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.
1. We have all submitted to anger (5:21-26). Who has never submitted to anger?
2. We have all been entertained by impure thoughts (5:27-30). Who has never had an impure thought?
3. Many have experienced divorce (5:31-32). Who has ever been capable of a perfect relationship?
4. We have all sworn oaths to validate our truthfulness (5:33-37). We have all tried to hide our untruthfulness, many times. Who has never had any need to validate his own truthfulness?
5. We have all tried more than once to get even with someone who has wronged us (5:38-42). Even though we know getting even is impossible. Even though we know people have taken things from us that can never, ever be replaced. Still, we have tried to get even. Who has never felt the need to get even?
6. We have all despised our enemies (5:43-47). Hated our enemies. Loathed our enemies. Who has ever loved all his enemies?
All of which is to say that none of us has been perfect. And yet heaven is only for the perfect: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:48).
That is why we are all going to hell.
Of course no one wants to go to hell, so it would be good to know if there is a way out. If there is, it would begin with the Person who has always lived above anger, and only had pure thoughts. It would begin with the Person who has only had perfect relationships because He has never lied. It would begin with the Person who has never gotten even because He is Justice. He is the “even” that everyone seeks.
If there is a way out of hell, it begins with Jesus. It ends with Jesus, too.
The early Church spread throughout the Roman Empire, and since then has spread all over the world, every continent, every culture, because hell is the thing we all have in common, and a way out of hell is the thing we all want. That is why ancients all over the Mediterranean world found Jesus completely fascinating. Whether they believed in Him or not, they found his promise of deliverance from hell provocative and interesting. If our time is not fascinated by Jesus, perhaps it is because we churchgoers do not find Jesus fascinating, maybe not even very interesting. Perhaps it is because we are rather bored with heaven and have made a kind of peace with hell. We may not be very worried about hell. Maybe we think hell doesn’t really exist.
Maybe the fact that we are bored and boring is a sign that hell is where we already are.
Maybe the people who should be fascinated with Jesus first are the people who say they love Him. Maybe that way the many others who are concerned about their own personal hells will become fascinated with Him, too.
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