Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Theology] >> The Bible



Message

loco79 -> Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/14/2008 3:20:28 PM)

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.

Just wondering how some of you would interpret this passage?



JimboFletch -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/14/2008 3:35:43 PM)

Those people thought that keeping rules and traditions and, even, the very Law made them righteous before God. Jesus taught that He expects us to go about looking for opportunities to minister to others in His name and for His Kingdom because of the enormous debt of sin that He forgave us and, then, made us joint-heirs with Him. We are to serve Jesus with Joy because of who He is and what He's done, not in order to earn anything from Him (and we cannot, anyway).



BerianAardvark -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/14/2008 4:06:00 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: loco79

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.

Just wondering how some of you would interpret this passage?


For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)


The righteousness of the Pharisees was that of the law...they were experts at what the law said and very very good at following it.

But as a result of that they couldn't see their need for a Saviour, because they had convinced themselves that their following of the law made them good enough on their own to get into heaven.

But only one person is righteous enough to get into heaven, and that is Jesus Christ. He grants His righteousness to those who believe in and follow Him.

Human righteousness (which is the same as self-righteousness) cannot get us into heaven, that is why we need a Saviour, that is why Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.

Tim



OleFitzHi -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/16/2008 10:03:47 PM)

Two interpretations...

One...Jesus deepened the requirements of the commandments. He took, "Thou shalt not kill," and extended it to "Don't hate." "Don't commit adultery," became, "Don't lust." The Pharisees did not consider it a violation to hate and lust. Jesus said He expects more than that.

Two...We trade our record of sin for Jesus' righteousness. So the only real way for us to be more righteous than the Pharisees is for us to take on the righteousness of of Jesus through faith in His death and resurrection.



makarizo -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/16/2008 10:44:27 PM)

If Christ was talking to a crowd of people who were "under the law" He was telling them that under that condition they would never be good enough..... poke an eye out, cut an arm off, be perfect just like your Father in heaven is... when in fact even the scribes and pharisees wouldn't make the cut.

"you need a Saviour"
they had the law, and it only proved that mankind was fallen and helpless.



URForgiven -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/16/2008 11:21:07 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: loco79

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.

Just wondering how some of you would interpret this passage?


Buries me.



Liveloved -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/16/2008 11:58:46 PM)

The scribes and Pharisees were good people. The Apostle Paul was described "as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." That's a description of a good person. Yet we are told our righteousness must exceed that! In other words, our righteousness, no matter HOW good, is not good enough, is not the righteousness of Christ. So that tells me I cannot enter the kingdom apart from Christ and His righteousness.



GraceBro -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 12:39:59 AM)

What it means is that your righteousness has to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter Heaven. Jesus is trying to tell those in His audience that they cannot do what is required to enter in heaven through self-effort. He wanted to strip people of their self-righteous pride, believing they were keeping the law, so that they would turn to Him by faith. The Sermon on the Mount is not Jesus encouraging believers to "try harder." The Sermon on the Mount was given to bury us under the impossibility of trying to gain our right standing before God through obedience to the law. Jesus was preparing us for the Cross. And that is what the law does. It shows us our sinfulness and need for the forgiveness and life offered in Christ.

Grace and Peace



Bluethread -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 2:52:15 AM)

So, now we not only ignore the commandments of of Adonai, but the commandments of Yeshua(Jesus) to? Oh ya, they are the same. If we reject the one, we reject the other as well.



makarizo -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 6:49:54 AM)

new covenant/old covenant.
what happened to the old covenant?

Heb 10:9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

Heb 8:13 When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law,

Col 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

2Co 3:5 .......our adequacy is from God,
2Co 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Rom 7:6 we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Luk 16:16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel ......

the scribes and pharisees were a product of the old covenant which has been done away with.



Bluethread -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 8:00:05 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: makarizo

new covenant/old covenant.
what happened to the old covenant?


Ignoring what the Scriptures say in context in an attempt to support ones doctrine was a common practice among some of the Pharasees of Yeshua's(Jesus') time as it is today.

Heb 10:9 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

The sacrifices were taken away with the Temple in 70 AD because many, including some of the the Scribes and Pharasees had begun revere look at them as representations of Adonai rather than tools for use in His service.

Heb 8:13 When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

This is refering to the obligations of the Levitical Preisthood. Without a temple those obligatyions are severly limited.

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law,

This is talking of the curse of eturnal death, not the natural(Adonai created) consequences that follow our actions. Many of the Scribes and Pharasees saught miracles, which include relief from such consequences.

Col 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

This is talking of salvation. Many of the Scribes and Pharasees believed in salvation by works.

2Co 3:5 .......our adequacy is from God,
2Co 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Some of rabbinics of the Scribes and Pharasees sought to "fill in the gaps" in Ha Torah and in doing so ignored that true character of Adonai.

Rom 7:6 we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Understanding that the guilt of the law is covered according to Adonai's promise we, unlike many of the Scribes and Pharasees, are to look at the Scriptures with the guidance of Ha Ruach(The Spirit) and not require others to follow our doctines.

Luk 16:16 "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel ......

Thiis is not necessarily a dicotomy. Many of the Scribes and Pharasees thought more highly of themselves than they ought. The Law and the Prophets were taught up until John and they were rejected by those who thought themselves wiser.

quote:

the scribes and pharisees were a product of the old covenant which has been done away with.


We see today many still follow the same practices. I do not say my answers are conclusive. These issues take a lot of study and discussion. But, to throw out a series of verses without context and draw a conclusion looks pretty "pharasitical" to me.



ta_mosquito -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 9:21:21 PM)

MODERATOR'S NOTE :: ATTENTION PLEASE

Please take the discussion about following the Law and whether the Law is still in effect to the one-stop thread on keeping the Law, located HERE.

Thank you!

Tricia
Forums Moderator

Please do not reply to this message within the forums or chat.

Please email Community@salemwebnetwork.com with questions, comments, or concerns.

Please do not send me PMs regarding this message.



makarizo -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/17/2008 10:34:43 PM)

quote:

to throw out a series of verses without context and draw a conclusion looks pretty "pharasitical" to me.

"thank you" and
every verse I used was completely in context



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/18/2008 1:00:06 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: loco79

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.

Just wondering how some of you would interpret this passage?

The scribes and the Pharisees predicated their righteousness upon what they could do, whether in the written Torah or the then-unwritten torah. Not so for believers from the very Beginning. Righteousness was and is always dependant upon Messiah and whether or not we are known of Him, just as it was from the beginning, when sacrifices were made with faith in Him, the coming Messiah.

Today, just as then, we can be good, do all the right things, be fine upstanding citizens of the world, feed the poor, and give all we have to help others, but if we have not placed our faith and trust in Messiah, all of our righteousness is as filthy menstruation pads. It all means nothing, unless G-d can look at us through the sacrifice of Messiah, because He has called us and caused us to answer Him.



rcjones -> RE: Mt 5:20 what does it mean? (7/19/2008 9:52:05 AM)

Using the Jewish methods of Remez and Drash we find sequential parallel passages, in three blocks within Matthew.

In Matt 5 he goes up the mountain, in 8 he comes down. In 5 "blessed are the poor in spirit" , In 8, he heals a leper who is poor in spirit.

In this outline, Matt 8.28 is parallel to 5.20

The two demoniacs represent the scribes a Pharisees. They know that Jesus is the Son of God, but rather than submit to him as Lord, they would rather kill the pigs.

Pigs are abominable things to Jews, just as Christ was made to be sin (abominable).

So the scribes and Pharisees, knowing that Jesus was the Son of God, would rather kill Jesus than submit to him.

In Hebrews it says: Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

You can be the most "religious" person around, as were the Pharisees, and keep all the symbols of religion. The symbols prefigure killing Christ. This is way that the world wants him... dead. Religion likes him dead.

But He is the Living Son of God, and submitting to him is what is required to obtain His righteousness. Not just recognizing him.



Page: [1]



Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.5 ANSI