Sunday, January 18
2026-01-18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyLVnNIub4k

Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Thank you. Thank you. ...on the way in. There are bulletins. Inside the bulletin is a sermon handout. Additionally, there are communion elements on that table. As you come in, if you would like to participate as we celebrate the Lord's Supper together, in just a few minutes, those elements are there as well. In the back, there's coffee, there's some snacks, there's some bottles of water. Just a reminder, it is Soup Sunday. We'd like to invite you to stay after our service for lunch and fellowship. Whether you brought us soup or not, you're welcome to stay and enjoy some time together. There is a significant amount of soup downstairs, for which I am very thankful. Debbie will tell you, every week we do this, I worry that we're going to have enough, and God always provides. So, I am very thankful for that.

And so, we're going to go ahead and go to God in prayer, and then we'll read some Scripture together this morning. Father in heaven, I thank you for your goodness. As we gather this morning, and we're often coming tired, and with struggles, and with worries, and especially this morning with a lot of heartbreak and suffering among our small church, we just ask for encouragement. That you would pour out your grace, that your spirit would encourage us, that you would strengthen us, that we would be able to walk righteously, that we would love one another well, that you would help us to see your goodness, that like the psalmist writes, we would lift our eyes to the hills, and see where our help comes from. So be with us this morning, encourage us, give us strength. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So as we prepare this morning to turn to God's Word, during our time together, we're going to be thinking and studying righteousness, not as we often think about it, which is sort of a badge of spiritual achievement, but rather as living in a right relationship with God. Scripture consistently shows us that those who are righteous are not those who trust in themselves, but those who hope in the Lord, who listen to his Word, and who walk in faithful obedience. And the truth of biblical righteousness that I pray we see and are encouraged by this morning is a truth that both comforts us and calls us. It comforts us because we find that righteousness is sustained by God's steadfast love and not by our own strength. And it calls us because when we trust God, it reshapes every part of our life. How we live, how we wait, how we obey, how we suffer, how we rejoice, it impacts every part of our lives.

And so, with that in mind, let's stand and we're going to read from the 33rd Psalm together, beginning in verse 18. So if you want to read with me: "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." This is God's Word. And so as we begin our time of song this morning, I want to invite you as we sing, "Whom Shall I Fear?" to lift your eyes from circumstances and see the Lord who guards His people.

You hear me when I go, you are my morning soul. Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the blood. You hear me when I go, you are my morning soul. Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the blood. But whom shall I fear? You crush the enemy underneath my feet. You are my sword and shield. Though troubles lay me still. Whom shall I fear? I know who calls me bold. I know who stands behind. The God of angels on me is always by my side. The One who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God of angels on me is always by my side. My strength is in Your name. For You alone can sing. You will deliver me. Yours is the victory. Whom shall I live? Whom shall I live?

I know who goes before. I know who stands behind. The God, angel of peace, is always by my side. The One who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God, angel of peace, is always by my side. Nothing for me shall spare. You hold the world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. Nothing for me shall spare. You hold the world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises. You are faithful. You are faithful. You are faithful. I know who brought me home. I know who's going to be mine. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. The one who reigns for now. He is a friend of mine. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. The God of Angel on me is always by my side. The God of Angel on me is always by my side.

Because God watches over those, and He anchors our confidence with Him, we want to fully set our hope on Jesus. And so we're not going to talk about it, but we're going to sing it. So we're going to sing, "I Set My Hope on Jesus." When this life of trials test my faith, I set my hope on Jesus. When the questions come and doubts remain, I set my hope on Jesus. For the deepest wounds the time won't heal. There's a joy that runs still deeper. There's a truth that's more than all I feel. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My rock, my only trust. Who set his heart upon me first? I set my hope on Jesus.

Though I falter in this war with sin, I set my hope on Jesus. When I feel the fight and sink within, I set my hope on Jesus. Though the shame would drown me in its sea, and I dread the wave of justice, I will cast my life on Calvary. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My God, my only trust. You set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary. I will cast my life on Calvary.

And offer all its vain rewards. I set my hope on Jesus. Though this heart of mine is prone to stray. Give me grace enough to finish. Till I worship on that final day. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My life, my only trust. Who set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. My life, my only trust. Who set His heart upon me first. I set my hope on Jesus. I set my hope on Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen.

As we continue in worship, and in just a moment, we're going to sing Christ our hope in life and death, and then we are going to move into our time of communion following that song. Before we sing, however, I want us to take a moment and consider our lives. Paul calls us to examine ourselves in Lamentations chapter 3, and in verse 40, the author of Lamentations says this, "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord." And the call throughout Scripture is that God's people are to be a people who are living in repentance, who are turning away from their sin and turning to God, who are confessing their sin, seeking forgiveness, and putting their hope in God. So I'm going to just take a moment and pray for us, and then I want us to read from together and from the book of Micah.

Father in heaven, we come knowing that we are broken, that we are weak, that we have sinned and we have failed, sometimes intentionally, sometimes by omitting those things that we know that we should be doing. And so we come confessing our sin before you, in repentance, knowing that you are the one who forgives. And so we ask this morning that you would forgive us, that you would strengthen us as we seek to walk in righteousness, and that you would restore our spirits and that you would lift our hope. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen. If you would, read with me. We're going to read from Micah, the seventh chapter. If you would, go ahead and read with me. "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever because he

delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities underfoot, and you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." This is the word of the Lord. Let's sing Christ our hope in life and death.

What is our hope in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone. What is our only confidence that our souls to Him belong? Who holds our days within His hand? What comes apart from His command? And what will keep us to the end? The love of Christ in which we stand. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope is eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. Christ our open life and life. The truth can cause a troubled soul. God is good. God is good. Where is His grace and goodness known? In our great Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fields rise. Who stands above the storm of trial. Who sends the waves that bring us now unto the shore of the rock of Christ. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and then we confess. Christ, I will be right for you.

And if you will pray, what will we say? Christ, He lives. Christ, He lives. And what reward will Heaven bring? Everlasting life within. There we will rise to meet the Lord. Then sin and death will be destroyed. And we will feast in endless joy. In endless joy. When Christ is ours. Forevermore. For evermore. For evermore. For evermore. For evermore. For we sing. Hallelujah. Our hope spreads eternal. For we sing. Hallelujah. Now and ever we can face. Christ, I hope in life and never take. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. Christ, I hope in life and never. Now and ever we confess. Christ, I hope in life and never. Jesus, as we'll see this morning, calls us to righteousness. And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus does not call us to righteousness without providing for us a way to be righteous.

At the cross, we learn this: God does not ignore sin, nor does he lower the standard, but instead he bears it in our place. Isaiah says this: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." This bread that we are about to partake of reminds us that Christ's body was given in our place. The cup reminds us of the words of Jesus: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." We must understand this morning that communion is not a reward for the righteous, but rather nourishment for those who know their need. As we've been in the Sermon on the Mount the last several weeks, we've seen that in Jesus' opening words: "For the poor in spirit,

for those who are mourning, for those who are humble, for who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness." In Him, Paul says in Ephesians, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, for the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." And so we come to this table this morning not trusting in our obedience, but in the obedience of Jesus. We do not come confident in our righteousness, but rather grateful for Christ. And so in a moment, as we take the bread and the cup, I want to remember this promise: There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we ask that you bless this bread and this cup, that you would nourish us in the depths of our souls. Without resources, in sorrow for our sin, in sorrow for the brokenness of our world,

all creation is crying out and groaning over the brokenness we see and feel and experience. And we come hungry, and we come thirsty, and we just ask that you would satisfy our hearts. That through the riches of your grace, through the wonder of the gospel, and the power of forgiveness, and the work of the Spirit, may you nourish us. And may you cause us to grow closer to you. So we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for grace. We thank you for hope. It's in his name we pray. Amen. If you would, take the bread with me, as remember Jesus giving this bread, saying, "This is my body, which is for you." Let's remember Jesus together. In the same way, Jesus, as we just read, takes the cup, the new covenant in his blood, and so as often as we do this, let's remember Jesus together. Amen.

We've been moving through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. If you're wondering where we are in terms of the totality of the Sermon on the Mount, I think we're right here on our list of Sermon on the Mount. So there's a ways to go. I was trying this week as I was preparing to sort of give us a flying overview. Matthew chapter 5 at 30,000 feet. And the wonder of the Word of God is that it is so deep and so wonderful and so powerful. I don't think we could do it. I mean, we're just going to take a look at verses 17, 18, 19, and 20 this morning. And I told Greg, as we were printing stuff off earlier, that it's good we all brought a lunch. So we're going to dive into that. We're going to start with a word of prayer first. Let's go ahead and pray. Father in heaven, bless our time together.

May your word be at work in our lives. May your spirit use your word to convict us, to encourage us, to transform us. May we see the righteousness that you have called us to, and may we see that we're just not good enough, we're not strong enough, we're not powerful enough. But help us to see the good news of the Gospel, that Jesus is, and that in Him we are made righteous. So encourage us by the Gospel this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So I just want to dive right into it, because I've got a ways to go this morning, and I want to just jump right to verse 20. And what we're going to do, normally we would read the whole thing, and we would take it sort of section by section,

but what I want to do is kind of the opposite. I want to start with this remarkably shocking statement that Jesus makes, and then I want to sort of work backwards, and as we do, it's going to get a little more shocking, and a little more shocking, and then ultimately we're going to see, I think, the most shocking statement, which is at the very beginning, but it's also the most hopeful, the most powerful, and the most transformational. And so Jesus says this, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." And so we need to define some terms as we get started here this morning. The scribes are experts in the law of Moses, and they became experts in the law of Moses

because their vocation was to copy out the word of God, right? There's no photocopiers. There's no printers. And so if you want a copy of God's word, somebody has to sit and copy through it. And so because the scribes at first were primarily copyists, one of the things that happens when you copy something, you begin to know it more deeply and more deeply. And so this sort of advances from simply copying the word of God to becoming an expert in the word of God because you know it so well. And so the scribes become ultimately this place where they study, transcribe, and ultimately will write commentaries on the law. The scribes, I want us to see, are not casual Bible readers, right? They're professionally trained Scripture experts. They would begin as children in study of the word of God

as many of the Jewish children did, but they would continue to study and continue to study and continue to study up until the point they were about 40 years old where they would be sort of ordained into the work of being a scribe and be given the name Rabbi. So these are not guys that are simply good at Bible trivia. They're not guys who can sort of quote off a few verses here and there. These are guys who in many cases have memorized much of the first five books of the Bible. And in some cases, they're almost like Scripture lawyers. They know it so deeply. They can answer questions, and they are publicly respected. In towns, they'd be greeted with honor, given seats of prominence, and looked to as authorities of the Word of God.

And so if anybody knows the Bible, the people who knew the Bible the deepest in Jesus' day were the scribes. And so as Jesus begins with this, he doesn't begin with just some people who are casually interested in the Word of God, but people who know it so deeply, they are teaching and commentating and memorizing it. The second group that Jesus memorizes is the Pharisees, and they are part of a movement within Judaism to obey the law of God more deeply. Right? They sought to obey every command that God gives, not just sort of in a general way, but in great detail. So in the Law of Moses, there are 600 commands. If you go through and count them all, there are 600 of them. And the Pharisees said, "We're going to follow all of them, but not just generally, but in great detail."

So when they hear God commands that they give, these guys are going out to the garden, and Jesus talks about this, and they're going to their dill plant. I don't know if they're making pickles or what, but they're going through their dill leaves, and they're going, "Nine for me, one for God. Nine for me, one for God." And then they show up, and they put their tithe of the leaves of their herbs to support the house of God. But additionally, they are so devoted to keeping those 600 commands in great detail that they begin to add to them, right? So, I don't want to break this commandment, and here is the line, and I don't want to be even near the line, so I'll make another commandment that acts as a buffer, and I'll keep that commandment as well.

And so, not only do they keep the commands of God, but they add to those commands so that they can be even more righteous. Their aim and their goal ultimately was faithfulness and ordinary life, not just at the temple several times a year or in synagogue on a weekly basis. In the eyes of the people in the first century, the scribes and the Pharisees were the height of spirituality. If righteousness could be measured, the scribes and Pharisees would be more righteous than anyone. We'll see this more deeply when we get into chapter 6 of the Sermon on the Mount. And then Jesus makes this shocking declaration. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, the most righteous people that you have ever met, unless it exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Notice that Jesus, when he talks about righteousness, he doesn't hold them up as an example. He's not saying, "Be as righteous as the scribes. Be as righteous as the Pharisees." He says, "You've got to be more righteous." And that word that he uses for "exceeds" means to overflow. In fact, one of the places Jesus is using it, the feeding of the 5,000. And he's fed all of these people with a few loaves and a few fish, and the disciples go out and pick up leftovers. And they end up with 12 baskets of leftovers, and we're not just talking barely to the top, but these baskets are overflowing. And these guys are walking, and there's pieces of bread and pieces of fish falling out of their baskets because there is so much. The picture here of righteousness, and what's so shocking is Jesus says, "Take the most righteous people you know."

The ones that know the Word of God, who have sought to obey it in every aspect of their life, and you've got to be bigger and more righteous than that. I don't want you to just hear Jesus' words, but feel the weight of this just a little bit as Jesus says this, or as we sort of think through this. Kingdom righteousness doesn't just match the best obedience that you've ever seen. It overflows beyond it. And for Jesus' people, listening to this, this would have been absolutely stunning. How can I be more righteous than a scribe? How can I be more righteous than a Pharisee? Now we also react to that. I don't think we all react the same, but we all struggle with these words of Jesus. That you must be more righteous than a scribe or a Pharisee. And so in some cases, what happens is we begin to minimize the righteousness that Jesus is calling for.

Right? We'll look at the scribes and Pharisees and go, "Well, they don't look all that righteous to me." Right? How can these guys be righteous? Right? In a few chapters, they're going to conspire and be instrumental in the plot that kills Jesus. How can they be righteous? I would just say this, just starting with where we're at right now. They knew Scripture far better than any of us. I would say they practiced daily obedience, probably far more consistently than most of us. Jesus critiques, but not by saying that their righteousness is small, but by saying it needs to be bigger. And we have a tendency to try to minimize the words of Jesus. Right? We explain it away. We redefine righteousness. We lower the standard. In fact, you'll see it in the next six examples Jesus uses in Matthew chapter 5.

Almost every person who comes to these tries to soften them and make them smaller. That's not what Jesus is doing. He's making us see that this righteousness must be great than anything you have ever seen or can imagine. And so I want to say to you this morning, don't minimize the force of Jesus' statement to try to make ourselves feel better. The second thing that happens, maybe we try to minimize this and say it's not as righteous as it looks. The other thing that happens is sometimes we run in fear. Our fear looks at this righteousness and says, "I can't measure up. It's impossible." And we become discouraged, and we shrink back in despair. "I can't, so I won't, so this is not for me." Or maybe this, we rebel. If fear tells us that we can't, rebellion tells me that I don't want to. We shouldn't have to.

And we tend to bristle at demands and resist the idea that Jesus gets to tell us what to do. Like little kids going, "Well, you're not in charge of me." Or sometimes we seek to do the bare minimum. Almost every paper that was assigned in school for me, somebody in the class would ask, "How many pages does it need to be? How many words does it need to be?" And I remember when Microsoft Word first came out with a word counter. And I'd be sitting there, and I'd be typing, I'm like, "999 words." I'll add my middle name, "1,000." Boom! A lot of us, when we look at a standard, our thought is, "How little can we do?" So we minimize, we become discouraged, we rebel, and then also we try to say, "How little can I do?"

Laziness seeks the bare minimum. What can I do and still get mine? So we have different reactions, but the same problem. No matter where we start, fearful, resistant, and apathetic, there is a heart-level struggle to engage with Jesus' words about righteousness. You see, Jesus' words don't just expose what we do, but how we relate to God Himself. We don't naturally move toward this kind of righteousness that searches us, reshapes us, and demands more than surface obedience. And so the question is, why would Jesus say something so shocking? This verse doesn't come out of nowhere. Jesus has just not done blessing the poor and the meek and the hungry, saying, "These are my kingdom people." And then He continues in the Beatitudes saying, "Look at how kingdom people grow, and how they impact the world, that you are salt and you are light."

And He doesn't hide the cost that life will be opposed, faithfulness will be difficult. And in a place where we struggle to concentrate all this on is righteousness. And so Jesus comes and He says this shocking statement, "You've got to be more righteous." Jesus has already turned so many things upside down. And the righteousness that we're going to see is not just a rule-keeping checkbox, but a rightness before God, shaped by His Word, reflective of His character. And this goes deeper than just our actions. It doesn't impact our actions, but it goes deeper and impacts our heart. So I want to start with this shocking statement that your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. And I want us to sort of work backwards into this. And what Jesus says right before this is that God's Word is meant to be obeyed.

Look at what He says in verse 19. "Therefore, whoever relaxes the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, he 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." Jesus very simply and very clearly says there are no small commands in the Word of God. Think about how we react to commands and rules, right? Probably all of us react a little bit differently. Some of you, by nature, are rule followers, right? You have a list of rules, and you like to follow us. Some of us, however, are a little bit different, right? We've never met a rule we couldn't justify not following. And so Jesus speaks to us about the commands of God. I want you to think about how often we respond to commands we don't like.

So sometimes when we encounter a command we don't like, we just say it's not that big a deal. I was driving with the kids this week, and we were heading down the road at a rate of speed, and the kids go, "Dad, how fast are you going?" And without thinking, I just told them. And they go, "Dad, what's the speed limit?" And I go, "Well, it's not that bad. It's not that big of a deal," right? And just kept doing my thing. But isn't that how so often we react to the commands of God? It's not that big of a deal, right? It's just a small thing. Or sometimes, right, that no longer applies to me. It's outdated. It's served its purpose. We've all heard about laws that are so ridiculous. So in Culpeper, Virginia, there is a law that you cannot wash your mule on the sidewalk, right?

Not something we struggle with today. We go, "Look, I don't have to worry about washing mules. I don't even have a mule. In fact, I don't even know--I know people with horses, but I don't know anybody who even has a mule." And we look at that law, and we go, "Well, that's outdated. It can be disposable." And what's interesting is that even in my lifetime, things that were once viewed as the standards by which we were to live are now considered out of date. And so sometimes we say it's not that big a deal. Sometimes we say, "Well, that's not the way things are anymore." And then third, sometimes we come in and we sort of treat the laws of God as if they are open to negotiation. Right? I won't do that, but I also won't do this. I won't do that, but I will do this.

You see, Jesus here, in these words, does not allow us to shrink God's Word to a manageable size. He says this, "Therefore, whoever relaxes the least of these commandments." The translation here could be like untying. Untying a horse. Untying a knot in your shoes. That there is a tendency that inhabits the human heart to hear what God has to say and seek to untie that commandment so it doesn't apply to us. And you find ourselves doing backflicks to say, "This is not what Jesus really means." Jesus very clearly and simply says, "The commands of God matter." And secondly, he says this, that this is more than just an intellectual exercise. He'll say this, "Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of God." So there's two things that are happening here.

It's very easy for us to treat the Bible and the Word of God as simply an academic exercise, right? We'll analyze, we'll define, we'll debate, we'll admire how wonderfully Scripture is put together. But our interaction with the Word of God is not intended to stop at just that level of thought. We can fall into this trap where we will learn and we will learn, but we will never apply. And notice what Jesus says, "Whoever does them and then teaches them," right? We have a saying, right, "Those who can do and those who can't teach," right? Jesus says you're supposed to do both. He's not talking to preachers or leaders. He's saying to those who are listening, the disciples who are around Him, and the crowds that surround all of them, is that the Word of God matters, and you're to do it and to share with others how to do it.

And so here we find this picture. To loosen God's commands, to treat obedience lightly, is to miss the kind of righteousness that Jesus is teaching. I want you to see that Jesus' command for righteousness is not detached from Scripture, but it's connected to it. It's not invented by us, negotiated with God, or selectively applied. It flows from God's Word, and it is serious enough to obey it. If you notice what Jesus said, there's this righteousness that is a high standard. It comes from obedience to the Word of God, and then He will say this: This Word is unshakable, and it is enduring. He says this in verse 18: "Truly I say to you, unless heaven and earth pass away, not an iota or a dot will pass away from the law until all is accomplished."

And what Jesus does first is He challenges our view of the unshakable, and He does so by directing us to things we generally think don't move: the heavens and the earth, right? Though the weather is bound to change like the hills will still remain, right? This picture that the hills just keep going no matter what happens around us. And Jesus in doing this, interestingly, is going back to Genesis chapter 1, where all of creation is preceded by the Word of God. That God speaks and creation happens. And Jesus, the Word made flesh, who is before creation and after creation, challenges our view of what endures. We tend to think of mountains as being enduring. If you were ever collecting the state quarters back in the day, it sounds strange to think of something that, you know, for me is recent memory.

My kids happened years before they were born. The New Hampshire state quarter on the back has a mountain, the old man in the mountain. Unfortunately, before that quarter was even minted, the man in the mountain fell off the mountain, and all the rocks fell down, right? So the mountain is still there, but it's changed. And we're used to that, right? Rivers change course, mountains change shape. They generally endure, but they still change a little bit. And we bring that idea to the Word of God. Notice what Jesus says. "Not one iota nor a dot," the King James says, "a jot or a tittle," think about the dots on an "i" or the cross on a "t." This specifically refers to one of the smallest parts of the Hebrew alphabet. Jesus says, "Even the smallest part outlasts creation."

Right? God's Word is not like a construction zone. When we drive through it one week and speed is reduced, we drive through it the next week, the construction is finished, and everything's back to normal, the Word of God does not change. So here we have a standard for righteousness based upon obedience to the Word of God that does not move or disappear until it's all accomplished. Here's the good news. God's Word is fulfilled in Jesus. Listen to what he says. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. Not come to abolish them, but fulfill them." And you may say, "Why does this matter?" There's a righteousness I can't meet. It's meant to be obeyed and enduring, and I am done for. And nothing in these words of Jesus comfort me in my affliction.

They don't help me in my sorrow. They just make it a standard that makes me feel worse about myself. How is this helpful? And to that, I want you to hear the Word of Jesus. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. I came to fulfill the law. And when we're thinking about the law and the prophets that Jesus is speaking about here, we're talking about the Old Testament. God's law for Israel, it detailed righteous moral behavior. Right? Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't covet. It detailed religious, righteous religious practice. Sacrifices, cleanliness, ritual washings, and the law of God showed the people what a righteous people different from the nations around them would look, right? Don't steal. Worship in cleanliness, with sacrifices, dealing with sin, and you're going to be different from the nations around you.

You're going to live righteously. You're going to cut your hair differently, cut your beard differently, eat and dress differently. And there are two things that Jesus says about himself, "I did not come to abolish, to tear down or destroy, but there is something I did come to do. I came to fulfill, make complete." And so the question here for us, looking at a standard we can't meet, with commands that we struggle to obey, in a word that does not change, Jesus says this, "I came to fulfill the law." John begins his Gospel like this: "The Word became flesh," that's Jesus, "and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." And so in one sense, Jesus fulfills the law by being the Word made flesh.

Another way that He fulfills His law is in Luke chapter 24, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. On the road to Emmaus, He interpreted all the things in Scripture concerning Himself. And what you find is if you start in the beginning of Genesis with Adam, the one man through whom sin enters the world, there comes another man, a new Adam, whose name is Jesus, through whom righteousness and forgiveness is made possible and we are restored. And you can move through the entirety of the Old Testament, through the prophets, through the law of God, that He's the better Passover lamb, that He's the rock in the wilderness that gives us water, He's the manna from heaven that nourishes our soul. He's the true prophet. He's the true priest. He is the true king. And in a sense, every word of the Old Testament directs us to Jesus.

But it goes deeper than all of that. You see, in Jesus, the moral righteousness of the law is fulfilled. Hebrews says this, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin." Those moral rules of the law, "Do not steal, do not covet, do not commit adultery." All 600 of them, Jesus keeps. And He doesn't just keep the rules, but He also does what is right in every situation. He doesn't just avoid the bad, but He does what is righteous. And in doing so, He fulfills the law. And in righteous religious practice, Jesus fulfills the law. Listen to these words from the book of Hebrews. "But when Christ appeared as the high priest for the good things are to come,

that through the greater and more perfect tent or tabernacle not made with hands, He entered once for all into the holy places, not by the means of a blood of goats and calves, but by the means of His own blood securing an eternal redemption." Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but when Christ had offered up for all time a single sacrifice for sin, He sat down at the right hand of God. So not only does Jesus fully keep the moral law, He fully keeps the religious law, the ultimate sacrifice for sin, and He ultimately creates a righteous people. Paul will say, "Those of you who are far off have now been brought near by the blood of Christ, for Jesus Himself is our peace, who has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of two. And making peace, He might reconcile both of us to God in one body through the cross, killing the hostility." So you might say for a minute you started with this incredibly high expectation of righteousness that exceeds, that is found in the Word of God that endures, and now you're telling me Jesus has fulfilled it. What does that mean? How does this help me? How does this change anything? You see, you and I are met by an impossible moral standard. Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, that moral standard is meant to be obeyed. Therefore, one who relaxes the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. The standard is enduring and outlasts all things.

Unless heaven and earth pass away, not an iota or dot will pass away from the law until it is accomplished. But here's the good news. I have not come to abolish the law or prophets, but I have come to fulfill them. And if you look at this standard and you say, "There's no way my righteousness can exceed this. There's no way that I struggle to follow the law of God." I know it endures, but I don't. Let me tell you this: Jesus did. And in doing so, He gives us the gift of His righteousness. One of my favorite verses in the New Testament: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Do you hear the good news? That in our brokenness, in our unrighteousness, in our sin, and in our rebellion,

Jesus takes that at the cross. And in Him, we become righteous. That Jesus gives us His righteousness, and that changes everything. You see, Jesus comes with an answer for your righteousness problem. He comes for an answer for your obedience problem. And He doesn't do it by minimizing righteousness. He does so by changing our hearts. Do you know what the difference is between obligation and desire? I remember the first time I ever had to pay taxes. I was like 15 or 16. And we filled out like 1040 easy. And I was like, "What? Not only did they take money out of my paycheck every week, now I've got to give them more money?" And I was mad. And I didn't really have a choice because my dad was helping me, and I couldn't be like, "Well, I'm just going to evade taxes for the rest of my life."

But I was not happy. Like I'm like looking up a tri-corner hat, like I'm throwing tea in the harbor. Like I did not want to pay those taxes. And it was not a lot of money. I was like 15 or 16. I was grumpy. Fast forward like 15 years. And I'm in like a little store, looking at a little shiny rock with a sparkly gold band, about to spend maybe more money in one moment than I had in a lot of my life before that. I mean it wasn't really expensive in big picture terms, but for me it was. And I didn't even hesitate, right? Because one was an obligation. Another was desire. And I was so excited. I was gonna wait for like two months. As soon as I bought the ring, it was like next day, I'm like, "Yeah, let's put this to use." Like, so excited. You see, there's a difference in our hearts

between obligation, and many of you have been looking at the law of God in Christianity as this obligation. I better do it, or I'm gonna be in trouble. And Jesus comes along, and He changes your heart, and it goes from obligation to desire. And that discouragement, and that avoidance, and that pride, and that rebellion is removed from your life by the righteousness of Jesus. And now you chase that righteousness with joy. You see, Jesus isn't minimizing or diminishing righteousness. When He says, "I've fulfilled it," He's making it possible for us by changing our hearts. And when you begin to see that, it turns this text around. Jesus is the fulfillment of the righteousness. The righteousness that endures and lasts. The righteousness that is important, even in the smallest detail. And it's a righteousness that will make you more righteous, not in pride, but in reality more than all of the righteousness that you have seen before.

And it's not that we still don't struggle. There's good news, but we still sometimes struggle. We'll see that a little bit next week as we move through six examples of righteousness, but I want you to understand this. Jesus has been righteous on your behalf. The righteousness that Jesus calls us to goes deeper than external actions. It goes to your heart. And Jesus comes to you with an answer for your righteousness problem. I remember in college, it was between my junior and senior year. I got in an accident and broke my foot. Went to the worst emergency room in the world, and they said, "You're fine. Here's a bunch of pain medicine. Just take pain medicine until it doesn't hurt anymore." Right? You know what happened? I was miserable. So I made an appointment at an orthopedic doctor. Walked into his office while I kind of hobbled in on crutches, dragging my foot.

He looks at my x-rays right there in the waiting room and goes, "Oh, everything in the left half of your foot is shattered." Right? So one doctor comes and says, "Here, let's cover up the pain." Another doctor comes and says, "Let's get down into the root of the problem, and let's truly fix it." You see, Jesus doesn't come and simply say, "Hey, let's see if we can figure out a way to cover this up, to hide the symptoms, to hide your pain." He goes down deep into your heart, and sometimes that's more painful than the band-aid. And he goes down deep into your heart, but you know what he does? He fixes you and transforms you and calls you to righteousness. As the Old Testament promises, the commands of God are no longer on tablets of stone, but they are written into your heart by the work of the Holy Spirit.

And so if you come this morning, and you are tired, and you are despairing, and it feels like everything is falling apart in your life and in righteousness, Jesus says, "I have fulfilled it." Not only am I your righteousness, but I'm your hope. I'm your strength. I'm everything that you need. In fact, he ends this sermon by saying, "Those who take these words and put them into practice are like a wise man who builds his house on the rock." And when the storms of life come and the winds blow, that stands firm. If Jesus is not your righteousness, you're building in the sand. Jesus is not your hope. You're building where everything is going to fall down. The call in this text is yes, to see the impossibly high standard of righteousness, and to know that Jesus transforms us.

Because it took him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and for grace. Thank you for your word. Thank you for your people. May you encourage our broken hearts. May you lift up our struggling and weak legs. May you energize us. May you change and transform us. May you encourage us deeply. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand, and we are going to sing Build My Life.

Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for You.

Jesus the name above every other name. Jesus the only one who could ever sing. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for You. Oh, we live for You. Holy, there is no one like You. There is none beside You. Open up my eyes and wonder, and show me who You are. Help me with Your heart and hate me. It will let You lose around me. I will build my life upon Your heart. It is a firm foundation. I will put my heart in Your heart. And I will not be shaken. Holy, there is no one like You. There is none beside You. Both of my eyes and wonder. Show me who You are. Help me with Your heart. Give me in love to those of You. I'm very thankful that you are here with us this morning. We're getting ready to have Soup Sunday in a few minutes. We'd love to have you stay with us and join us for lunch.

If not, I think we do have to-go containers, so you're welcome to do that as well. Next Sunday is Children's Church Sunday, so the second and the fourth Sunday of every month. We'll be here Wednesday night, 7 p.m., or 6 p.m., without Linda to remind me about me getting my times wrong. 6 p.m., we're going to go a little deeper into this text from this morning. So let's go ahead. I'm going to have a word of prayer, read some Scripture, and then we'll be dismissed. Father in heaven, we thank you for all that you have given to us and all that you have done for us. We thank you for your people and for your word, for your church. We thank you for this meal that we are about to eat. May you bless this time of fellowship and this time of nourishment,

that we would not just be physically strengthened, but that you would spiritually strengthen us and encourage us through this time we're spending together. We thank you for the food that you have given us. Thank you most of all for Jesus, the bread of life, who satisfies all the desires of our heart. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. John chapter 3 says this, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is, and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure."

As we go, remember that the righteousness Jesus calls us to is not something that we achieve on our own, but something that He works in our lives by His grace. And so may the God who has called you, the one who has called you to be His children, give you hearts that long for what is right, lives that are shaped by His word, and fix your hope firmly on Christ. And as you wait for His appearing, may your faith bear fruit in obedience and love and holiness until the day that we see Him as He is. We want to go in peace and live for His glory.

Praise God, from Him all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above the Heavenly Host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen.