You might not realize this, but Jesus engaged his disciples for a period of time before they ever warmed up to following him. I think you’ll relate to this. In Luke 5, the crowds are pressing upon Jesus. It’s like the big controversy over in London. There is a new generation of Royals taking the stage, and they're finding that people are treating the Royal Family like the Kardashians. People are getting a little too comfortable, and they're mauling the Royals, and kids are hugging Meghan Markle, and that sort of thing never happened with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles!
Jesus wasn’t quite as freakish about boundaries as the Royals… but as the crowds press upon him in Luke 5 he has a practical problem. How can he teach well with everyone clawing at him? Jesus notices Simon Peter and his crew cleaning their nets, and so he commandeers Simon’s boat for service, has them put out from shore, and turns their little boat into a speaking platform! You can be sure that Luke is describing the same crowds that Matthew is describing in Matthew 4-5. Jesus’ message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” And we can imagine that whatever Jesus preached in Luke 5 was probably the same as he preached in Matthew 5:6-7.
Peter couldn’t get away from Jesus! What do you do if you’re Peter, push Jesus out of your boat? When Jesus finished teaching, he told Peter to oar the boat out still further, and he told them to cast their nets. They caught so many fish their nets began to tear. They caught so many fish they had to signal their other boats to come help them. They caught so many fish their fleet of boats began to sink! Now I’ve been fishing a long time, I’ve never heard someone say they caught so many fish their boat almost sank!
Peter is so overwhelmed he says to Jesus, “Go away from Lord, because I’m a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8). Peter was terrified by the thought of what God might do with his life. He didn’t think he could ever be “that guy.” But Jesus tells him not to be afraid.
I read a study recently about how if we don’t think we can be successful doing something, we’ll never even start. I think that’s the case with following Christ, with pursuing righteousness, with Simon Peter. The prospect of change can be so overwhelming, we push Jesus away.
Jesus’ essential message is that if you feel a bit defeated… if you’re poor in spirit, if you're grieving the sin in your life, no matter how low you feel you’ve been beaten down… No matter how far you’ve fallen short… You hunger and thirst for righteousness. You struggle whether to show mercy toward people who’ve hurt you. It’s difficult for you to maintain pure thoughts and motives. No matter what pressure you face in life… Conflict, hostility, persecution, insults. Jesus says, “you are going to be my man. You are going to be my woman. You are going to be salt and light. You are going to be my world changers…” He told Peter, “Don’t be terrified, I’ll make you fishers of men.” I’ll make you what I want you to become! With God, all things are possible.
Let me give you permission to feel intimidated for a moment. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus makes a series of statements about righteousness. First, he says in verse 17, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” Jesus is referring to what we call the Old Testament, which is the complete record of the Law God gave his servant Moses on Mount Sinai. The most notable section of the Law as far as we’re concerned are the Ten Commandments. The Old Testament also contains a record of everything God ever said to his people through the prophets. Essentially the prophets took God’s law and powerfully applied it to the people and circumstances of their time. Jesus says, “Don’t think for a minute I’ve come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.”
Next he says (still verse 17), “I’ve not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Now in what sense is Jesus claiming to fulfill the law and the prophets? We know that the Old Testament is filled with promises. In 2 Corinthians 1:20 it says, “For every one of God's promises is "Yes" in Jesus. Therefore, the "Amen" is also spoken through Jesus by us for God's glory.” As you read the Old Testament you can make a list. God said he would do this, and this, and this. Every one of those promises is YES in Christ Jesus.
But there is a more important sense in which Jesus announces he’s come to “fulfill” all the Law and the Prophets. He is claiming that His very life will be the embodiment of all the righteousness God requires, expects, and deserves. The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law talked an awful lot about righteousness. But here Jesus says, “I’m going to show you what it means to be salt and light. I’m going to show you by virtue of my life, what it means to do the good works, speak the tough words, to be personally holy, to walk in humility in the sight of God.”
In verse 18 Jesus says, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or (so much as) one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.” What God requires of us, in terms of righteousness… not only has it never changed, but its not going away anytime soon. We must face it!
In verse 19 Jesus says, “Whoever breaks one of the least of these command teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever “does” and “teaches” these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” At this point you might feel a little bit relieved. You might be saying, “Oh good, there is a hierarchy of righteousness in heaven. Better to be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, than not be in heaven at all…” But that isn’t the meaning of Jesus’ words. To be least in the kingdom of heaven is not to be in heaven at all. It’s to be unsalty , and thrown out, and trampled by men! To be least is to be cast outside…
No, the Kingdom isn’t a matter of talk, but obedience, of doing. And less we misunderstand, Jesus says in verse 20, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”
In Jesus’ day, the scribes and Pharisees were the moral superior and righteous ones. The masses were the defeated ones, the failures and misfits. In what way could the ordinary Joe and Mary hope for their righteousness to surpass the morally elite? If that question perplexes you, what about Matthew 5:48, where Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect!”
Maybe you can understand why an ordinary guy like Peter, after hearing Jesus preach, says to Jesus, “Go away from me Lord, because I’m a sinful man!” Friends, grab you’re notes page and an ink pen. Everything Jesus says, from these verses to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, explain exactly what it looks like for us to confidently pursue righteousness. To not be afraid, but to take heart…
#1) Righteousness is about the pursuit, the trajectory.
In this sermon Jesus tells us to seek “first” the kingdom of God and all his righteousness. But here is the best part. Jesus set’s himself before us as the goal. If Jesus came not to abolish, but fulfill all righteousness (something he also declared at his baptism), then that means we can look to his life as our example, and seek to follow Him in all he “says” and “does” and “is.”
In the gospels, Jesus says, “The Father and the Son are One.” He says, “I only do the works I see my Father doing.” He says, “I only speak what I hear the Father saying.” From being, to doing, to speaking Jesus embodied what it meant to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So the very substance of what it means to be righteous in God’s eyes is to follow, and pursue Jesus with all our heart.
#2) Righteousness is giving your whole life to God.
Notice that whoever “teaches” and “does” what God commands is called the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. James tells us not just to be “hearers” but also “doers” of God’s word. God isn’t interested in our “spiritual infotainment.” He isn’t interested in the size of crowds who sit in pews or even on shorelines. The spirit of righteousness is love God with your whole heart, mind, body, soul and strength. It’s love your neighbor as yourself. The Sermon on the Mount, and more specifically the life of Jesus, casts a vision of what a whole life “wholly” offered to God looks like.
#3) Righteousness is about pleasing God, period.
One of the greatest tests for righteousness is what you’re willing to do when there is no other audience but God. A lot of our righteousness is really about putting on a show for others. It feels good to be noticed, to get high fives for our good deeds, to get people’s approval (i.e. a parent’s approval, a congregation’s approval). But the real key to righteousness is to ask, “Is it enough to do this for God's pleasure?” In Romans 12:1-2 Paul tells us what our focus should be… “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
#4) Righteousness is about Mercy and Justice.
Justice is all about what is holy, righteous, and good. Justice is about impartiality, truth, fairness. The Law is holy. God is holy. But we know that that men are not holy, righteous, and good. We are sinners. We are lawbreakers. We fall short of the glory of God. If God only related to us out of justice, who could possible stand before Him? But as we know God relates to us not just out of justice but out of mercy. Psalm 145:8-9 says, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made.”
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus commands us to refrain from judgement and condemnation and to extend to others the very same mercy, forgiveness to others that we enjoy from God. Remember the Lord’s prayer? “Father forgive us as we also have forgiven our debtors… for if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others your Father will not forgive your offenses…” James tells us mercy triumphs over judgement. The prophets repeatedly tells us that God desire mercy more than sacrifice. Righteousness is not just loving God, but loving people. Its loving people like God has loved us. Being merciful, peacemakers.
#5) Righteousness is by God’s Spirit, not by Might.
Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, where he was tempted. What did Jesus announce at the start of his public ministry? He said, “The spirit of the lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the lord." Jesus was raised from the grave by the power of the Holy Spirit. The promise of God to the prophets was, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord God almighty.” The promise of God to the prophets was, “I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Righteousness is never a demonstration of our power but of God’s power!
#6) Righteousness is in Christ alone, not in standing alone.
The whole reason we hunger and thirst for righteousness, is because ultimately it is to be found outside ourselves not within ourselves. The reason Jesus tells us to “seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness” is because we’re to look without, not within, for righteousness. In Philippians 3:9 Listen to Paul describe the goal of his life: “to gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.” Even as we pursue righteousness, our ultimate confidence is in Christ’s righteousness.
Romans 3:21-26 says, "But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as an atoning sacrifice[s] in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus."