In 1993 Robert Lee Brock ended up in prison. He was convicted of breaking and entering and grand larceny and was sentenced to 23 years behind bars, which he was serving at Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. After two years in prison he decided to file a lawsuit to make the man who was really responsible pay. So with a 7-page handwritten letter demanding a day in court and five million dollars in reparations, Robert Lee Brock filed suit against…
Robert Lee Brock.
That’s right, he decided to sue himself. He explained in his letter that he partook in alcoholic beverages and caused himself to violate his own religious beliefs, which led to his crimes and arrest. Clearly he was owed, big time. Oh, but since he was a ward of the state and not able to work, well, the government was going to have to pay that five million. (https://www.grunge.com/463300/the-bizarre-reason-a-virginia-man-sued-himself-for-5-million/)
The court didn’t waste any time dismissing his case, calling it “an innovative approach to civil rights litigation” and “totally ludicrous.” But maybe in a way you could say that he was on to something. People sometimes say, “I’m my own worst enemy.” If I took myself to court how many sins could I name? Nobody knows my wickedness the way that I do. Well, nobody except for God.
And so Jesus warns us today not to depend on our own righteousness. You can’t scheme your way out of your sins. You can’t trick God into paying up. You need perfect righteousness if you want to be saved. Only by Jesus’ righteousness can you enter heaven.
Our Gospel for today comes from Matthew 5 where Jesus was preaching his great Sermon on the Mount. Many people had gathered to hear him. They had come to learn about the kingdom of God. They had come to find out what it means to be a true disciple.
And you might think that Jesus would make the whole emphasis of his sermon something like, “Works are nonsense, ya just need faith.” But that’s not what he does at all. He actually gets really deep into what true righteousness is. He preaches the Law. And the Law doesn’t pull any punches. He tells the people, “Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Now for us we tend to think of the Pharisees and experts in the law as hypocrites, people who claimed to be righteous when in reality they were far from God. That is largely true, and we know that from the many examples of Jesus’ encounters with Pharisees and experts in the law. But that wasn’t their reputation at that time. Historically, the Pharisees were some of the people who were the most dedicated to keeping God’s Word and the traditions of their elders. They had a reputation among the people of being very learned and pious. Many people would have seen the Pharisees as the example of what they should strive to be like.
And so this was no small thing when Jesus said, “Your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees.” This is a simple fact. It’s not a figure of speech, an exaggeration or hyperbole. Jesus was telling them, “Look at those Pharisees. Look at how they have dedicated their whole lives to keeping the law, every little bit of it. But it’s not enough. They can try with all their might, but they can’t keep the law well enough to enter heaven. And so if you want to be righteous enough to enter heaven you need to be even more righteous than that.”
Jesus then goes on to explain. There are many people who might seem righteous. There are people who think that they are righteous. There are people who believe that they have done a pretty good job of keeping God’s law. But even the most obvious laws of the Ten Commandments are not so easily kept. You might think that at least by these you are righteous, but are you?
Jesus said,
21“You have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will have to answer to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of hell fire.
“You shall not murder” is the Fifth Commandment, and it has to be the easiest commandment to keep, right? I’ve certainly never taken someone’s life in cold blood. Have you? Of course those murderers should be subject to judgment, both earthly judgment, where they should be tried by a court and punished justly, and they should face God’s judgment too. We often struggle with the idea of hell, and rightly so. We just can’t comprehend eternal punishment. But murder is maybe one place where we would make an exception for our squeamishness about hell. You hear a story about someone who has cruelly ended an innocent person’s life and your blood boils and you say, “Yeah, that murderer does deserve to go straight to hell.”
“But hold on for a minute,” Jesus says here, “Are you not condemning yourself, like Robert Lee Brock suing Robert Lee Brock?” “How so? I’ve never murdered anyone.” “Oh, but this commandment is about so much more. It’s about the body and life that God has given to you and to every person, created in his image. No earthly court cares if you are angry without a cause, or if you call your brother “Raca” which means something like “air head” or if say to someone, “You fool.” Those aren’t crimes before men. But before God they are as unrighteous as the murderer who stands up in court and boasts, “I did it!” These things are equally deserving of the sentence of hell.
And why is that? Before the world all that matters is the actions of your hands, but righteousness before God begins with the heart. That’s what God cares about most of all. He does not think one way and then act in another. The reason that the Pharisees were hypocrites was because they did. And you cannot claim that because your hands have never shed innocent blood you have kept perfectly this commandment. Have you been angry at your brother without a cause? Have you insulted him? What good is righteousness that is only skin deep?
Our attitude towards other people actually reflects our attitude towards God. John explains this in 1 John 4, where he says,
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, love God, whom he has not seen? This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother.
What does Jesus say?
If you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.
This is so important to our Lord Jesus that he doesn’t even want your offerings if you will not be reconciled to your brother. You anger and your grudges that cut you off from your brother are also things that cut you off from your God. Don’t put it off. Settle things now. The time for judgment is coming. Jesus says,
“If someone accuses you, reach an agreement with him quickly, while you are with him on the way. Otherwise your accuser may bring you to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Amen I tell you: You will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law. Instead he explained and taught it in all its fullness. Don’t go thinking that you can keep these laws and be righteous enough for heaven. The Pharisees weren’t righteous enough. You’re not righteous enough either. No one is. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and you can’t sue yourself for being your own worst enemy.
Is there any hope then in what Jesus says here? Is this simply a message of law and condemnation, with no room for comfort? No, the Gospel is here too. The Gospel is in the person who came to preach these words. His righteousness surpasses the Pharisees and the experts in the law. And by his perfect life and innocent death, by his glorious resurrection, his perfect righteousness is yours. Paul says “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor 5:21). His is the name into which you’re baptized. His is the righteous robe you wear. His holy body and blood are your food and drink.
Yes, you do have a greater righteousness than that of the Pharisees, greater than all of them put together. You have the righteousness of Jesus. With that righteousness you can walk in the newness of life that God has called you to. With that righteousness you can love your brother, just as God loves you. With that righteousness you can enter heaven, where your name is written in the righteous blood of Jesus.
Amen.