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What is this? A new teaching with authority! (NASB) Mark 1:27 What kind of holiness does Jesus approve? We will discover the answer in the next verse, Matt.
5:21. But for now, we want to ask, “What kind of righteousness was Jesus rejecting?” We find the
answer to this question in the gospels. In Matthew 23:14, Jesus rebuked them because they would steal a widow’s
home and yet make long prayers on the street corners to appear holy (Matt. 6:5). Jesus rebuked them for working
hard at small, unimportant details of conduct while being blind to true holiness (Matt. 23:24). Their righteousness
was rejected because it had included seeking the favor of the people (Matt. 23:28). Christians do the same
today. Have you ever publicly prayed and worried what others thought of your prayer? Some Christians will not
pray because they fear rejection. Or, have you ever struggled over “some small things” and ignored
Biblical things God wants you to do?
Many Christians today need to hear Jesus’ words,
Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, (NASB) Mark 12:37-38 We usually focus on the “chief seats” and “places of honor” but did you notice the
phrase “respectful greetings?” How often we want someone to praise our good deeds - to recognize
our good works - how often are we offended because someone did not recognize what we did? Or, how about the
long robes? The long robe says, “I am a priest, a pastor, a rabbi, an academician, or a religious man.” The
scribes and Pharisees missed it! The honor, respect and adoration of the common people had replaced their pursuit
of God.
Jesus also warned the Pharisees about their neglect of justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt.
23:23). He rebuked them for adding their oral tradition to the Bible (Mark 7:5). Jesus rebuked them for not
really understanding the scriptures and turning away those who wanted to know. Wow!
NO! NO! Jesus concluded with “you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus
uses the strongest negative possible in the Greek language. He uses a double negative, “you shall no
not ever enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus’ holiness is not about what you do on the outside.
The scribes and Pharisees thought God was interested in the external. God is more interested about the true
person on the inside,
But the LORD said to Samuel, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. (NASB) 1 Samuel 16:7 Conclusion. Jesus’ message to us is that God is more interested about who we
are on the inside. That is the message of the beatitudes. Many people strive to serve God or do for God out
of fear or to gain His favor. That is how the scribes and Pharisees started. But the Christian already has
the favor of God. That is God’s grace - “undeserved favor.” We are His children (John 1:12) and He is a loving
Father who will discipline us when we sin (Heb. 12:4-13). We can never lose His favor. That is what Nicodemus
and Joseph of Arimathea found. John 19:38-39 tells us they became disciples of Jesus. Joseph was a secret Christian
and apparently Nicodemus became a public one. They found a greater righteous - they found forgiveness through
faith in Jesus Christ. And it is God Who changes the inside (Phil. 2:12-13) to holiness in order to make the
changes on the outside (James 2:14-26). |
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| Sermon on the Mount | |||||
