Jesus Makes the Law More
St. Matthew 5:17-26
July 16, 2023 anno Domini
When Jesus gets ahold of something He always makes it more. Think about last week’s Gospel. Peter, Andrew, James, and John fish all night. They got skunked. Nothing. Then Jesus comes along and tells them to cast their net one more time. The load of fish is so great their boat was sinking. They would have won the bass tournament, gotten a new Skeeter boat out of the deal with a 450 hp motor. But Jesus gave them more. They walked away from their boats, didn’t even bother to count the fish, and followed Jesus. They gave up their nets to catch men alive with the Gospel, which is more than they ever bargained for.
Or think about Jesus’ death. When Jesus gets ahold of death He makes it more. Because His death takes away your sin your death now leads to life. As St. Paul says, “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Jesus takes your death and gives you more. He gives you life and the resurrection by His forgiveness.
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus takes God’s Law and makes it more. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder.’” Normally, when someone says, “well they used to say,” what follows is, “but we know better now. That doesn’t apply to us.” It used to be that a woman’s skirt shouldn’t come above the knees. It used to be that you could discipline your child, but now we know better. Do what your child says, or Governor Walz will raise your child himself. It used to be that all stores were closed on Sundays and youth sports rested, but thankfully we’ve gotten over that. Pick your topic – what used to be said about the police, about marriage, about the truth, we have made less.
Consider how you have lessened God’s commandments. You have lessened God’s name by using “Jesus Christ” as a swear word instead of a prayer word. You have lessened the Sabbath requirement with streaming and sports and pleasures. You have lessened authority. You have lessened the definition of life, of sex. It’s okay to gossip, slander, lie, and betray. After all Fox and CNN do it 24/7. Why can’t you? Why do you lessen God’s law? So you can feel better about yourself. You do it to ease your conscience and conceal your sin.
Jesus doesn’t want you to be comfortable with sin so He makes more of the Law than you ever imagined. You can probably say, “I never murdered anyone” but can you say “I have never been angry with anyone?” And this isn’t righteous anger. Even God gets angry at us for our sin. This is selfish anger. This is anger because you got caught. Anger that you didn’t get your way. Anger with your brother simply because you didn’t like what he said, did, or pointed out in your life.
Jesus makes more of the Law so you look away from yourself to Him. He is the embodiment of the Law. In a strange twist the commandments don’t just show you your sins, but they show you Jesus. He is, as He said, the fulfillment of the Law. Who loved His Father above all things? Jesus. Who never daydreamed during the sermon? Jesus. Who perfectly obeyed and honored His Father and mother? Jesus. Who laid down His life for His neighbor? Lived a sexually pure and decent life? Never stole, never wasted anything? Who was content to take what the Lord gave Him, including death on the cross, and never coveted anything of yours? Jesus.
You don’t get say, “Well, He was God, after all. It’s not too hard to be perfect when you are perfect.” Don’t forget that Jesus was true man, tempted in every way as you are. The Devil was after Him from conception until death – just like you, maybe even more so, since Jesus was a bigger target. Bring Him down and the whole kingdom topples.
Don’t be angry at or jealous of Jesus. He didn’t keep so He could boast like a Pharisee. He kept the Law for you. He fulfilled the Law in your place. His life of righteousness is your life. St. Paul makes that clear in today’s Epistle. When you are baptized in the name of Jesus you get everything that goes with the name. You get His death for sins and His resurrection for your justification. You get a righteousness that exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. They were only righteous outwardly. Their righteousness wasn’t even skin deep. They wore it like their fancy robes for people to see. They were people who boast about being Missouri Synod, but live far from God’s Law. You have a new heart, created by the Holy Spirit. You have a new mind, transformed by the same Spirit. Jesus didn’t just give you His righteousness. He declared you righteous. This is what we sang in the hymn of the day:
We thank You, Christ; new life is ours,
New light, new hope, new strength, new pow’rs.
This grace our ev’ry way attend
Until we reach our journey’s end.
Jesus makes the Law more, for once you are in Christ, you delight in the Law. Some people think heaven is going to be great because you will not be constrained in any way. You will spend heaven doing whatever you love to do. That belief is true, but not in the way most people selfishly imagine. In heaven, do you know what you will be doing? Your joy will be in keeping God’s Law. You will love loving your neighbor. You will rejoice in praising God’s name. You will spend every day, all day, for eternity, desiring and doing what God says in His law. You will be naked like Adam and Eve in the garden and have no shame because you will have no sin, no lust, no coveting.
Jesus makes the Law more because the Law tells you how to practice for heaven right now. You have life in Christ now, so you desire to live in Christ. That’s why Jesus tells you to reconcile with your brother now, “… if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Right in the middle of worship. As you are coming before Christ, if your brother has something against you, settle it. Now. Confess your sins, sacrifice yourself by loving your neighbor. Do what is necessary to be reconciled. This does not mean lying or compromising or condoning sin to be at peace. If your brother has something against you. That means you’re in the wrong. That means it’s up to you to make it right. But even if it isn’t your fault, if you’re the one who is wronged, make peace.
Jesus then gives you some advice. Since He is God, His advice is always good so take it. Settle out of court. Make peace with your accuser before you’re standing in front of the judge. You see, Jesus knows you. You’re guiltier than you ever let on. If your accuser introduces more evidence of your guilt the judge’s sentence will be worse. There’s more to that illustration than advice. The Devil is an accuser and he knows you well. Do you really want him bringing up your sins before the Judge of the living and the dead? Repent. Confess. Be forgiven and forgive.
Jesus gives you the better way. First, by reconciling, you avoid the pain of punishment. Second, you do good, not because you were forced by the Law, but because you wanted to..
There is one more thing to learn from Jesus. Don’t be slow with sin. Come to terms quickly with your accuser. As I said in a sermon a few weeks ago, keep short accounts. When you sin, confess. When you hear another’s confession be quick to forgive. The Lord does not delay in forgiving you. God did not wait to see if Adam and Eve were heartily sorry and sincerely repented. He was quick to promise a Savior. He was quick to reconcile, at great cost to Himself when it wasn’t His fault.
Jesus makes the Law more. He makes it more strict so there is no escaping our guilt. He makes it more by fulfilling it in our place. He makes it more by giving us His life so that we love the Law and do what it commands. In the name of Jesus. Amen.