{"id":70669,"date":"2019-02-20T23:05:13","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T06:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=70669"},"modified":"2019-02-20T23:05:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T06:05:13","slug":"new-testament-notes-54-55","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-54-55.html","title":{"rendered":"New Testament Notes 54-55"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
A view across the Sea of Galilee from the hill on which, according to tradition, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew 5:17-20<\/a><\/p>\n

Compare Mark 13:31; Luke 16:16-17<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are those, particularly among Evangelical Protestants, who sometimes seem (to me, at least) to come perilously close to teaching an antinomian view of Jesus \u2014 one for which (or for whom) rules of conduct are, in a sense, irrelevant.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s reading provides little support for such a view. \u00a0Which may be one reason why Martin Luther is reputed, amazingly, to have referred to the Sermon on the Mount as des Teufels Meisterst\u00fcck<\/em> (\u201cthe Devil\u2019s masterpiece\u201d). \u00a0It can certainly be understood as clashing sharply with his notion of sola fidei<\/em> (\u201cfaith alone\u201d) or salvation by grace alone.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,\u201d says Jesus in this famous sermon, \u201cyou will never enter the kingdom of heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I can imagine someone responding that Jesus intended that statement ironically, suggesting that, since the Pharisees in particular were the most righteous of the righteous, it will never be possible for our righteousness to exceed theirs. \u00a0Thus, we need God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, we obviously need divine grace. \u00a0I\u2019m not questioning that. \u00a0But there\u2019s nothing in this passage to suggest that Jesus was speaking ironically. \u00a0Nor do his frequent criticisms of the \u201cscribes and Pharisees,\u201d which are on evidence at many points in the New Testament gospels, make it easy to maintain that he actually admitted\u00a0the righteousness of these two groups. \u00a0He really, genuinely, seriously seems to have wanted his own disciples to be better than the Pharisees and the \u201cscribes.\u201d \u00a0And he plainly appears to have believed that righteous behavior is required for salvation. \u00a0In its absence, he says, \u201cyou will never enter the kingdom of heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A theologian who was bent on trying to build a case for salvation by grace alone, without works, and who was limited for that task to the actual teachings of Jesus himself as recorded in the four gospels, would have a very difficult time of it. \u00a0Which is putting\u00a0the challenge\u00a0mildly.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mussolini's<\/a>
The Roman Catholic chapel atop the Mount of Beatitudes, one of the most beautiful places in Israel
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew 5:21-26<\/a><\/p>\n

Compare Mark 11:25 and Luke 12:57-59<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just a quick note on this very familiar passage:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think it significant that Jesus doesn\u2019t cite authorities. \u00a0He is<\/em> authority. \u00a0He needn\u2019t borrow it from anybody else, as we do. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t reason or argue, either; he simply declares<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have heard that it was said to the men of old . . . But I say to you . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Likewise, when he performs miracles or prays, he doesn\u2019t do so in anybody else\u2019s name. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 5:17-20 Compare Mark 13:31; Luke 16:16-17 \u00a0 There are those, particularly among Evangelical Protestants, who sometimes seem (to me, at least) to come perilously close to teaching an antinomian view of Jesus \u2014 one for which (or for whom) rules of conduct are, in a sense, irrelevant. \u00a0 Today\u2019s reading provides little […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Testament Notes 54-55<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Matthew 5:17-20 Compare Mark 13:31; Luke 16:16-17   There are those, particularly among Evangelical Protestants, who sometimes seem (to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/new-testament-notes-54-55.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament Notes 54-55\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Matthew 5:17-20 Compare Mark 13:31; 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