A Tall Glass of Perfection - Part 1

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Matthew 5:48

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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What can be said about Matthew 5 and the Sermon on the Mount that hasn't already been said? Men and women have spent lifetimes studying this passage, attempting to tease out the meaning of "the Law" and whether Jesus really meant for us to obey these commands, or whether the apparent impossibility of the commands was meant to be instructive concerning our depravity and utter need for a Savior. My short answer is: both.

This is yet another great opportunity for a lesson in interpretation. There are many key verses in this passage. I was inclined to think that 5:17 was really the window to understanding the whole chapter. But, I also think that 5:48 is a good candidate. Two reasons: It comes at the conclusion of this section (Jesus often summarized parables and teachings with memorable one-liners at the very end), and the verse contains a "therefore," adding more weight to the idea that Jesus is summing up all that he has just said. And the conclusion is, you must be perfect as your Father is perfect. No big deal, right?

Well, this verse is quite discouraging at first. It parallels verse 20, where Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. In what sense is our righteousness supposed to exceed theirs? I think from the examples that Jesus subsequently gives, it is clear that the kind of righteousness he is commanding is a lifestyle of obedience without hypocrisy.

You could say, with some weight, that the entire sermon is merely a scathing critique of religious hypocrisy. Your loving actions mean nothing if there is anger in your heart, or if you only love those who love you. Your chastity is nothing if there is lust in your heart. Your "certificate" of divorce means nothing, period! Your just retribution is nothing, since God also wants to display mercy on the righteous and unrighteous. Furthermore, Jesus exposes in the hypocritical motives behind the religious leaders' alms, their prayers, and their fasting in chapter 6.

So, what is this tall order of "perfection?" It is probably referring to obedience to the whole counsel of God, the whole Law, and more importantly, obedience in such a way that is completely heart-felt and motivated by love for God and all people. And you thought the Ten Commandments were a tall order on their own!

To be continued...