Righteousness Not by Oral Traditions

“If your righteousness does not abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.”​—MATTHEW 5:20.

1, 2. What happened just before Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount?

JESUS had spent the night on a mountain. The starry heavens stretched overhead. Small nocturnal animals rustled in the bushes. To the east the waters of the Sea of Galilee lapped gently at the shore. But Jesus could have been only faintly aware of the peaceful, soothing beauty surrounding him. He had spent the night in prayer to his heavenly Father, Jehovah. He needed his Father’s guidance. The day ahead was crucial.

² In the east the sky lightened. Birds began moving about, chirping softly. The wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze. As the sun’s first rays broke over the horizon, Jesus called his disciples to him and from their midst chose 12 to be his apostles. Then, along with all of them, he started down the mountainside. Already the crowds could be seen streaming in from Galilee, Tyre and Sidon, Judea and Jerusalem. They came to be healed of their sicknesses. Power from Jehovah was going out of Jesus as many touched him and were cured. They had also come to hear his words that were as a healing balm to their troubled souls.​—Matthew 4:25; Luke 6:12-19.

3. Why were the disciples and the crowds in anticipation when Jesus began to speak?

³ In their more formal teaching sessions, the rabbis were accustomed to sit down, and on this particular spring morning of 31 C.E., that is what Jesus did, apparently at a level place higher on the hillside. When his disciples and the crowds saw this, they realized that something special was afoot, so they gathered expectantly around him. When he began to speak, they were in anticipation of his words; when he ended some time later, they were left astounded by what they had heard. Let us see why.​—Matthew 7:28.

Two Kinds of Righteousness

4. (a) What two kinds of righteousness were at issue? (b) What was the purpose of the oral traditions, and was it realized?

⁴ In his Sermon on the Mount, reported both at Matthew 5:1–7:29 and at Luke 6:17-49, Jesus sharply contrasted two classes: the scribes and Pharisees and the common people they oppressed. He spoke of two kinds of righteousness, the hypocritical righteousness of the Pharisees and the true righteousness of God. (Matthew 5:6, 20) Pharisaic self-righteousness was rooted in oral traditions. These had been initiated in the second century B.C.E. as “a fence around the Law” to protect it from the inroads of Hellenism (Greek culture). They had come to be viewed as a part of the Law. In fact, the scribes even rated the oral traditions above the written Law. The Mishnah says: “Greater stringency applies to the observance of the words of the Scribes [their oral traditions] than to the observance of the words of the written Law.” Hence, instead of being “a fence around the Law” to protect it, their traditions weakened the Law and made it void, just as Jesus said: “Adroitly you set aside the commandment of God in order to retain your tradition.”​—Mark 7:5-9; Matthew 15:1-9.

5. (a) What was the condition of the common people who came to hear Jesus, and how were they viewed by the scribes and Pharisees? (b) What made the oral traditions such a heavy load on the shoulders of workingmen?

⁵ The common people who flocked to hear Jesus were spiritually impoverished, having been “skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) With arrogant haughtiness the scribes and Pharisees scorned them, called them ʽam ha·ʼaʹrets (people of the land), and despised them as ignorant, accursed sinners unworthy of a resurrection because they did not keep the oral traditions. By Jesus’ time those traditions had become so voluminous and such an oppressive morass of legalistic nit-picking​—so laden with time-consuming ceremonial rituals—​that no workingman could possibly keep them. No wonder Jesus denounced the traditions as ‘heavy loads on the shoulders of men.’​—Matthew 23:4; John 7:45-49.

6. What was so startling about Jesus’ opening pronouncements, and what change did they indicate for his disciples and for the scribes and Pharisees?

⁶ So when Jesus sat down on the hillside, those who drew close to listen were his disciples and the spiritually starved crowds. These must have found his opening pronouncements startling. ‘Happy the poor, happy the hungry, happy those weeping, happy those hated.’ But who can be happy when they are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated? And woes were declared for those who were rich, well fed, laughing, and admired! (Luke 6:20-26) In just a few words, Jesus reversed all the customary evaluations and the accepted human standards. It was a dramatic reversal of positions, in line with Jesus’ later words: “Everyone that exalts himself will be humiliated, but he that humbles himself will be exalted.”​—Luke 18:9-14.

7. What effect must Jesus’ opening words have had on the spiritually starved crowd listening to Jesus?

⁷ In contrast with the self-satisfied scribes and Pharisees, those coming to Jesus on this particular morning were aware of their sad spiritual state. His opening words must have filled them with hope: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.” And how their spirit must have soared when he added: “Happy are those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, since they will be filled”! (Matthew 5:3, 6; John 6:35; Revelation 7:16, 17) Filled with righteousness, yes, but not with the Pharisaic brand.

Not Enough to Be “Righteous Before Men”

8. Why would some wonder how their righteousness could abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, yet why must it do so?

⁸ “If your righteousness does not abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees,” Jesus said, “you will by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” (Matthew 5:17-20; see Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6; 7:1-13.) Some must have thought: ‘More righteous than the Pharisees? They fast and pray and tithe and give alms and spend their lives studying the Law. How can our righteousness ever surpass theirs?’ But it had to abound more. The Pharisees may have been highly esteemed by men, but not by God. On another occasion Jesus said to these Pharisees: “You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts; because what is lofty among men is a disgusting thing in God’s sight.”​—Luke 16:15.

9-11. (a) What was one way the scribes and Pharisees thought they would receive a righteous standing before God? (b) By what second way did they expect to gain righteousness? (c) What was the third way they counted on, and what did the apostle Paul say that doomed this to failure?

⁹ The rabbis had invented their own rules for gaining righteousness. One was merit by descent from Abraham: “The disciples of Abraham our father enjoy this world and inherit the world to come.” (Mishnah) Possibly it was to counter this tradition that John the Baptizer warned the Pharisees who came to him: “Produce fruit that befits repentance; and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘As a father we have Abraham [as if that were enough].’”​—Matthew 3:7-9; see also John 8:33, 39.

¹⁰ A second way to gain righteousness, they said, was by the giving of alms. Two Apocryphal books written by devout Jews during the second century B.C.E. reflect the traditional view. One statement appears in Tobit: “Almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.” (12:9, The New American Bible) The Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) agrees: “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.”​—3:29, NAB.

¹¹ The third way they sought righteousness was by works of the Law. Their oral traditions taught that if a man’s deeds were mostly good, he would be saved. Judgment “is according to the excess of works that be good or evil.” (Mishnah) To stand favorably in judgment, their concern was “to achieve merits which would outweigh sins.” If a man’s good works exceeded his bad works by one, he would be saved​—as though God judged by keeping count of their petty activities! (Matthew 23:23, 24) Presenting a correct view, Paul wrote: “By works of law no flesh will be declared righteous before [God].” (Romans 3:20) Certainly, Christian righteousness must abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees!

“You Heard That It Was Said”

12. (a) What change from his usual way of introducing references to the Hebrew Scriptures did Jesus make in his Sermon on the Mount, and why? (b) What do we learn from the sixth use of the expression “It was said”?

¹² When Jesus previously quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures, he said: “It is written.” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) But six times in the Sermon on the Mount, he introduced what sounded like statements from the Hebrew Scriptures with the words: “It was said.” (Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43) Why? Because he was referring to the Scriptures as interpreted in the light of Pharisaic traditions that contradicted God’s commandments. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 15:3) This is made apparent in Jesus’ sixth and last reference in this series: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” But no Mosaic law said, “Hate your enemy.” The scribes and Pharisees said it. That was their interpretation of the Law to love your neighbor​—your Jewish neighbor, no others.

13. How does Jesus warn against even the beginning of conduct that could lead to actual murder?

¹³ Consider now the first of this series of six statements. Jesus declared: “You heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You must not murder; but whoever commits a murder will be accountable to the court of justice.’ However, I say to you that everyone who continues wrathful with his brother will be accountable to the court of justice.” (Matthew 5:21, 22) Anger in the heart can lead to abusive speech and from there to condemnatory judgments, and it may ultimately lead to the act of murder itself. Prolonged anger nourished in the heart can be deadly: “Everyone who hates his brother is a manslayer.”​—1 John 3:15.

14. How does Jesus counsel us not even to start down the road that leads to adultery?

¹⁴ Jesus next said: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27, 28) You are not going to commit adultery? Then do not even start down that road by entertaining thoughts about it. Guard your heart, where such things have their source. (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 15:18, 19) James 1:14, 15 warns: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” People sometimes say: ‘Don’t start what you can’t finish.’ But in this case we should say: ‘Don’t start what you can’t stop.’ Some who have been faithful even when threatened with death before a firing squad have later fallen for the insidious lure of sexual immorality.

15. How did Jesus’ position on divorce differ completely from that related in the oral traditions of the Jews?

¹⁵ We come now to Jesus’ third statement. He said: “Moreover it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ However, I say to you that everyone divorcing his wife, except on account of fornication, makes her a subject for adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman [that is, one divorced on grounds other than sexual immorality] commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31, 32) Some Jews dealt treacherously with their wives and divorced them on the flimsiest of grounds. (Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:3-9) Oral traditions allowed a man to divorce his wife “even if she spoiled a dish for him” or “if he found another fairer than she.”​—Mishnah.

16. What Jewish practice made the swearing of oaths meaningless, and what position did Jesus take?

¹⁶ In a similar vein, Jesus continued: “Again you heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You must not swear without performing’ . . . However, I say to you: Do not swear at all.” By this time the Jews were abusing oath-taking and were swearing many oaths about trivial things without performing. But Jesus said: “Do not swear at all . . . Just let your word Yes mean Yes, your No, No.” His rule was simple: Be truthful at all times, not having to guarantee your word by an oath. Reserve oaths for vital matters.​—Matthew 5:33-37; compare 23:16-22.

17. What better way than “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” did Jesus teach?

¹⁷ Jesus next said: “You heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ However, I say to you: Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him.” (Matthew 5:38-42) Jesus is not here referring to a blow intended to do injury but to an insulting slap with the back of the hand. Do not degrade yourself by swapping insults. Refuse to return evil for evil. Rather, return good and thereby “keep conquering the evil with the good.”​—Romans 12:17-21.

18. (a) How did the Jews alter the law about loving your neighbor, but how did Jesus counteract this? (b) What was Jesus’ answer to a certain lawyer who wanted to limit the application of “neighbor”?

¹⁸ In the sixth and final example, Jesus clearly showed how the Mosaic Law was weakened by rabbinic tradition: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you.” (Matthew 5:43, 44) The written Mosaic Law put no limits on love: “You must love your fellow as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18) It was the Pharisees who balked at this commandment, and to escape it they limited the term “neighbor” to those who kept the traditions. So it was that when Jesus later reminded a certain lawyer of the command to ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ the man quibbled: “Who really is my neighbor?” Jesus answered with the illustration of the good Samaritan​—make yourself a neighbor to the one that needs you.​—Luke 10:25-37.

19. What action by Jehovah toward the wicked did Jesus recommend that we follow?

¹⁹ Continuing his sermon, Jesus proclaimed that ‘God showed love to the wicked. He caused the sun to shine and the rain to fall on them. There is nothing extraordinary in loving those who love you. The wicked do that. There is no reason for reward in that. Prove yourselves sons of God. Copy him. Make yourself a neighbor to all and love your neighbor. And thus “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”’ (Matthew 5:45-48) What a challenging standard to live up to! And how far short it shows the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees to be!

20. Rather than setting aside the Mosaic Law, how did Jesus widen and deepen its impact and set it on an even higher plane?

²⁰ So when Jesus referred to parts of the Law and added, “However, I say to you,” he was not setting aside the Mosaic Law and substituting something else in its place. No, but he was deepening and widening its force by showing the spirit behind it. A higher law of brotherhood judges continued ill will as murder. A higher law of purity condemns continued lustful thinking as adultery. A higher law of marriage rejects frivolous divorcing as a course leading to adulterous remarriages. A higher law of truth shows repetitious oaths to be unnecessary. A higher law of mildness sets aside retaliation. A higher law of love calls for a godly love that knows no bounds.

21. What did Jesus’ admonitions reveal as to rabbinic self-righteousness, and what else would the crowds learn?

²¹ What a profound impact such unheard-of admonitions must have had as they fell upon the ears of those hearing them for the first time! How utterly worthless they rendered the hypocritical self-righteousness that came from slaving for rabbinic traditions! But as Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount, the crowds hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of God were to learn specifically how to attain it, as the following article shows.

Keep Seeking the Kingdom and God’s Righteousness

“Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.”​—MATTHEW 6:33.

1, 2. Into what did the scribes and Pharisees turn acts that were good in themselves, and what warning did Jesus give to his followers?

THE scribes and Pharisees sought righteousness in their own way, which was not God’s way. Not only that, but when they did perform acts that were good in themselves, they turned them into hypocritical performances to be seen of men. They were serving, not God, but their own vanity. Jesus warned his disciples against such playacting: “Take good care not to practice your righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens.”​—Matthew 6:1.

² Jehovah appreciates those who give to the poor​—but not those who give as the Pharisees did. Jesus warned his disciples against copying them: “Hence when you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full.”​—Matthew 6:2.

3. (a) In what way were the scribes and Pharisees paid in full for their giving? (b) How was Jesus’ position on giving different?

³ The Greek word for ‘they are having in full’ (a·peʹkho) was a term that often appeared in business receipts. Its use in the Sermon on the Mount indicates that “they have received their reward,” that is, “they have signed the receipt of their reward: their right to receive their reward is realised, precisely as if they had already given a receipt for it.” (An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine) Gifts for the poor were publicly pledged in the streets. In the synagogues the names of donors were announced. Those who gave large amounts were specially honored by having seats next to the rabbis during worship. They gave to be seen by men; they were seen and glorified by men; hence, they could stamp the receipt for the reward that came from their giving “Paid in Full.” How different was Jesus’ position! Give “in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.”​—Matthew 6:3, 4; Proverbs 19:17.

Prayers That Please God

4. Why did the Pharisees’ prayers cause Jesus to call those men hypocrites?

⁴ Jehovah appreciates prayers directed to him​—but not as the Pharisees prayed. Jesus said to his followers: “When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites; because they like to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the broad ways to be visible to men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5) The Pharisees had many prayers to be recited daily, at specific times, regardless of where they were. Theoretically, they were to give them in private. By design, though, they managed to be “on the corners of the broad ways,” visible to people passing by in four directions, when the hour of prayer arrived.

5. (a) What further practices caused the Pharisees’ prayers to go unheard by God? (b) What things did Jesus put first in his model prayer, and are people today in agreement with that?

⁵ In a display of false holiness, they would “for a pretext make long prayers.” (Luke 20:47) One oral tradition said: “The pious men of old used to wait an hour before they said the Tefillah [prayer].” (Mishnah) By then everyone would be sure to see their piety and marvel at it! Such prayers reached no higher than their own heads. Jesus said to pray in privacy, without vain repetition, and he gave them a simple model. (Matthew 6:6-8; John 14:6, 14; 1 Peter 3:12) Jesus’ model prayer put first things first: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place.” (Matthew 6:9-13) Few people today know God’s name, much less want it sanctified. They thereby make him a nameless god. Let God’s Kingdom come? Many think it is already here, within them. They may pray for his will to be done, but most do their own will.​—Proverbs 14:12.

6. Why did Jesus condemn the Jewish fasts as meaningless?

⁶ A fast is acceptable to Jehovah​—but not as the Pharisees performed it. As with the almsgiving and the praying by the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus also dismissed their fasting as meaningless: “When you are fasting, stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:16) Their oral traditions indicated that during fasts the Pharisees were neither to wash nor to anoint themselves but to smear ashes on their heads. When not fasting, the Jews regularly washed themselves and rubbed their body with oil.

7. (a) How were Jesus’ followers to conduct themselves when fasting? (b) With regards to fasting, what did Jehovah want in Isaiah’s day?

⁷ Regarding fasting, Jesus told his followers: “Grease your head and wash your face, that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father.” (Matthew 6:17, 18) In Isaiah’s day backsliding Jews found delight in their fasting, afflicting their souls, bowing down their heads, and sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But Jehovah wanted them to free the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked.​—Isaiah 58:3-7.

Store Up Heavenly Treasure

8. What caused the scribes and Pharisees to lose sight of how to gain God’s approval, and what principle, later expressed by Paul, did they overlook?

⁸ In their pursuit of righteousness, the scribes and Pharisees lost sight of how to gain God’s approval and focused on the admiration of men. They became so wrapped up in the traditions of men that they set aside the written Word of God. They set their hearts on earthly position rather than heavenly treasure. They ignored a simple truth that a Pharisee-turned-Christian wrote down years later: “Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men, for you know that it is from Jehovah you will receive the due reward of the inheritance.”​—Colossians 3:23, 24.

9. What dangers can threaten earthly treasure, but what will keep true treasure safe?

⁹ Jehovah is interested in your devotion to him, not in your bank account. He knows that your heart is where your treasure is. Can rust and moths consume your treasure? Can thieves dig through mud walls and steal it? Or in these modern times of economic instability, can inflation shrink its buying power or can stock-market crashes wipe it out? Will the soaring crime rate cause your treasure to be stolen? Not if it is stored in heaven. Not if your eye​—a lamp that lights up your whole body—​is simple, focused on God’s Kingdom and his righteousness. Riches have a way of disappearing. “Do not toil to gain riches. Cease from your own understanding. Have you caused your eyes to glance at it, when it is nothing? For without fail it makes wings for itself like those of an eagle and flies away toward the heavens.” (Proverbs 23:4, 5) So why lose sleep over wealth? “The plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep.” (Ecclesiastes 5:12) Remember Jesus’ warning: “You cannot slave for God and for Riches.”​—Matthew 6:19-24.

Faith That Dispels Anxiety

10. Why is it so important to have your faith in God rather than in material possessions, and what counsel did Jesus give?

¹⁰ Jehovah wants your faith to be in him, not in material possessions. “Without faith it is impossible to please him well, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” (Hebrews 11:6) Jesus said: “Even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15) Millions in the bank will not keep diseased lungs working or a tired heart pumping. So it is “on this account I say to you,” Jesus continued in his Sermon on the Mount: “Stop being anxious about your souls as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?”​—Matthew 6:25.

11. Where did Jesus find many of his illustrations, and how is this demonstrated in the Sermon on the Mount?

¹¹ Jesus was a master of verbal illustrations. He thought of them wherever he looked. He saw a woman putting a lighted lamp upon a lampstand and turned it into an illustration. He saw a shepherd separating sheep from goats; it became an illustration. He saw children playing in the marketplace; it became an illustration. And so it was in the Sermon on the Mount. As he talked about anxiety over physical needs, he saw illustrations in the birds flitting about and the lilies carpeting the hillsides. Do the birds sow and reap? No. Do the lilies spin and weave? No. God made them; he takes care of them. You, however, are worth more than birds and lilies. (Matthew 6:26, 28-30) He gave his Son for you, not for them.​—John 3:16.

12. (a) Did the illustrations about the birds and the flowers mean that Jesus’ disciples would not have to work? (b) What point was Jesus making concerning work and faith?

¹² Jesus was not here telling his followers that they did not have to work to feed and clothe themselves. (See Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.) On that spring morning, the birds were busy scratching for food, courting, building nests, sitting on eggs, feeding their young. They were working but without worrying. The flowers were also busy pushing their roots into the soil in search of water and minerals and sending their leaves reaching up for sunlight. They had to mature and blossom and cast their seed before they died. They were working but without worrying. God provides for birds and lilies. ‘Will he not much rather provide for you, you with little faith?’​—Matthew 6:30.

13. (a) Why was it appropriate for Jesus to use a cubit measure when talking about increasing one’s life span? (b) How can you lengthen your life endless millions of miles, as it were?

¹³ So have faith. Do not be anxious. Anxiety will change nothing. “Who of you by being anxious,” Jesus asked, “can add one cubit to his life span?” (Matthew 6:27) But why does Jesus relate a physical measure of distance, a cubit, to a measure of time in a life span? Perhaps because the Bible frequently likens the life span of humans to a journey, using such expressions as “the way of sinners,” “the path of the righteous,” a ‘broad road to destruction,’ and a ‘cramped road to life.’ (Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 4:18; Matthew 7:13, 14) Anxiety about daily needs cannot extend one’s life by even a fraction, “one cubit,” so to speak. But there is a way to lengthen your life by endless millions of miles, as it were. Not by being anxious and saying: “What are we to eat?” or “What are we to drink?” or “What are we to put on?” but by having faith and doing what Jesus tells us to do: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.”​—Matthew 6:31-33.

Attaining God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness

14. (a) What is the theme of the Sermon on the Mount? (b) In what wrong way did the scribes and Pharisees seek the Kingdom and righteousness?

¹⁴ In the opening sentence of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of the heavens as belonging to those conscious of their spiritual need. In the fourth sentence, he said that those hungering and thirsting for righteousness would be filled. Here Jesus puts both the Kingdom and Jehovah’s righteousness in first place. They are the theme of the Sermon on the Mount. They are the answer to the needs of all mankind. But by what means do God’s Kingdom and God’s righteousness become attainable? How do we continue seeking them? Not the way the scribes and Pharisees did. They sought the Kingdom and righteousness by means of the Mosaic Law, which they claimed included the oral traditions, since they believed that both the written Law and the oral traditions were given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai.

15. (a) According to the Jews, when did their oral traditions originate, and how did they elevate them above the written Mosaic Law? (b) When did these traditions really begin, and with what effect on the Mosaic Law?

¹⁵ Their tradition concerning this said: “Moses received the Law [footnote, “The ‘Oral Law’”] from Sinai and committed it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets committed it to the men of the Great Synagogue.” In time their oral law was exalted above even the written Law: “[If] he transgresses the words of the [written] Law, he is not culpable,” but if “he adds to the words of the Scribes [oral traditions], he is culpable.” (Mishnah) Their oral traditions did not start at Sinai. In fact, they began accumulating rapidly some two centuries before Christ. They added to, subtracted from, and made void the written Mosaic Law.​—Compare Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32.

16. How does God’s righteousness come about for mankind?

¹⁶ God’s righteousness comes about not through the Law but apart from it: “By works of law no flesh will be declared righteous before him, for by law is the accurate knowledge of sin. But now apart from law God’s righteousness has been made manifest, as it is borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets; yes, God’s righteousness through the faith in Jesus Christ.” (Romans 3:20-22) So God’s righteousness comes by faith in Christ Jesus​—this was amply “borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets.” The Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus. He also fulfilled the Law; it was taken out of the way by being nailed to his torture stake.​—Luke 24:25-27, 44-46; Colossians 2:13, 14; Hebrews 10:1.

17. According to the apostle Paul, how did the Jews miss knowing the righteousness of God?

¹⁷ Hence, the apostle Paul wrote of the Jews’ failure in seeking righteousness: “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge; for, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness.” (Romans 10:2-4) Paul also wrote of Christ Jesus: “The one who did not know sin he made to be sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness by means of him.”​—2 Corinthians 5:21.

18. How was “Christ impaled” viewed by the Jewish traditionalists, the Greek philosophers, and “those who are the called”?

¹⁸ The Jews viewed a dying Messiah as a weak nothing. The Greek philosophers scoffed at such a Messiah as foolishness. Nevertheless, it is as Paul proclaimed: “Both the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks look for wisdom; but we preach Christ impaled, to the Jews a cause for stumbling but to the nations foolishness; however, to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because a foolish thing of God is wiser than men, and a weak thing of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25) Christ Jesus is a manifestation of God’s power and wisdom and is God’s means of righteousness and everlasting life for obedient mankind. “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.”​—Acts 4:12.

19. What will the following article show?

¹⁹ The following article will show that if we would escape destruction and attain to everlasting life, we must keep on seeking God’s Kingdom and his righteousness. That must be done not only by listening to the sayings of Jesus but also by doing them.

Be Doers of the Word, Not Hearers Only

“Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.”​—MATTHEW 7:21.

1. What are the followers of Jesus to continue doing?

KEEP on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking. Persevere in praying, studying, and doing the sayings of Jesus recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells his followers they are the salt of the earth, with a preserving message seasoned with salt that they must not allow to become insipid, losing its tastiness or its preserving power. They are the light of the world, reflecting the light from Christ Jesus and Jehovah God not only by what they say but also by what they do. Their good works shine as much as their enlightening words​—and may speak even louder in a world used to the Pharisaic hypocrisy of both religious and political leaders, who say much and do little.​—Matthew 5:13-16.

2. What admonition does James give, but what comfortable position do some mistakenly adopt?

² James admonishes: “Become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning.” (James 1:22) Many deceive themselves with the doctrine of ‘once saved always saved,’ as though they may now retire and wait for a supposed heavenly reward. It is a false doctrine and an empty hope. “He that has endured to the end,” Jesus said, “is the one that will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) To gain everlasting life, you must “prove yourself faithful even to death.”​—Revelation 2:10; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26, 27.

3. What instruction about judging does Jesus next give in the Sermon on the Mount?

³ As Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount, more sayings mounted up that Christians must strive to follow. Here is one that seems simple, but it condemns one of the most difficult tendencies to get rid of: “Stop judging that you may not be judged; for with what judgment you are judging, you will be judged; and with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you. Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to extract the straw from your eye’; when, look! a rafter is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother’s eye.”​—Matthew 7:1-5.

4. What additional instruction does Luke’s account give, and what does its application result in?

⁴ In Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his hearers not to find fault with others. Rather, let them “keep on releasing,” that is, forgiving the shortcomings of their fellowman. This would cause others to respond in kind, as Jesus said: “Practice giving, and people will give to you. They will pour into your laps a fine measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing. For with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you in return.”​—Luke 6:37, 38.

5. Why is it so much easier to see the flaws in others than those in ourselves?

⁵ During the first century C.E., because of oral traditions, the Pharisees in general tended to judge others harshly. Any of Jesus’ listeners who were in the habit of doing that were to stop it. It is so much easier to see the straws in the eyes of others than the rafters in our own​—and much more reassuring to our ego! As one man said, “I love to criticize others because it makes me feel so good!” Habitually censuring others may give us feelings of virtue that seem to compensate for faults of our own that we want to hide. But if correction is necessary, it should be given in a spirit of mildness. The one giving correction should be ever conscious of his own shortcomings.​—Galatians 6:1.

Before Judging, Try Understanding

6. On what basis should our judgments, when necessary, be made, and what help should we seek so as not to be overly critical?

⁶ Jesus did not come to judge the world but to save it. Any judgments he made were not his but were based on the words God gave him to speak. (John 12:47-50) Any judgments we make should also be in harmony with Jehovah’s Word. We must squelch the human tendency to be judgmental. In doing this, we should persistently pray for Jehovah’s help: “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds, and to everyone knocking it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7, 8) Even Jesus said: “I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.”​—John 5:30.

7. What habit should we cultivate that will help us in applying the Golden Rule?

⁷ We should cultivate the habit, not of judging people, but of trying to understand them by putting ourselves in their place​—not an easy thing to do but a necessary thing if we are to abide by the Golden Rule, which Jesus next proclaimed: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them; this, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean.” (Matthew 7:12) So Jesus’ followers must be sensitive and discern the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of others. They must perceive and understand the needs of others and take a personal interest in assisting them. (Philippians 2:2-4) Years later Paul wrote: “For the entire Law stands fulfilled in one saying, namely: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’”​—Galatians 5:14.

8. What two roads did Jesus discuss, and why is one of them chosen by the majority of people?

⁸ “Go in through the narrow gate,” Jesus next said, “because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14) Many in those days chose the road to destruction and many still do. The broad way permits people to think as they please and live as they please: no rules, no commitments, just a relaxed life-style, everything easy. None of this “exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door” for them!​—Luke 13:24.

9. What does it take to walk the narrow road, and what warning does Jesus give to those walking it?

⁹ But it is the narrow door that opens onto the road to everlasting life. It is a course that calls for self-control. It may entail discipline that will probe your motives and test the mettle of your dedication. When persecutions come, the road gets rough and requires endurance. Jesus warns those who walk this road: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15) This description fitted the Pharisees perfectly. (Matthew 23:27, 28) They “seated themselves in the seat of Moses,” claiming to speak for God while following the traditions of men.​—Matthew 23:2.

How Pharisees “Shut Up the Kingdom”

10. In what specific way did the scribes and Pharisees seek to ‘shut up the kingdom before men’?

¹⁰ Moreover, the Jewish clergy sought to block those seeking to enter through the narrow gate. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for you yourselves do not go in, neither do you permit those on their way in to go in.” (Matthew 23:13) The Pharisees’ method was just as Jesus warned. They would “cast out [his disciples’] name as wicked for the sake of the Son of man.” (Luke 6:22) Because the man born blind and healed by Christ believed that Jesus was the Messiah, they expelled him from the synagogue. His parents would answer no questions because they feared expulsion from the synagogue. For the same reason, others who believed Jesus to be the Messiah hesitated to admit it publicly.​—John 9:22, 34; 12:42; 16:2.

11. What identifying fruits do the clergy of Christendom produce?

¹¹ “By their fruits you will recognize them,” Jesus said. “Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-20) The same rule applies today. Many of the clergy of Christendom say one thing and do another. Though claiming to teach the Bible, they subscribe to such blasphemies as the Trinity and hellfire. Others deny the ransom, teach evolution instead of creation, and preach pop psychology to tickle ears. Like the Pharisees, many of today’s clergy are money lovers, fleecing their flocks of millions of dollars. (Luke 16:14) All of them shout, “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus’ response to them is: “I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”​—Matthew 7:21-23.

12. Why have some who once walked the narrow way ceased doing so, and with what result?

¹² Today, some who once walked the narrow way have ceased doing so. They say they love Jehovah, but they are not obeying his command to preach. They say they love Jesus, but they are not feeding his sheep. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20; John 21:15-17; 1 John 5:3) They do not wish to be yoked with those who walk in Jesus’ steps. They found the cramped road too cramped. They wearied of well-doing, so they “went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us.” (1 John 2:19) They went back into darkness, and “how great that darkness is!” (Matthew 6:23) They ignored John’s plea: “Little children, let us love, neither in word nor with the tongue, but in deed and truth.”​—1 John 3:18.

13, 14. What illustration did Jesus give about applying his sayings in our lives, and why was it so fitting for those in Palestine?

¹³ Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount with a dramatic illustration: “Everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass. And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded upon the rock-mass.”​—Matthew 7:24, 25.

¹⁴ In Palestine heavy rains could send waters racing down the dry torrent valleys in destructive flash floods. If houses were to stand, they required foundations on solid rock. Luke’s account shows that the man “dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock-mass.” (Luke 6:48) It was hard work, but it paid off when the storm came. So building Christian qualities upon the sayings of Jesus will be rewarding when the flash flood of adversity strikes.

15. What will be the result for those who follow traditions of men rather than obey the sayings of Jesus?

¹⁵ The other house was built on sand: “Everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was great.” So it will be for those who say “Lord, Lord” but fail to do the sayings of Jesus.​—Matthew 7:26, 27.

“Not as Their Scribes”

16. What was the effect on those who heard the Sermon on the Mount?

¹⁶ What was the effect of the Sermon on the Mount? “Now when Jesus finished these sayings, the effect was that the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching; for he was teaching them as a person having authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:28, 29) They were stirred to their depths by one who spoke with an authority they had never sensed before.

17. What did the scribes have to do to give validity to their teaching, and what did they claim about dead sages who were quoted?

¹⁷ No scribe ever spoke on his own authority, as this historical record shows: “The scribes borrowed credit to their doctrine from traditions, and the fathers of them: and no sermon of any scribe had any authority or value, without [citing] . . . The Rabbins have a tradition, or . . . The wise men say; or some traditional oracle of that nature. Hillel the Great taught truly, and as the tradition was concerning a certain thing; ‘But, although he discoursed of that matter all day long, . . . they received not his doctrine, until he said at last, So I heard from Shemaia and Abtalion [authorities previous to Hillel].’” (A Commentary on the New Testament From the Talmud and Hebraica, by John Lightfoot) The Pharisees even claimed of sages long dead: “The lips of the righteous, when someone cites a teaching of law in their names​—their lips murmur with them in the grave.”​—Torah—​From Scroll to Symbol in Formative Judaism.

18. (a) What difference was there between the teaching of the scribes and that of Jesus? (b) In what ways was Jesus’ teaching so outstanding?

¹⁸ The scribes quoted dead men as authorities; Jesus spoke with authority from the living God. (John 12:49, 50; 14:10) Rabbis drew stale water from closed cisterns; Jesus brought up springs of fresh water that slaked an inner thirst. He prayed and pondered through the night, and when he spoke, he touched depths in people they had never been aware of before. He spoke with a power they could feel, an authority that even scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees eventually feared to challenge. (Matthew 22:46; Mark 12:34; Luke 20:40) Never had another man spoken like this! At the sermon’s conclusion, the crowds were left astounded!

19. How are some teaching methods used by Jehovah’s Witnesses today similar to those used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount?

¹⁹ What about today? As house-to-house ministers, Jehovah’s Witnesses use similar methods. A householder tells you: “My church says the earth is to be burned up.” You respond: “Your own King James Bible reads at Ecclesiastes 1:4: ‘The earth abideth for ever.’” The person is surprised. “Why, I never knew that was in my Bible!” Another says: “I’ve always heard that sinners will burn in hellfire.” “But your own Bible says at Romans 6:23: ‘The wages of sin is death.’” Or on the Trinity: “My preacher says that Jesus and his Father are equal.” “But at John 14:28 your Bible quotes Jesus as saying: ‘My Father is greater than I.’” Another person says to you: “I’ve heard it said that the Kingdom of God is within you.” Your response: “At Daniel 2:44 your Bible says: ‘In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed . . . It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.’ How could that be within you?”

20. (a) What contrast is there between the way of teaching of the Witnesses and that of the clergy of Christendom? (b) For what is it now the time?

²⁰ Jesus spoke with authority from God. Jehovah’s Witnesses speak with the authority of God’s Word. The clergy of Christendom speak religious traditions polluted by doctrines handed down from Babylon and Egypt. When sincere people hear their beliefs refuted by the Bible, they are astounded and exclaim: ‘I never knew that was in my Bible!’ But it is. Now is the time for all those conscious of their spiritual need to give heed to the sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and thereby build on a durable rock foundation.