To live consistently as a follower of Jesus in a counter cultural way is one thing – to do so in regard of keeping the law is quite another. Being counter culture could be no more than being nice to your neighbours or not rushing out to buy the latest in iphone technology but to be consistent with the law, to live up to its requirements is something very different and far harder to accomplish.

And yet this is what Jesus calls for (Matt 5:17-20) – a radical living in alignment with the law in all its detail and in a way that surpasses the righteousness of the Pharisees. The bar is set at quite a height. It would be a depressing rather than an uplifting thought if it were not for his saying that he had come to fulfil that law. And in our keeping of it we are asked to do no more than follow Jesus and the wake that he creates as he lives. Being in Jesus we have all we need to live good and godly lives.

The final sentence in this paragraph and its mention of being even better than the Pharisees has to be linked with the next few paragraphs that follow. In these Jesus again calls on us to act in according to the law but to also go beyond that and watch the condition of our hearts – so ‘not killing’ gets ‘not hating’ added to it. And it is in this way that our righteousness will be superior – we will not only appear to be doing well, we will have hearts that match – something the Pharisees found very difficult indeed.

What’s hiding in your heart today?