I am a Jesus pusher! “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). “Lego,” translated “I say,” is the first Greek word in our verse. This beginning is a parallel to verse eighteen with the same statement. These words highlight and emphasize the rest of the sentence. What He says becomes emphatic and significant. All the wisdom and knowledge of God indwelling Jesus produces His proposition. We must not treat it lightly.
The second word in the Greek text in our verse is “gar,” translated for. It assigns a reason for an argument. Jesus is definite about “The Fulfilled Scriptures” (Matthew 5:17). No annulling or addition is in Jesus’ relationship with the Scriptures. The reason for this reality is “The Final Scriptures” (Matthew 5:18). The Scriptures are eternal, providing “The Frame of the Scriptures” (Matthew 5:19). It is the boundary within which a Kingdom person lives. Because this is true, Jesus is compelled to communicate this climactic statement (Matthew 5:20). In a sense, it is truth flowing forth from His argument about the Scriptures. On the other hand, it is the reason He proposes this position of the Scriptures. The fulfillment of the Scriptures in Jesus restores humanity to a new level of righteousness required for a person in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Scriptures fulfilled in Jesus open a new door for merging with God in such intimacy that we give expression to His nature, righteousness. That is our destiny! No wonder I am a Jesus Pusher!