“I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”

Matthew 5:17-20

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will be no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks on of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will be no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Commentary notes, “One jot or one tittle refers to the minutest marks and letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He explained that even the smallest statement in the law must be fulfilled. A jot is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called yodh. It functions as a “Y” in English and looks similar to an apostrophe. A tittle is a small projection on the edge of certain Hebrew letters to distinguish them from one another. For example, the Hebrew “D” differs from the “R” only by the use of the tittle.”[1]

The Pharisees and scribes were experts in the law. They knew their jot's and tittles. Yet even them in following the law would not enter the kingdom of heaven. It is not by our own righteousness that we enter the kingdom of God.

The law was written on stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God (Ex. 31:18) and given to Moses for the people on Mount Sinai to drive them to their knees. Jesus pushes this law even further than they ever thought of it in Matthew 5:21-22 when He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”

The law drives us to Christ who is the only one who can fulfill it. It is through His righteousness and not our own that we enter the kingdom of God. Through coming to Christ and receiving His righteousness through His fulfillment of the law, we enter the kingdom.

It is in relationship with Christ and not by our outward acts of piety or following the law that we enter His kingdom. A book I was reading recently notes, “...spiritual direction aims not at producing 'right choices,' or 'good churchgoers,' or 'active apostles,' or 'clear-headed decision makers,' but at fostering a relationship, a relationship of love.”

Entering into this relationship we are given a new heart that is tender and responsive to God. Ez. 36:26 NLT, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

Instead of the law written on tablets, the law is written on our hearts. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:3, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

What is restored to us is that which was lost through the sin of Adam in the garden. Romans 5:12-18 (NIV) says, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

It is through our relationship with Christ and not by outward acts of piety that we come to life.

Many years ago I was given a gift of a dream that has always stayed with me. I was a new Christian. And in my dream, I was trying to climb up a ladder to go up this big tree and enter into a hole at the top. I fumbled and stumbled with the ladder steps but finally after working incredibly hard, made it to the top of the tree only to find that my head was too big to fit through the hole. I fell back down and finally gave up working at it. Then as I trusted, I was lifted up this tree with ease and entered into the hole.

Psalm 37:3-8 says, "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing."

While it is our relationship with God is what is significant and not outward sacrifices or acts of piety, the proof of this relationship is that we bear fruit by our actions. Jesus says in Luke 6:43-45, “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Coming back to the garden and the original intent of God, He made man in His own image to be fruitful, fill the earth, and rule it (Genesis 1:27). When He created man in His image, he declared all He had made (including us) very good (Genesis 1:31). [2]

Good here is the Hebrew word towb Strongs #2986 and it means goodness in it's fullness. It is a rich, fully alive, overflowing, kind, wealthy and most excellent goodness. [3]

J. Philip Newell writes about this as it relates to Pelagius' emphasis, “Rather, it is implied that at the heart of humanity is the image and goodness of God, a goodness that is obscured or covered over by the practice of wrongdoing and evil. Deeper than any wrong in us is the light of God, the light that no darkness has been able to overcome, as St. John had written. At the heart of humanity is 'the light that enlightens every person coming into the world.'” [4]

He goes on to write that redemption then can be understood as releasing the goodness of who we really are deep inside, setting us free to express what is written on our hearts with God's very own finger. This book goes into this conscience and inner capacity to know what is right and wrong that is rooted in the goodness of the image in which we were made within every person. [5]

Ever met a Christian that was really crabby and mean-spirited? Or a non-Christian who was generous, kind and gentle with everyone they met?

J. Philip Newell quotes Pelaguis,

There are some who call themselves Christian, and who attend worship regularly, yet perform no Christian actions in their daily lives. There are others who do not call themselves Christian, and who never attend worship, yet perform many Christian actions in their daily lives. Which of these two groups are the better disciples of Christ? Some would say that believing in Christ and worshiping him is what matters for salvation. But this is not what Jesus himself said. His teaching was almost entirely concerned with action, and with the motives which inspire action. He affirmed goodness of behavior in whoever he found, whether the person was Jew or Roman, male or female...” [6]

The very image of God is imprinted on every person, saved or unsaved. Some have unburied this goodness hidden inside them by their choices and came to greater life while in others, this goodness has become more and more buried and hard to reach because of sinful choices.

Jesus asks the religious leaders who were accusing Him, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” (Luke 6:9)

Jesus says in Matthew 6:22-23, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

I have a friend/relative who is Buddhist. What amazed me about her when I recently spent some time with her was this goodness, kindness and generosity in her life. We would sometimes have these weird conversations where the statements she would make I would follow with telling her the scripture verse she was speaking. Scripture frequently seemed to flow from her mouth without her even knowing it.

Perhaps this 'goodness' she has practiced by putting her hands to the things her heart prompts has brought her nearer the kingdom of God than one (I) would have realized.  

Scriptures are filled with God's goodness: Love your (Luke 6:27), Sell what you have and give alms (Luke 12:33), Judge not... Condemn not... Forgive... Give... (Luke 6:37-38).

Jesus told the people, “But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

To be connected to the heart of God, we overflow with His goodness that is deep within our hearts for others. It is through entering into relationship with God and abiding in His love that we truly bear His fruit in our lives.

Jesus says in John 15:4, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Lord, we long to be filled with Your goodness to overflowing in the lives of everyone we come in contact with. Help us to see anything that hinders this from flowing in our lives. Forgive me where I have been more focused on getting it right than trusting You and letting Your light shine through me. Forgive me also where I get rushed and stressed, I can see where this has quenched Your goodness flowing through my life to others.

“If you can't say nothin good don't say nothin at all” sings in the background.

1. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 1886

2, 4-6. Newell, J. Philip. Listening For The Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality. Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ. 1997.

3. Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996, S. H2896