“Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven …” (Matthew 5:19)
What are the “least of these commands?” Jesus rounds out this context with a call to have a righteousness that “surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law” (Matt. 5:20); so whatever He was saying about setting aside the “least of these commands” probably had something to do with the skewed way that the Pharisees and teachers of the law read and applied Scripture. Their practice and Jesus’ condemnation of it serve as a warning for all of us who want to read and apply Scripture correctly.
In Matthew 23:23-24, Jesus speaks directly to the kinds of commands and principles that the Pharisees set aside. In that passage, He said, you give a tenth of all the spices that you have, but “you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” So, the kinds of commands that the Pharisees set aside were not the “least” of the commands at all, rather they set aside the “more important matters of the law.” This makes me think that Jesus’ comment about the “least of these commands” was directed more toward the Pharisees assessment of the commands they were setting aside rather than to the reality of the relative importance of those commands.
It appears that the Pharisees loved to major in minors and minor in majors. They focused on the minutiae of tithing, but they failed to see the significance of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. I think the Pharisees saw things like justice, mercy, and faithfulness as the “least of these commands.” This is one of the dangers of legalism. It develops a skewed and unhealthy interest in minutiae and ritual that is accompanied by a lack of concern about things of extreme importance. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said, “you strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
So, what is the kind of righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees that Jesus requires of us? The entire Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is a description of this kind of Pharisee-surpassing righteousness. It is a kind of right living that grows out of a right heart. It is a kind of purity of life that is not content to have pure actions and an impure heart. But there is one phrase toward the end of Jesus’ sermon that I think He purposefully connects with these introductory comments about the “least of the commands”.
The way this theme about the Law and the Prophets in fleshed out in Matthew is instructive about what truly are the weighty matters of the law. In Matthew 5:17 (just before Jesus’ comments about the “least of these commands”) Jesus says that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Then, toward the end of this beautiful sermon, Jesus gives us this famous command, “Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And finally, in Matthew 22:40 He says that the Law and the Prophets hang on the commands to love God and love our neighbors.
The kind of righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees’ righteousness is one that is a living expression of love for God and neighbor. To treat other people as we would like to be treated is this kind of expression of love to our neighbor. These concerns are by no means the “least of the commands,” but a legalistically minded person is inclined to see them as such. To be concerned about justice for those who can’t find it on their own, to be quick to show mercy because we know we need such mercy ourselves, and to be faithful even when it is costly … these are weighty matters. May we never major in rituals while minoring in these weighty matters of love.