Chapter 5 Summary: The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

The Rightness of the Kingdom Heart: Beyond the Goodness of the Scribes and Pharisees

“There are,” says Henry David Thoreau, “a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” It is well known that the only way to deal with reoccurring problems, whether weeds, insects, or sewage leaking, is to find the source and deal with the problem there. When it comes to the problem of human sin Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, is the one “striking at the root.”

Unlike most philosophies and psychologies that make a good attempt, Jesus actually knows how to enable a person to be good. And a careful reading of this excellent sermon will reveal a process of transformation that one can enter into and move from the depths of human sinfulness to the pinnacle of humanity—agape love.

In order to see this process we must read the sermon as a sermon, and not as individual statements gathered together as the author recalled them. This type of disconnected reading has led many to ponder the words that Jesus said, while failing to know or understand what to do with them. But by reading them as one sermon a single line of thought will emerge, that will enable us to actually respond to his message.

Before reading them, however, we must take care of one preliminary step; namely, re-visioning how we see Jesus. Many people, including Christians, view Jesus as nice, but not smart. “That misunderstanding is the death knell of discipleship, for it locates him outside the company of those who have knowledge and therefore deprives us of the practical power of his teachings.” 

If he is a “mere icon” or a guru, of sorts, if he is constantly “in his muse” trying to “figure it all out,” we will be unable to confidently follow him. We will be impressed with him, but we wouldn't trust him with our lives. And many who have this view of Jesus believe in him and all his claims; but they do not trust him because they do not view him as smart.

Our task, if we are going to be his students, is to revision him as 1st century people of his day might have. Not as a detached spiritual different person, wandering by the sea, but as an intelligent genius. It may help to think about the place in which he grew up. Jerusalem and it’s surrounding provinces where the stomping grounds of tourists, academicians, entrepreneurs, etc… And Jesus (at the age of 12!) had them spellbound with his wisdom and knowledge. 

He is, quite simply, the smartest human being to have ever lived. And when we read his teachings we must understand them as coming from someone who knows, expertly, what they are talking about. This way we will see, “where he is going with it,” and understand how it all fits together, and then respond.

Jesus’ brilliance is unfolded at once in the way he displays his understanding of the human soul in terms of wrongdoing. He does not focus on the actions, as the scribes and Pharisees do, but he focus on the source of wrongdoing—the heart. This is why he suggests that one must “go beyond the goodness of scribes and Pharisees (which is simply religious respectability expressed in action) if one is to mesh their life with the flow of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:30).

Going beyond the Pharisees goodness, or righteousness, means actually doing the law of God. For as he said of them “they say, and do not” (Matthew 23:3). Now this may make many think of legalism, but the law of which Jesus speaks is not the law the Pharisees pushed; he speaks of the law of God that was a joy and delight. It is the law spoken of lovingly in Psalm 119. 

Jesus is not suggesting that the law is the source of rightness, “but,” says Willard, “it is forever the course of rightness.”

This all begs the question, “How can I actually keep the law?” If Jesus’ indictment against the Pharisees was that they said without doing, it is only logical to suggest that he wants his students to both say and do. But how? The answer is simple; trust Jesus (John 6:28-30).

“He knew that we cannot keep the law by trying to keep the law. To succeed in keeping the law one must aim at something other and something more. One must aim at becoming the kind of person from whom the deeds of the law naturally flow.”

He provides illustrations that are common to life to help his listeners understand his meaning. One involves simple dishwashing instructions. “First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean” (Matthew 23:26). You may just want to try this in your home. Take glass that is dirty inside and out and begin washing the inside. When the inside is clean look at the outside, too. Chances are it will be cleaner than it was at the start.

The cleaning of the inside of the cup is what Jesus comes to do with our lives. By placing our confidence in him we can allow him to lead us down a internally transformative path; a path that does not simply focus on behavior, but on being. It is a path that leads directly into the kingdom. 

It is a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

It is this inner goodness (or righteousness) that Jesus is pushing here. In the next few verses (Matthew 5:21 and on) he will contrast inner righteousness with old (or outer) righteousness. 

Remember, inner righteousness focuses on becoming a type of person; outer righteousness focuses on doing the right things. Keep this in mind as you dive deeper into Jesus’ sermon.

As you study Jesus’ sermon remember that the order is important; read it like a sermon. If one begins at lusting they will find it impossible to “not look to lust.” But if one begins by understanding that all humans are blessed because the kingdom is available to everyone, then they move on to eliminating anger and contempt from their lives, then the problem of cultivating lust (which is rooted in the diminishment of a human life, and contempt for them) will be obvious. 

Remember, Jesus is teaching us how to enter in. This news is refreshing for those of us who are languishing in “mere belief” while experiencing no transformation. “Hows” are important in life. Without them we wouldn't learn to drive, cook, read, etc… The same is true when it comes to the kingdom. We must know how to enter; we will not stumble into it. Jesus, the trustworthy intelligent savior, comes to teach us how. It is up to us to trust and obey.

Buy The Divine Conspiracy. NOTE: This post contains affiliate links to the books referenced. Should you choose to use these links, I may earn affiliate commissions at no additional cost to you. Thank you for reading; I appreciate your support!