UNDERSTANDING THE DIKAIOSUNĒ OF MATTHEW 5:20 AND ITS IMPLICATION

TO CHRISTIAN MORALITY IN NIGERIA

BY

OMAKA KALU NGELE Ph.D

A LECTURER

DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

E-MAIL ngeleomarevd2003@yahoo.co.uk

GSM 08034644454

AND

UWAEGBUTE, KINGSLEY IKECHUKWU

DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

GSM 07030585780

Abstract

Nigeria as a nation has suffered so much from pandemic state of

imbalance when her Christian morality is weighed in the light of

numerous Christian denomination and activities over the fifty

year of her existence as a nation. The quest for morality from

scriptural perspective. The pericope of Matthew Gospel, Chapter

5 verse 20 fits appropriately into the Nigerian situation as it

beams out the light of the Lord Jesus’ teaching on dikaosune-

righteousness. The paper employs a historical critical method of

biblical studies with emphasis on redaction criticism as modern

method of biblical scholarship in the research. The import of

the paper is to exegetically xray on the text and apply its

lessons to Nigerian Christianity which in the long run would to

a great extent curb the high level of corruption in Nigeria.

Key Words : Righteousness - dikaiosunē, Morality,

Christianity ,Church

Introduction

The Greek word dikaiosunē translated in English as

righteousness is a very important concept in the Gospel of

Matthew. Among the Gospel writers, Matthew alone shows a greater

interest in the concept of righteousness. To show how the

concept of righteousness matters to the Gospel writer of

Matthew, E.N. Onwu asserts that “the term righteousness occurs

seven times in the Gospel of Matthew ….”1 In the same view, Da

Hagner corroborates E.N. Onwu’s assertion while adding that “it

is no coincidence that the word dikaiosunē (righteousness) occurs

in Matthew seven times and not in any other Gospel except for

the poetry of Luke 1:75”2

These observations, however, do not imply that the Greek word

dikaios which literally means “upright, righteous, just, good or

proper” is not found in the Gospels. Dikaios occurs two (2) times

in Mark, fourteen times (14) in Matthew, eleven times (11) in

Luke and three times (3) in John.3 Though a derivative of

dikaios, the meaning of dikaiosunē and dikaios are not always the

same. The context in which these two Greek words (dikaios and

dikaiosunē) appear gives definition to their meanings.

An important Matthean text which captured the interest of

this seminar paper is Mtt 5:20. This is because Mtt5:20 deals

with righteousness. Righteousness (dikaiosunē), though in its

simplest definition carries the idea of being in accordance with

what God requires, is used in Mtt 5:20 in a comprehensive sense

which denotes what Christian behaviours that are in accordance

with God’s standard. Aspects of these behaviours include mercy,

non-retaliation, forgiveness justice, love, charity etc. The

above understanding rightly applied, shows that righteousness in

Mtt5:20 deals with Christian morality. In other words, as

Ziesler puts it, righteousness in Mtt 5:20 is understood to

“refers to high moral conducts expected of Jesus disciples

(Christians)”4 Righteousness in Mtt 5:20, therefore defines how

Christians are to behave.

Evidently, Christianity has grown and is still growing in

Nigeria. The people who make up the members of the church in

Nigeria are Christians. As early as 1975, O. U. Kalu had

pointed out the high growth of Christianity in Nigeria.

According to him, “every nook and cranny of Nigeria is endowed

with a couple or more churches, poised like pubs on London

Streets”5. From the above stand point and with reference to high

growth of Christianity in Nigeria, Sam Awada equally observed,

“every street and corner of all our big cities, village, and

hamlet are full of churches, Sunday services are full to

capacity, some running three or more sessions”.6

However, despite the high growth of Christianity in Nigeria,

the problems of sexual immorality, corruption of all kinds,

revengeful acts, injustice, religions activities for show, low

regard for Christian love, poor Christian giving (charity),

litigation etc. have all become worrisome in cotemporary

Nigerian Christianity. These behaviours are not only at

variance with the righteousness of Mtt.5:20 but, is an

indication that Christian morality is on decline in contemporary

Nigerian Christianity.

The aim of this seminar paper is to use the biblical lens of

Mtt 5:20, through exegetical method, to understand the meaning

of righteousness. This understanding will be helpful in

discussing what implication righteousness (in Mtt 5:20) has for

Christian morality in Nigeria. Some recommendations are also

given in order to meet the aim and objective of this paper.

MATTHEW 5:20 AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ANTITHESES (MTT 5:21-

48)

A lot of scholars argue that Mtt 5:20 should be regarded as a

heading for Matt 5:21-48.7 These scholars argue strongly that

since the examples of higher righteousness (dikaiosunē) are given

by Jesus in Mtt 5:21-48, Mtt 5:20 is definitely a heading for

Mtt 5:21-48. Mtt 5:21-48 is better referred to as the

“antitheses” of Matthew’s Gospel. These texts (5:21-48) are

called the antitheses because of the way Jesus contrasted some

demands of the Old Testament law and that of higher

righteousness (dikaiosunē).

There is no unanimous agreement by scholars on if the

antitheses represent a new law or, a re-interpretation of the

Old Testament law. Scholars like G.Barth8, D.W. Davies9, E.N.

Onwu10, H.L. Ellision11, B. Przybylski12, J.D. Pentecost13, and

F.B. Craddock14 strongly argue that the antitheses represent a

re-interpretation of the old law. Scholars like Bornkamm15,

Strecker16, Windisch17, and Bonhefffer18, understand the

antitheses as a new law. The question of whether the antitheses

represent either a new law or a re-interpretation of the old law

must be answered in line with how Matthew understood them. It

seems Matthew understood the antitheses as a re-interpretation

of the old law. Although a number of points in Matt 5:17-19

present a lot of difficulties to understand, but Matthew

presents Jesus as saying here that “he did not come to abolish

the law, but to fulfill it”. 19

The above text shows that Jesus did not intend to discard the

old law and establish a new law but to give it a better

interpretation. Seen in the above light, it can be understood

why the lexical structure of the antitheses always begin with a

particular Jesus phrase: “You heard it was said of the old

(law)”. This phrase is also contrasted by Jesus with another

saying: "But I say to you” which is a way of reinterpreting the

old law.

In addition to the above point, Benno Przybylski has pointed

out that Matthew applied the rabbinate principle of making a

fence around the torah in Matt 5:21-48 in order to prevent it

(Torah) from being broken. Przybylski cites Moore who explains

this principle as “a hemeunitic principle used to protect the

law by surrounding it with precautional rules ….”20 In the above

regards, Przybylski believes that Matthew’s Jesus applied this

principle to protect the old law by giving it a more perfect

interpretation. This does not only prevent a person from

breaking the law but, is a more perfect fulfillment of the law.

Thus, though Matthew’s Jesus applied this rabbinate principle,

Jesus’ reinterpretation emphasized the positive requirement of

the law.

THE SITZ IM LEBEN (SETTING) OF MATTHEW 5:20

Mtt.5:20 belongs to a section of Matthew’s Gospel called the

Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is a part of

Matthew’s first major discourse. The Sermon on the Mount is the

longest piece of Jesus’ teaching in the New Testament. It

occupies chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. To a lot of

scholars, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of

Christian discipleship..21

Equally, some scholars consider the Sermon on the Mount a

replica of the Sinai Law in the Pentateuch. 22 This view may have

stemmed from a radical re-interpretation of the Old Testament

law in light of a higher dikaiosunē in the Sermon on the Mount. In

relation to the above, the sitz im leben of Mtt 5:20 should be

understood from the historical perspective of the definition and

practice of dikaiosunē in the rabbinate (Scribal Law). The

rabbinic definition of dikaiosunē was already an accepted standard

for the practise of dikaiosunē in Jesus’ time.

But the rabbinic definition and practise of dikaiosunē is

outward (Mtt 23:5-7), hypocritical (Mtt 23:1-4) and, neglects

the weightier matters of the law (Mtt 23:23-24). It is

therefore superficial, external and inadequate. It is against

the inadequacies of such definition and practice of the Scribes

and Pharisees that Jesus spoke in Mt 5:20. As seen Mtt.5:1-2,

the setting of the sermon was on a mount. The hearers of Jesus

were his disciples. The sermon was directed to the disciples

because they are an integral part of Jesus’ ministry and

therefore, should know the true demands of Kingdom and Christian

discipleship.

The above is certainly why the Sermon on the Mount contains

three important dikaiosunē texts. In these dikaiosunē texts, Jesus

showed an irrevocable relationship between dikaiosunē and

eschatology.23 Mt. 5:20 is one of such dikaiosunē texts being

referred to above. As already pointed out above, the remote

literary context Mtt5:20 is the Sermon on the Mount which begins

in Mtt5:1 while the immediate literary context of Mtt5;20 is

Mtt5:19.Mtt5:19 therefore culminates in Jesus’ words in Mtt5:20.

A parallel of Sermon on the Mount is contained in the Gospel of

Luke. Unlike the Gospel of Matthew, Luke records that the

sermon took place on a plain.24. Hence, in Lucan Gospel, it is

called the sermon on the plain.

TEXTUAL EXEGESIS AND CRITICAL COMMENTARY OF MTTHEW 5:20

Mtt 5:20 in original Greek Text:

ύóύή

ς

English Translation; For I say to you that unless your

righteousness exceeds more of that of the scribes and Pharisees

you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

Typical of Jesus authoritative teaching, his emphatic

:Legō gar humin (for I say to you) here, shows

authority in his words. F.B. Craddock has rightly po

inted out that the phrase (for I say to you) shows Jesus’

personal authority to interpret the law.is a Greek verb

which is used in the first person indicative active singular

sense here. It means “I say”. ύ (to you) is in the infinitive

active sense of the Greek Personal pronoun ύs(humeis) . ύ as

used here refers to the disciples of Jesus25

ó (Hoti ean mē perisseusē) ó ‘that’ is a Greek

conjunction and it performs the function of a conjunction

here. is equally a Greek conjunction meaning

“unless”. is in the third person

aorist sense of the Greek verb . as Kurt Alland

et al say means “to suprerabound, to exceed, to overflow, to be

better off, to be in excess or to excel”26. Understood from the

above sense, here carries the idea of exceeding the

requirement, of overflowing, of excelling, of abundance and, of

being in excess. It therefore denotes the act of exceeding a

certain number of measure or above a certain number of measures.

ή : (Humōn hē dikaiosune pleion) ύ ‘your’ is

in the genitive sense of the Greek personal pronoun ς (you).

ύused in this context, denotes the fact that the dikaiosunē

of Matt 5:20 is a “demand and a requirement” expected of Jesus

disciples and Christians as well. This, to a very large extent

punctures any contrary view which understands dikaiosunē here as a

gift from God to man rather than a demand upon man.27 In the

above regards, Benno Przyblyski has rightly noted that Matt 5:20

points to the fact that “the righteousness of the scribes and

Pharisees is not sufficient enough to enter the kingdom of

heaven”28 This therefore cast a doubt on any view that their

(scribes and Pharisee) righteousness is a gift from God.

Przybylski’s view makes a lot of sense. This is because in

Mtt 5:20 Jesus drew a comparison between two kinds of dikaiosunē;

the dikaiosunē of the scribes and Pharisees and that expected of

Jesus’ disciples. Consequently, if dikaiosunē is to be understood

as a gift from God then, this meaning must apply both to the

two kinds of dikaiosunē Jesus referred to in Mtt 5:20. But this

view is not right. Jesus contrasted two kinds of dikaiosunē here

in terms of demand placed on the disciples who its definition is

different from that practised by the scribes and Pharisees.

itself is a feminine Greek noun used here in the

nominative sense. Kurt Alland et al say denotes “What

is right; righteousness; uprightness; justice; righting wrong;

religious duties; acts of charity and love”.29 With particular

reference to Mattew’s understanding of dikaiosunē, E.N. Onwu

further identifies other aspects of which include “non-

retailiution, faithfulness, mercy, forgiveness, purity of heart

and motive …”30.The totality of the above identified aspects of

dikaiosunē,,which E.N Onwu calls “ the whole gamut of Christian

behaviours”31 is summed up in dikaiosunē of Matt5:20 This means

that the dikaiosunē of Matt5:20 is used in a comprehensive sense

which denotes what Christian morality entails. That dikaiosunē

in Mtt5:20 refers to the totality of Christian morality is

corroborated by Fredrick Craddock who wrote “that the dikaiosunē

of Mtt5:20 deals with high moral conducts expected of

Christians”32 Equally, Ziesler states clearly that “dikaiosunē of

Mtt 5:20 deals exclusively with Christian morality”33.

These scholarly views support the fact that the dikaiosunē of

Mtt 5:20 deals with Christian morality, that is, what behaviours

that are expected of Christians as followers of Jesus. The above

pointed out is further given support by the fact that most of

the meanings of dikaiosunē as shown by Kurt Alland et al and

E.N.Onwu, was defined by Jesus in the antitheses(Mtt5:21-48).

These include murder/anger, adultery/lust, swearing/vows,

charity (Christian giving) , revenge/retaliation, love (for

enemies) and religious activities for show.34 These all border

on right Christian morality (behaviours) that God demands from

Christians. Therefore, as already pointed out above, dikaiosunē of

Matt5:20 denotes the totality of what Christian morality which

denotes what Christian morality entails.

The Greek adjective is in neuter accusative singular

case. It means “more”. It is used in comparative sense as it

appears in its context here. taken together with ύ

which is in genitive sense and indicate that dikaiosunē

of Mtt 5:20 should be understood both in a qualitative and

quantitative sense. Lexically, understanding the dikaiosunē of

Mtt 5:20 in the above sense cannot be overlooked.35 As Mtt 5:20

shows, Jesus demands a dikaiosunē that is better off in quality.

Hence why the disciples’ dikaiosunē must exceed the requirement,

must be better off, must super abound or be in excess, if they

ever hope of entering the kingdom of heaven (God). Likewise,

such a dikaiosunē must equally be more in quantity. This is to

say that, if the disciple’s acts of dikaiosunē are to be counted,

it must be in total, a very high number of acts of dikaiosunē.

:(Tōn grammateōn) is a plural definite

article used in the genitive sense.It means ‘the’. is

a plural Greek masculine noun used equally in the genitive

sense. Its singular form is ς (Grammateus) which

literally means a “writer”. But a ς means more than just

a writer. According to Kurt Alland et al ς can mean “a

scribe; an expert in Jewish law; a man of letters or a scholar,

depending on the context it is used”.36

In the context Matthew’s Jesus used it here. mean

scribes, that is, experts of the Jewish law. This is because to

a typical Jew, scribes are experts of the Jewish law. The

origin of the scribes probably predates the time of Ezra, a well

known scribe of Old Testament. The scribes recorded, studied,

interpreted and often taught the Jewish Law. Through the

passage of times, the scribes were considered experts in, and

authorities on the interpretation of the Jewish scriptures,

especially during the inter-testamental period. The scribes

studied carefully the texts and laid down rules for transcribing

it with most scrupulous precision. As time went on, the words

of the scribes were honoured above the law to the extent that it

was a greater crime to offend them than, the law itself.

Such was the expertise of the scribes during Jesus’ time

that, they (scribes) were entrusted with the administration of

the law as Judges in the Sanhedrin (cfMt 22:35). And to stress

the reverence, expertise and prestige of the scribes in Jewish

law more, there was a saying in Judaism that “if only two people

go to heaven, one would be a scribe”.37 what a saying!

: (Kai pharisaōn) is a Greek conjunction meaning

“and” while is used in the plural sense of the Greek

masculine noun, ς. The word ς (pharisaios) is derived

from the Hebrew word Perushim which means separated. The

Pharisees were those Jews who separated themselves from all

ordinary life in order to keep every detail of the scribal

laws.38 Thus; the Pharisees were religious group or brotherhood

in Judaism. This brotherhood developed probably, during the

time of the Maccabees. William Barclay writes that” in terms of

accepting membership, a person who wants to join the brotherhood

of the Pharisees would take a pledge in front of three witnesses

to agree that he would spend all his life observing every detail

of the Scribal law (Mosaic law)”.39

Josephus gives the number of the Pharisees as “6,000 during

the time of Herod the great”.40 F. Torrey gives a scriptural

summary of the Pharisees as:

The strictest observers of mosaic law; by decent,extremely zealous for the law; zealous oftradition outwardly moral; rigid in fasting;active in proselytizing; self righteous;avaricious; found of public salutation; found ofdistinguished titles; particular in paying alldues; oppressive; believed in resurrection;regarded their opinions as standards forothers”.41

Like the Scribes, the pre-eminence of the Pharisees in Judaism

was so great that it is believed that only a Pharisee and a

scribe would go to heaven, if only two people were given the

chance.

These two religious groups held much sway in Judaism

of Jesus time, though hypocritically. This was why Jesus

confronted their hypocrisy in the most radical, fashion. Also,

upon the scribes and Pharisees, did Jesus pronounce series of

woes , very much unheard of any religious leaders in Jesus’

days.42

ς (ou mē eiselthēte eis

basileian tōn ouranōn) means “not” while equally means “not”. As

used in the context here, it is a form of double negation which

makes a strong emphasis. It is also the strongest way of saying

“no” in Greek.

The verb is in the second aorist active plural sense of

the Greek verb (Eisemi) which means “enter”.

ς here is in the preparative accusative sense. It means

“into”. is a feminine Greek word which means reign,

rule, kingdom or domain. To define and understand the actual

meaning of (Basileia) is somewhat dynamic but in the context

of its usage here, it means kingdom.43 is a plural definite

article which means “the” while is a masculine plural

Greek noun for heaven. Heaven is used here is used as a

substitute for the divine name of God. The Gospel writer of

Matthew is noted as being a synoptic writer who substitutes the

divine name of God with “heaven”.

For instance, Matthew mentions heaven eighty two (82)

times which is the highest occurrence in the Synoptics. In a

larger context, the word heaven occurs two hundred and seventy

three (273) times in the New Testament. Matthew alone, as seen

above, accounts for eighty two (82) occurrences of heaven in the

whole of New Testament. In relationship to the above, it can be

understood why the term kingdom of heaven is more frequently

used in the Gospel of Matthew than in Mark or Luke. In the

Gospel of Matthew, the term kingdom of heaven is used thirty two

(32) times as against the kingdom of God which is used five

times (5).44

A scholar like R.H. Gundry observes that “it is certain that

Matthew’s preferred use of heaven in place of God reflects his

Jewish religious background”.45 Jewish piety, Gundry further

says, makes Jews have a deep reverence and respect for God’s

divine name. This means that the Jews avoided mentioning God’s

name carelessly and this was why Matthew substitutes mostly, the

divine name of God with heaven in his Gospel. Gundry

observation, it must be noted, was brought to the attention of

scholars by a German scholar named Gustaf Dalman in the

nineteenth century. So, it is noted here that both Kingdom of

heaven and kingdom of God mean the same thing.46

which appear here in plural is a peculiar Matthean

usage. Of eighty two (82) occurrences of ς in Matthew,

fifty five (55) are plural while twenty even (27) are singular.47

A lot of reasons have been given why ς (heaven) occurs in

both plural and singular cases in Matthew and the whole of New

Testament. Jonathan T. Pennington has shown that the ancients had

a multiple concepts of heaven and so, the rise of use of both

plural and singular cases.48

Another reason is the in the Septuagint (LXX), there is both

a singular and plural usage of the word heaven. This Pennington

says is” an appeal to Semitism”. This shows that the Hebrew and

Aramaic word for heaven appear in plural. With reference to

Matthew’s use of the plural form ofς (heaven), Pennington

agrees that Matthew usesς in plural to refer to heaven as

the dwelling place of God and the angels. This plural usage

shows that there is quite a difference when Matthew uses ς

in singular sense. In otherwords, according Pennington, Matthew

uses “ς in the singular to refer to the visible world of

man”.49 In the context of Mtt.5:20, Pennington observation is

right, since Matthew usedς to designate the divine world

of God.

THE THEOLOGICAL THRUST OF MTT 5:20 AND CONCLUSION OF THE MEANING

OF DIKAIOSUNĒ IN THE LIGHT OF ABOVE EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS

In the light of the above textual exegesis, the

researcher draws conclusion on the meaning of dikaiosunē in

Mtt5:20. Dikaiosune is a comprehensive term which refers to

morality (behaviours) expected from Jesus’ disciples

(Christians). This dikaiosunē is a demand and not a gift from

God. In Mtt 5:20, though the scribe and Pharisees have dikaiosunē

(morality), that (dikaiosunē) demanded by Jesus from his disciples

(Christians) and that practised by the scribes and Pharisee are

not identical. The dikaiosunē demanded by Jesus of the disciples

(Christians) is both qualitative and quantitative. This is why

such a dikaiosunē must exceed, must be more in abundance and must

excel more than that practised by the scribes and Pharisees. It

is only on the basis of such a qualitative and quantitative

dikaiosune are Jesus’ disciples (Christians) accepted in the

Kingdom of heaven (God).

Christian Morality in Contemporary Nigeria

Christian morality deals with what right behaviours are

expected of Christians as defined by biblical teachings. This

means that the morality of Christians comes, necessarily, from

the Bible. It declares what is right and wrong for Christians

in the sight of God.50As has already been pointed out in this

paper; Christianity has grown and is still growing in Nigeria.

Christian churches spring up in almost all nook and crannies of

Nigeria. Admittedly, Christianity is a dominant religion in

southern Nigeria but in northern Nigeria, the presence of

Christianity is also felt. The above said, notwithstanding the

current bombing of churches in some northern states in Nigeria.

But the multiplicity of churches in Nigeria is one thing,

Christians maintaining a high level of morality is another

thing. Put differently, the multiplicity of churches in Nigeria

does not measure up with the level of morality expected of

Nigeria Christians. With regards to the above, Sam Aweda has

rightly pointed out that “it seems that the more churches

multiply in Nigeria, the more Christian morality declines”51.

Aweda’s view is not an over statement. Not to over generalize,

it is pointed out here that many contemporary Nigerian

Christians care less about Christian morality.

Some scholars blame high moral decadence among Nigerian

Christians on “high poverty rate in Nigeria”.52.Others blame it

“on the influence of modernism (westernization)”..53 The fact

remains that there is a decline of Christian morality in

Nigeria. A writer like Fiona Idensi has decried “the rampant

cases of sexual immorality, adultery, criminality and all manner

of unrighteous living among Nigerian Christians”54. These

behaviours pointed out by Idensi are a deviant from the biblical

teaching of Mtt5:20.They are also a moral dishonor to God.

Sam Aweda further adds that “Strong brotherly love is no

longer found among Nigeria Christians” while Matthew Owadayo

takes on the problem of poor Christian giving (charity) in

churches today. Owadayo writes “about the situation whereby in

the midst of affluence in the church, poor members of the church

suffer”.55 This observation shows that, there has become a

problem of poor Christian giving in the church in Nigeria today.

This situation pointed out by Owadayo is made worst, especially

within Pentecostal circles, when after a lot of offerings and

tithes are given by the poor, they are told that “their lack of

strong faith kept them in poverty”. Instead of being assisted

by the church, the poor are asked to go home and pray more.

In a similar development, Ngozi Iheanacho’s work took a

holistic look at the problems of Christianity in contemporary

Nigeria. Iheanacho observes that it is clear “Prosperity

preaching, excessive desire for riches, fraud, criminality,

problems of sexual immorality and injustice in matters that

concerns the poor, have all become a problem in Nigeria

Christianity”56. Iheanacho’s observation is quite apt owing to

various problems of immorality and criminality even among church

leaders in Nigeria. There have been documented cases of bizarre

criminal bahaviours in the church in Nigeria.57 All these portray

moral bankruptancy among Nigerian Christians.

The above relates to Christopher Ejizu’s observation that

there is “a decline in spirituality and Christian morality in

Nigeria owing to quest for matrialism.”58Tthis observation is

right on point. The increase materialistic view of Christianity

in Nigeria has become a problem. The means of getting wealth is

no longer considered important by a lot of Christians in

Nigeria. And what is more pathetic is that sometimes, when

“Christian cheats “pour their ill gotten wealth into the church,

they are giving standing ovation in the church.

It seems that criminality and sexual immorality are becoming

rampant among church leaders in Nigeria. The newspapers are

rife with some of these criminal and immoral sexual behaviours

of some church leaders. For instance, the Daily Sun Newspaper

of August 9, 2012 reports the case of Prophet Tunde Adeyinka

from Oyo in Ibadan.59 Adeyinka, in addition to being a prophet,

leads a robbery gang which terrorizes the people of Ogbomoso in

Oyo State. The police nabbed Adeyinka and his gang amidst

sporadic shooting which resulted in the death of three (3)

police men.

In the same vein, the same Daily Sun Newspaper of May 3 2012

reports the case of Pastor Eze who equally leads a robbery gang

which snatch cars from people60. Eze was a general overseer of a

church in Eket in Awka-Ibom. When the police nabbed Eze, he

confessed that, in addition to leading a robbery gang, he was an

adulterer. Eze says he sleeps with married women who came to his

church for counseling!! In a related way, The Starlite

Newspaper of August 13, 2012 reports another case that involved

Cardinal Peter Onah, a Cardinal of Marian Village Ede-Oballa in

Nsukka.61 Cardinal Eze was sentenced to two (2) years

imprisonment by an Nsukka Cour after being convicted of

attempted rape of Rev. Num Benedieth Mary Immaculate of the same

church. This paper tends not to apply philosophical syllogism in

drawing conclusion here, but all these pointed out above,

buttress the fact that there is a decline in Christian morality

in Nigeria.62

The Implication of the Dikaiosune of Mtt.5:20 to Christian

Morality in Nigeria

The dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20 is a comprehensive term which

denotes right morality God demands from Christians. Aspects of

this dikaiosunē include Christian behaviours like uprightness,

justice, righting wrongs, fulfilling religi.ous duties, acts of

charity and love, non- retaliation, faithfulness, mercy etc.

Infact, the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20 deals with the totality of right

Christian behaviours.

As shown in the exegesis of Mt 5:20, dikaiosunē is a demand God

makes from Christians. Dikaiosunē in Mtt 5:20 is not a gift,

rather, it is an imperative demand of God on Christians.

Understood in the above light, the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20,

therefore, challenges Nigerian Christians to fulfill the demands

of God upon them. This demand can only be fulfilled by Nigerian

Christians through living good Christian moral lives. A

corollary of good moral lives of Nigerian Christians will be

their avoidance of certain immoral acts like, sexual

immorality/lust, adultery, religious activity for show, enmity,

retaliation, criminality, hatred and unforgiving spirit etc.

Equally, the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20 reminds Nigerian Christians

that Christian morality is to be inward. Against the legalistic

approach to morality, the dikaiosunē Mtt5:20 tells Nigerian

Christian that right inner motives produces right moral actions.

This therefore challenges Nigerian Christians to have right

inner motives which will help them lead good Christian moral

lives.

Also, of utmost importance is the fact that the dikaiosunē of

Mtt 5:20 has an eschatological relationship with entering the

kingdom of heaven (God). Nigerian Christians are to understand

this fact. Dikaiosunē in Mtt 5:20 shows that the possibility of

Christians entering the kingdom of heaven (God) depends heavily

on their morality. In other words, the possibility of Nigerian

Christians entering the Kingdom of heaven depends heavily on

their Christian morality. If Nigerian Christians fail to live

good Christian moral lives which surpass that of scribes and

Pharisees, entering the Kingdom of heaven (God) will elude them.

The above should be why Nigerian Christians must always strive

to live good Christian moral lives since this will guarantee

their entering the kingdom of heaven (God)

RECOMMENDATIONS

This paper gives the following recommendations:

(1) Since Christian love is a huge aspect of dikaiosune of Mtt

5:20, it is recommended here that Christians in Nigeria

should make Christian love reign in the church in Nigeria.

(2) The Church in Nigeria should take a huge interest in

assisting her poor members; rather than the contemporary

situation where Christian leaders and aristocratic

privileged members heap up wealth for either themselves or

their families. The researchers share in the view that the

current trend in Nigeria where General Overseers of

Churches spend the funds contributed by poor peasant

farmers/traders in their denominations for the purchase of

private jet should be shelved as it amount to abating

corruption.

(3) Injustice should be discouraged in the church in

Nigeria.

(4) Nigerian Christians should always be forgiving, merciful,

non retaliatory and charitable. All these are huge aspects

of dikaiosune.

(5) In totality immoral behviours as well durroption of all kinds

in high and low places should be shunned by Nigerian

Christians. As shown in the exegesis of Mtt 5:20, a

Christian’s entry into the kingdom of heaven (God) is highly

dependent on his/her relationship with Christ as well as

his/her Christian morality.

CONCLUSION

This paper was a focus on understanding the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20.

It is found out in the course of exegesis of the pericope of Mtt

5:20 that, aspects of dikaiosunē here include, uprightness,

forgiveness, justice, righting wrongs, fulfilling religious duties,

acts of dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20, is equally a demand. Hence, God

demands that Christians live good Christian moral lives.

In contrast to the above, it was pointed out in this paper that

there is a decline in Christian morality in contemporary Nigerian

Christian. Sexual immorality, fraud and criminality, injustice,

poor Christian giving (charity), unforgiving spirit and low regard

for Christian love are becoming worrisome in the church in Nigeria.

Little wonder the fact that churches increase while morality

declines in Nigeria in all ramification. On the basis of the above,

the implication of the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20 cannot be overlooked.

The dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20 challenges Nigerians Christians to fulfill

God’s demand on them to live good Christian moral lives. This is

because, on the basis of high Christian morality of Nigerian

Christians, will they be accepted into the kingdom of heaven (God).

End Notes

1E.N. Onwu, A Critical Introduction to the Traditions ofJesus (Nsukka: AP Express Publishers, 2002), p. 85.

2Da Hagner “Righteousness and Disciples in Matthew”http://www.lastseminar.com/da.hargner/lastseminar

3http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/dikaios.htm

4Ziesler “Righteousness in Matthew” in Tradition and interpretationin Matthew. G.Barth, G. Bornkamm and H.J. Held (eds) E.T. PercyScott (London: Wissmon ANT 1, 1963), p. p. 133.

5O.U.. Kalu “Traditionalism and Modern Evangelical Strategyin Nigeria”: in West African Religion XXI (2), pp. 22-29.

6Sam Awada “A highly religious nation in crises of moraldecadence; Probable causes (part 1)”http:www.nayarules.com/religion-philoso[hy-spirituality/29/25—might-religious-nation.

7G.Strecker, Der Weg der Gerechtigkeit (Gottingen, 1962) p.153; G.Barth “Matthew’s understanding of the law” in Tradition andInterpretation in Matthew G.Bornkamm, G. Barth and H.J Held (eds)E.T. by Percy Scott, (London: WissmonANT1, 1963), P. 73; G.Bornkamm “End Time expectation and Church in Matthew” inTradition and interpretation in Matthew. G.Barth, G. Bornkam and H.J.Held (eds) E.T. by Percy Scott (London: Wissm on ANT 1, 1963),pp.16ff.

8G. Barth, “Matthew’s understanding of Law” Op.cit, pp. 93ff.

9W.D. Davies, The setting of Sermon on the Mount, (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1963), p.102.

10E.N. Onwu,A Critical Introduction to the Traditions of Jesus. (Nsukka: APExpress Publishers, 2002), p. 94.

11H.L. Ellison, Op.cit, p. 1124.

12Benno Przbylyski. “The Meaning and Significance of this concept of Righteousness in the Gospel of Matthew: With special reference to the use of this concept in the Dead Sea scrolls andthe Tannaitic Literature”. An Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation of McMaster University. http://digital commons.memaster.ca/opendissertations/3044,pp.171-174. Retrievedon 10/10/2012.

13J.D. Pentecost, Designed for Living: Lessons in Holiness from the Sermon on the Mount (Michigan: Kregel Publications, 2008), p.20.

14F.B. Craddock “You must therefore be perfect (Matt 5:20)” http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp3title=712.Retrieved on 8/10/2012.

15G. Bornkamm, Op.Cit, p.25

16Strecker, Op.cit, p. 146.

17H. Windisch, The Meaning of the Sermon on the Mount, (Philadelphia:Zendervan, 1951), p.28.

18Dietrich Bonhoeffer cited in “Matt 5:20, a betterrighteousness” http//anchor for the soul.org/feed/charge-remove.htm Retrieved on 10/10/2012.

19The points of difficulties in Mtt 5:17-19 lie in the meaningof the Greek words Iota und Keraia, in Jesus reference to the lawin Mtt.5:18.

20Benno Przybyski, Op.cit, pp. 171-175.

21 “The Sermon on the mount” in Oxford Dictionary of the ChristianChurch FF Cross (ed). (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005),p. 220.

22Some of these scholars include: H.L. Ellison, Op.ct, p.1121;David J. Ellis “The New Testament use of the Old Testament” inInternational Bible Commentary. FF Bruce (ed) (Philadelphia:Zondervan, 1986) pp. 1110-1118. R.G.O. Tasker, The Old Testament inthe New Testament (2nd ed) (London: Macmillan, 1954).

23Other Sermon of the mount passages in Matthew which dealwith dikaiosunē and eschatology includes 5:10 and 6:33.

24There is a lot of differences between the sermon of themount in Matthew and that of Luke. This paper tends not todiscuss these differences but notes that lexically, that of Lukeis very different from Matthew’s.

25This view is somehow contrasted in Mtt 7:28 where, when theSermon of the Mount ended, people seemed amazed by Jesusteachings.

26Kurt Alland et al. The Greek New Testament, (with Dictionary)4th ed (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bible gesellschaft, 1993), p. 140.

27G. Strecker, Op.cit, pp. 124 & 127; J.C. Fenton, The Gospelof St. Matthew (New York: Pelican Books, 1963), pp. 85 & 95; FF.Bruce “Justification by Faith in the Non-Pauline writings of theNew Testament” EQ 24 (1952), argue that the dikaiosunē of Mtt 5:20is an eschatological gift of God to man.

28Benno Przybyski, Op.cit, pp. 179-180.

29Kurt Alland et al, Op.cit, p. 46.

30E.N. Onwu, Op.cit, p. 94

31Ibid,p.94

32F. Craddock, Op.cit, p.1.

33Ziesler “Righteousness in Matthew” in Tradition and interpretationin Matthew. G.Barth, G. Bornkamm and H.J. Held (eds) E.T. PercyScott (London: Wissmon ANT 1, 1963), p. 133.

34Mtt 6:1-18, argues F. Daniel, refers back to the antithesis.This view is held in his work “The righteousness of the Kingdom”http://www.anchor for the soul.org/feed/charge-remove.htm.retrived on 10/10/2012.

35Scholars who have studied the lexical structure of the Greekadjective Pleion in Mtt 5:20 include H. Banks “Matthewsunderstanding of the law” in Tradition and Interpretation Matthew. G.G. Barth, G. Bornkamm and H.J. Held (eds) E.T. Percy Scott(London: Wissmon ANT 1, 1963), P. 242; Strecker, Op.cit, p. 141.

36Kurt Alland et al, Op.cit, p.38.

37“Commentary on Matthew 5:19-20” http://www. PreceptAustin .org/Matthew- 519-20html. Retrieved on 10/10/2012.

38William Barclay, The Gospel of John: Volume 1, The Daily Study Bible Series,Rev.ed. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 2006), p. 50.

39Ibid, p. 49.

40F. Josephus, The Complete works of Josephus. (Michigan: KregelPublications, 1981).

41F. Torrey Cited in “Commentary on Matthew 5:19-20” Op.cit,p.12.

42E.N. Onwu, Op.cit, p. 214.

43The Meaning of Basileia which is a translation of the Hebrewword Malkuth is problematic. Malkut defines Kingdom not byterritory but by dominion. The real translation of Basileia istherefore somewhat problematic

44See E.N. Onwu , Op.cit, p.95. 45 R.H.Gundry,Commentry on Matthew (Michigan: BakerAcademic,2011)

46http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kingom of God. Retrievedon 10/10/2012

47J.T. Pennington. “Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew”htt://www.ivan monroy word press.com/2011/05/24/re-review-of-heaven-and-earth-in-the-gospel-of-Matthew Retrieved on10/10/2012.

48Ibid, p. 102

49Mtt 22:30 and Mtt 23:22 form an exception but Penningtonargues that Jesus used heaven here in a contrastive sense

comparing different states; that is, heaven and the resurrectionage..

50www.wiki.answers.com/9/what is Christian-moral-life-Retrieved 8/10/2012.

51Sam Aweda, Op.cit,pp1-4

52Ibid, p.1, E.N. Onwu “Poverty and Prosperity in NigeriaPentecostal theology: A New Testament Critique” in Journal of NewTestament Research, Vol.I (2006) pp.

53”Westernization and Africanization: A concept of modernEthical value in culture of Nigeria”.http:www.gistmania.com/topic, 92386-0-html.

54Fiona Idensi “Missionary Diary: Honour him” in Daily SunNewspaper, September 12, 2010. Steve Nwosu (ed) (Lagos: The SunPublishing Limited) p. 60.

55Matthew Owadayo, “False Pastors have turned churches toBusiness Centres” in Guardian Newspaper, June 22, 2008.http://www.guardian newspaper online.org/false-pastors have-tuned-churches-to business-centres.html. Retrieved 22/06/2008.

56Ngozi N. Iheanacho. “A Critical look at contemporaryNigerian Christianity” http://www.academixcexcellencesociety.com/critical-look-at-contemporary-nigeria-chrisitianity.html. Retrieved 10/10/2012.

57The case of closure of Saint Adrews church in Diobu inPort Harcourt due to embezzlement of church funds is cited byNgozi Iheanacho Also, the case of Emeka Ezeugo a.k.a Rev Kingwho was convicted of murder and rape cannot be forgotten easilyby Nigerians.

58Christopher I. Ejizu. “Between religion and morality: theinter-connection and significance in public life” Inaugural lectureseries, No.59, University of Port Harcourt, 2008.

59Ngozi Uwajere. “Satanic Cleric: Prophet leads robbery gang”in Daily Sun Newspaper. August 8, 2012. Steve Nwosu (ed) (Lagos:The Sun Publishing Limited), p. 5.

60__________ “General overseer who doubles as Leader ofrobbery gang nabbed: in Daily Sun Newspaper, May 3, 2012: SteveNwosu (ed) (Lagos: The Sun Publish Limited), p. 27.

61Abigail Aleke . “Cardinal jailed over attempted rape” in TheStarlite, August 13, 2012. Harrison Ogara (ed).

62Syllogism is a logical argument in philosophy in which thereare propositions and premises for drawing conclusions.Sometimes, the conclusions drawn from the Premises are wrong andover generalized. For syllogism see, philosophy & Logic for everybody.E.M. Ome & W. Amam (Enugu: Institute for Development Studies,2004), p. 366. Therefore, it is indicated here, that this paperintends not to conclude that since there is a decline inChristian morality in Nigeria, all Nigerian Christians aremorally bankrupt. This conclusion is wrong and an overgeneralization.