Textual: As the translation is made of the Matthean text into 3 Nephi, one of the translation problems was the overt Old World context. In particular, the reference to the Pharisees would be completely out of place in the New World where there were no Pharisees. Thus we have two replacement verses in the 3 Nephi text that fit into the “hole” made by cutting text from Matthew:
Matthew 5:19-20
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The eggshell of the translation process may be seen in the retention of the final phrase of Matthew 5:20: “ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” That phrase anchors the new text to the old, and re-enters the insertion of the Matthean text at verse 21. The material prior to that linking text is therefore the alteration that was made to fill the conceptual space left by the removal of the reference to the Pharisees in verse 20.
Thematically, the added text keys on the word commandments in the Matthean text. In the 3 Nephi text the law and the commandments become different sets of religious requirements. The law refers to the Mosaic Law, and the commandments appear to have reference to the special Nephite preaching about the coming of and mission of the Atoning Messiah. Christ declares that he has given both sets to the Nephites, and both are binding upon them. In this case, however, the emphasis is on this new set of commandments as opposed to the law of Moses. The New World context suggests that it is these “commandments, which I have commanded you at this time” that are the focus, not the Old World emphasis on the continuation of the Law of Moses that is the Matthean theme.
Because there is no available reference to the hyper-religious Pharisees, the New World context misses one of the most shocking sentences in the entire New Testament. For those who heard the original message, the statement that “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” had to have hit them like a ton of bricks. These were the people of the land to whom Jesus was speaking, and they were a people who would naturally assume that they did not follow the Law as well as did the Pharisees. In spite of their cultural predisposition to suppose that the Pharisees were more “pure” that they were, the Savior compares them to those very Pharisees who set themselves up as the guardians of the Law. They were the ones who made sure that the practice of the Law was “done right,” by their standards, of course.
Nevertheless, for those listening to Jesus, the Pharisees would have appeared significantly more righteous than they. In spite of that perceived difference, Jesus tells them that the must be more righteous than the Pharisees! They would have considered such a statement impossible. What a shocking way to shake up his Old World audience!