Righteousness surpassing the Pharisees

Righteousness surpassing the Pharisees

Scripture:-

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 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, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20

Observation:

In today’s portion of Scripture, we encounter quite a difficult passage in which the Lord talks about the Law and the Prophets which refers to the Old Testament. The Lord explains to His disciples that He has not come to abolish to Old Testament but to fulfill it. He goes on to warn the disciples that anyone who sets aside the least of the commands and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven while those who uphold and teach the commands will be called great. The Lord then concludes by saying that our righteousness has to surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law to enter Heaven.

How relevant is the Old Testament to us today? With great pains, the Apostle Paul clearly taught that we are not under the law, but under grace and under the New Covenant and we cannot gain salvation by observing the Law of Moses and the prophets. In a sense, Jesus too gave a hint of this fact by his statement that even the righteousness of the religious elite i.e. Pharisees and teachers of the law, was not good enough for Heaven.

Straight after this passage, the Lord goes on to effectively set a much higher standard of righteousness than what was expressed in the Torah, classifying even the lust of the eyes, and angry words and putting one in danger of hell. Effectively, anyone’s human righteousness, held up against the standard of the Sermon of the Mount would fail miserably, but that is what God wants of His children.

Thanks be to God that Jesus’ fulfilling of Scripture involves the provision for us to receive His righteousness through faith in Him who died for us and rose again on the third day so that we may have life! We can never be righteous enough in our own strength, but it is through faith in Him that we die to self and let Him live in us and thus, He becomes our righteousness.

Application:

Reflect on the perfection of the law, God’s great standard of holiness, and recognize how impossible it is for us to attain it in our human strength. Then reflect on Jesus’ provision of salvation for us when He fulfilled Scripture by dying on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins. Search our hearts to weed out pride where we may think we are good and righteous from our own efforts. Instead, in humility, let us look to God in thankfulness for His mercy, and allow Him to work His righteousness in us and through us as His humble servants.  

Prayer:

I praise You, O Lord, for Your law, which shows us how we can never attain Your standard of righteousness. Praise You, dear Lord, for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ, who came down from Heaven to fulfill the Scriptures and provide the way of salvation and righteousness for us sinners on earth. Help me cease O Lord, to depend on my own efforts, but instead trust in You to impart Your righteousness in my life. Help me, Lord, live not by my human wisdom and intellect, but instead more and more by Your Holy Spirit, in Your faith and righteousness. In Jesus name, Amen.