by Keith Sharp
Matthew chapters five through seven record “The Sermon on the Mount,” the Master’s explanation of the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven. The theme of the sermon is stated in Matthew 5:17-20. Verse twenty introduces the rest of chapter five, which contrasts the righteousness taught by the scribes and Pharisees to that which the Lord demands of kingdom citizens (Christians). “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
We usually think of the righteousness we have in Christ from the standpoint of quality. We are forgiven rather than without sin (1 John 1:8-10). That is true, but the Master doesn’t make that point in the Sermon on the Mount. Rather, our righteousness must be higher in both quantity and quality. The scribes and the Pharisees loosed the law of God to keep their traditions and were thus hypocrites (Matthew 15:1-9). Where they did follow divine law, and they sometimes did (Matthew 23:2-4), they taught the law of Moses (Ibid), which was looser in its demands than the law of Christ, since the Jews in Moses’ day were not ready to receive the kind of righteousness God wants (Matthew 19:3-9).
Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in both quantity and quality. We follow the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25, 2:12), the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), we are
forgiven rather than claiming sinlessness (1 John 1:8-10), and we sincerely obey the Lord rather than being hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).
Does your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?
