As Jesus addressed the multitudes in His famous Sermon on the Mount, He instructed His audience that they must be more righteous than the religious leaders of their day. He said,
“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).
If we knew nothing more than what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees in this passage, we would know their righteousness did not meet the expectations set by God. But thankfully, we know a great deal more.
The Pharisees were a sect of the Jews who advocated a strict interpretation of the Law of Moses. Interestingly, Jesus did not find fault with their teaching. Instead, He stated:
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:2, 3).
Thus, His problem with them revolved primarily around their actions.
Like the Pharisee in the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:10-14, the group was consumed with how they appeared outwardly. One could easily imagine them calling attention to themselves before they gave (Matthew 6:1, 2), praying to be heard by men (Matthew 6:5), and painting their faces so as to look like they had been fasting (Matthew 6:16).
Indeed, Jesus compared them to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27).
It is little wonder that Jesus insisted that the righteousness of those who would enter the kingdom of heaven must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
In essence, our actions must be righteous, but so must our intentions. We must be righteous from the inside out.
Chad Ramsey preaches for the Gloster Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can access their Bible classes and Chad’s sermons on Gloster Street’s YouTube page.
Chad was - and still is - “my preacher” from when I spent my high school and early college years at Gloster Street. I’m thankful to be able to share some of his writings with you.
Great post - thank you.