WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EXCEED THAT OF SCRIBES AND PHARISEES?
In Matthew 5:20 the
Lord declared:
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.
—Matthew 5:20
The scribes and
Pharisees were custodians of the Law, and their opinions or interpretations of
the Law were well reckoned with among all Jews. But not only were they great
scholars and theologians of Judaism, they (especially the Pharisees) endeavoured
to live and indeed led imitable pious life. Of this, the great Apostle Paul
boasted, “After the most straitest sect
of our religion I lived a Pharisee” (Acts26:5).
Again he said, “I have lived in all good conscience before
God until this day” (Acts 23:1).
It was in his zeal to
preserve the law uncorrupted that Paul persecuted the Church, misjudging them
as heretics whose intention was to bring shame to the holy Law.
But the Lord isn’t
referring here or elsewhere that one must observe all the laws of Moses above
and beyond the Pharisees in order to enter the Kingdom; for all He had taught
thus far were in no way advocacy for that. He fulfilled all the Law in that He
exposed the spiritual significance of it, which is the ultimate substance, so
that the mundane hitherto observed would be done away with.
The Lord Jesus is
that Prophet who Moses spoke about that God would raise and the salvation of
any soul would be determined by whatever He says (Deu.18:15, 19). The Lord
declared in Matthew 5:19,
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...
Then He went on in verse
20 to close the thought, saying,
For I say unto you...
Notice the linking
word “for”—same as saying “therefore”—showing a continuation and conclusion of
a line of thought already shared.
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 Lord here is
warning every of His disciples, present and future, of the danger of falling
into the heinous example of most scribes and Pharisees who pick and choose
which commandments are more important and which ones to obey and make a show
of!
In other words, the
scribes and Pharisees were selective in their obedience to the Law of Moses.
The Lord Jesus says He won’t tolerate that of any of His followers. All of His words are of equal
weight and consequence; so no selective obedience is allowed.
Only the righteous
shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mat. 5:6, 10). The righteous are those who
keep the commandments of the Lord (Jn.14:15; 15:14).
...If ye continue in my word, then are
ye my disciples indeed.
(Jn. 8:31)
According to the
Lord, your righteousness is not accepted if you pick and choose which
commandment to obey, just like the scribes and Pharisees do; for that is
hypocrisy.
Now do ye Pharisees make clean the
outside of the cup and platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and
wickedness.
Ye fools, did not he, that made that
which is without, make that which is within also? (Lk. 11:39-40)
Matthew 23 and Luke
11 are chapters where the Lord berated the scribes and Pharisees mightily for
this attitude of theirs—doing one commandment so well and even to the admiration
of fellow believers and yet entirely ignoring other commandments of the Lord.
For whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10)
Look at the passage
in question again:
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...
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.
—Matthew 5:19-20
Insightful
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