As we approach a holy time for Christians many people turn to His words in the bible at this time of year. One thing that is for certain in the gospels is that Jesus never wasted a word or had no truth to back up the things he was here to teach us about. One area of focus this time of year is the Sermon on the Mount. A big area of the Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have this account in them and all there words are words to live a righteous life by. Many of the things He says in the sermon are about behaviors that allow you to be part of the Kingdom of Heaven but one seems to take a negative focus and that is Matthew 5:20:

Matthew 5:20

For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Scribes and Pharisees were considered at the time the most righteous group of people. Not only did the look righteous on the outside but the way they kept the Law was by every small detail the considered a correct way to do so. For the Sabbath observance alone they had 133 to 250 ordinances (depending on which group) concerning what you could and could not do. So strict were they that they even accused the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ of doing things that violated the Holy observance. So what does Matthew 5:20 mean id Jesus Christ in their eyes could not measure up to their form of righteousness?

This time of year we remember that Jesus lived and died for us. He dies for our sins because we alone could not pay the penalty we owed to God because of sin. We were born into a sinful nature because of the fall of Adam and Eve and no amount of observance alone on our behalf could ever pay the price in full. The only righteousness that exceeds the Scribes and Pharisees is that of Jesus Christ period. The scribes and Pharisees had they appearance of righteousness but as Jesus saw them, He called them white washed tombs with dead men inside. All the appearance but none of the substance needed to enter the Kingdom.

Jesus paid the debt of our sins on the cross. And because of His sacrifice we can be sinless in the sight of God. His righteousness exceeded the scribes and Pharisees well beyond anything they could achieve on their own. Dying for us as believers our righteousness now does too!

In Christ always,                                                                                             

Steve Koenig

Lakeshore Fellowship