All rights reserved. Is It Biblical? In addition to OT books the Pharisees recognized in oral tradition a standard of belief and life. But by Jesus saying that, if you think about someone lustfully, you have committed that sin, that's putting judgement based on the heart.That's not how a Pharisee would judge a situation. WEB: For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. It wouldn't take much effort at all for our righteousness to exceed the wickedness of the average hypocritical Pharisee – an atheist almost does that. In fact, we should not give a thought to our lives–to the things that the world think are most important. (20) Shall exceed.--Better, Shall abound more than. 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. All the good works in the world couldn’t help the Pharisees after they died and face judgment (Heb 9:27). Jesus told His followers that their righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, but is this humanly possible? In Matthew chapter 23 Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 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. Next post: What Happens When The Fear Of God Is Missing? It isn’t going to be a “self” righteousness because we’ve seen that’s not enough. This is what Christ meant when He said, "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world. Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. As long as we are “IN HIM” just as you excellently said, we take upon us the wedding garment of “HIS” righteousness. Why We Can Expect Persecution To Grow Worse This Year, How To Have Godly Patience In An Impatient World, Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies – Movie Review, Phoenix Wilder And The Great Elephant Adventure – Movie Review, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island – Movie Review. [Matthew 5:20] What does it mean for your righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees? The Pharisees proved the Proverb true: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart” (Prov 21:2), and the Lord had weighed their heart and they were found wanting. The only way to exceed their righteousness is by having a … So often I hear Christian folks stating that they are righteous now that they are Christians. Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Advertise, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates,” but “Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood”, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”, “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get”, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. Except your righteousness shall exceed the works based righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the Kingdom. David Stein. Dear friend, except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot be saved. Jesus teaches our righteousness must "exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees" (exactly as Matt 5:20 puts it), not just their wickedness. The question is, does the Bible agree with them? Unless we have the same kind of righteousness that Jesus Christ has, we will not enter the kingdom, so when Jesus said, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20), it must have gotten everyone’s attention…including the disciples. 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 . Is It Biblical? Just like the Pharisees, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit” (Prov 16:2). EXCEPT OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEED THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE PHARISEES. When Jesus says our righteousness must exceed the scribes and the Pharisees he is talking about how we are to have love, justice, faith, and mercy (unlike them). ===== WHAT JESUS WOULD NEVER TEACH. As believers, our righteousness comes from Christ, it is imputed to us by what he did on the cross. Obviously, Jesus was not pleased with their hypocrisy, but neither were they pleased with Him, because He was truly righteous. The Pharisees were the most affluent and powerful group in the Jewish culture, at least at the time of … That’s because we’re “in Christ” (Gal 3:26-28), and if you are in Christ, you have His righteousness, and if you have His righteousness, your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, and I would say it exceeds it by lightyears. By now I hope you understand that holiness is not the way to Jesus…Jesus is the way to holiness. Pharisees and scribe can only judge that crime, based on the laws of Moses and that act. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you cannot go wrong. Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. Although we don’t know the original meaning or root word for the word “Pharisee,” it possibly meant “separate” or “detach,” and they certainly were separate or detached from everyone else, but for the wrong reasons. KJV: 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. Humble Hannah got it right when she prayed, “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed” (1 Sam 2:3). Without question, then, our righteousness as citizens of the kingdom must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees 2. You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Pharisees, God always sees him as righteous It means once God has declared a man righteous no one can say otherwise and this righteousness that God gives gives the man access to all things In Christ. The question is, does the Bible agree with them? To prove this, our Lord points us to our anger. King James 2000 Bible For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. The Lord’s demand must have thoroughly shocked His audience. It is through repentance and faith, and by Jesus’ “blood [God] ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9). In Habakkuk 2:4 (and quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38) we are told that the righteous will live by faith. For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount was His manifesto which paralleled Moses giving the Law on Mount Sinai. Thank you my friend. Without question, our righteousness as citizens of the kingdom must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees 2. Used by permission. Matthew 5:20 is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In fact, none of us are good, and we can’t even seek after God on our own (Rom 3:10-12), and every single one of us has fallen infinitely short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23), so we need someone else’s righteousness. In order to obtain the rule of God, one’s righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes: it must be based in the mind and heart and flow through deeds, motivated by faith, love, and trust in God in Christ (Romans 5:6-11, 6:1-23). It is possible only by the grace of God... a. Whereby His mercy provides forgiveness to those in Christ - 1Jn 1:9 b. Covered. Why would Jesus say to His disciples, “your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees” or you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:20), but were the Pharisees really righteous? Jesus was our prime example,we are not to be holier than thou,we are not under the law,we should be winning people for him with patience,one plants,one waters, but God gives the increase.The Lord looks at hearts and potential of what people can be. (ESV) (ESV) Please turn to Luke 18 They are a sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. Well, Jesus tells us what is lacking. When people feel self-righteous, they can “treat others with contempt,” however, their own works, just like ours, are nothing more than filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6), and He will not accept them. Part 4: How Our Righteousness Can Exceed that of the Pharisees & Scribes. Matthew 5: 17 -- 20 -- Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Pride of knowledge was the downfall of the Pharisees and many others since then. The verse says, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds […] Even their name drips with self-righteousness, as they are the “separated ones,” which… Who can honestly say that Jesus wants our own righteousness to exceed the Pharisees? They’re kind of held up consistently as examples of people who are focused on the letter of the law, who are only concerned about doing the … It is possible only by the grace of God... a. Whereby His mercy provides forgiveness to those in Christ - … To the humble Jews of that period, the scribes and Pharisees were the very epitome of righteousness. His books are include: “Teaching Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,“ "The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and “Blind Chance or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible.". Jesus said our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, so how is that humanly possible? This is how our righteousness exceeds the Pharisees. No, Jesus demands much more commitment than… OUR righteousness can never exceed that of the Scribes or the Pharisees unless we are UNDER THE BLOOD OF THE ONE TRUE GOD, JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH. What does Jesus mean by "unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees"? OUR righteousness can never exceed that of the Scribes or the Pharisees unless we are UNDER THE BLOOD OF THE ONE TRUE GOD, JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH. They looked good outwardly, but in their private lives and heart of hearts were deeply corrupt. Second general Head of Discourse, which was, To shew wherein we must exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees upon Pain of Death. Christoph R. Hutson  First and Second Timothy and Titus (Paideia; Grand Rapids,... Gentile Christian Identity-- Part Seventeen. In chapter 23 of Matthew, Jesus condemns the outward show of the religious pride of the Pharisees and scribes of His day. How important is it that we have this righteousness? Any help to make me understand this important passage will be much appreciated. The Pharisees had little in common with the average Jew, and the Pharisees often looked down on everyone else, including the Sadducees, which were another religious group, however the Sadducees regarded the Word of God to be above and beyond the Pharisees oral tradition. It must “exceed” or “surpass” the self-righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. If we look back to what we stated earlier, the Pharisees actually followed their own man-made doctrines, oral laws/traditions instead of following the commandments of God. righteousness can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees only when . The preaching of Jesus was a breath of fresh air to the masses who heard him. Houston says that Jesus teaches that “your righteousness” can “ exceed, or go beyond” the righteousness of the Pharisees through all means possible (especially in giving). Do Colors Have Special Meaning In The Bible? righteousness, Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author and pastor of Heritage Evangelical Free Church in Udall, KS & also a Prison Minister. In other words, in telling us that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, the Lord is enjoining us to keep the Commandments of God, not only in the letter or externally,—which the Pharisees and scribes were adept at,—but also in the spirit or internally. But how can our righteousness be consistent with that demanded by our King? That is one of the best explanations I have ever read on how we are “righteous”. Jesus taught us that our righteousness can’t come through law if we want to go to heaven. This question requires answering a couple others first. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 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