Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.


Hmmm… Wow.. that’s a lot of righteousness! Those were THE most righteous people in the world. They put a hedge of law around the law so they wouldn’t even approach sinning… In Jesus day they were THE for sure, shoe in, righteous people…

So what is the hearer to take away from this? Is there a righteousness that is greater than the scribes and Pharisees?

I’ll give you a hint… It’s a righteousness that doesn’t come from you…so you should despair of your own... It’s a foreign righteousness...It's a righteousness that someone else has earned that you can have as your own, by faith!

I read this TODAY actually!

From Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:

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II. The righteousness which Christ came to establish by this rule, must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, v. 20. This was strange doctrine to those who looked upon the scribes and Pharisees as having arrived at the highest pitch of religion. The scribes were the most noted teachers of the law, and the Pharisees the most celebrated professors of it, and they both sat in Moses' chair (ch. xxiii. 2), and had such a reputation among the people, that they were looked upon as super-conformable to the law, and people did not think themselves obliged to be as good as they; it was therefore a great surprise to them, to hear that they must be better than they, or they should not go to heaven; and therefore Christ here avers it with solemnity; I say unto you, It is so. The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to Christ and his doctrine, and were great oppressors; and yet it must be owned, that there was something commendable in them. They were much in fasting and prayer, and giving of alms; they were punctual in observing the ceremonial appointments, and made it their business to teach others; they had such an interest in the people that they ought, if but two men went to heaven, one would be a Pharisee; and yet our Lord Jesus here tells his disciples, that the religion he came to establish, did not only exclude the badness, but excel the goodness, of the scribes and Pharisees. We must do more than they, and better than they, or we shall come short of heaven. They were partial in the law, and laid most stress upon the ritual part of it; but we must be universal, and not think it enough to give the priest his tithe, but must give God our hearts. They minded only the outside, but we must make conscience of inside godliness. They aimed at the praise and applause of men, but we must aim at acceptance with God: they were proud of what they did in religion, and trusted to it as a righteousness; but we, when we have done all, must deny ourselves, and say, We are unprofitable servants, and trust only to the righteousness of Christ; and thus we may go beyond the scribes and Pharisees.

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AMEN!

Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

I believe the scribes and the Pharisees were self-righteous, which is not the kind of righteousness that Noah, Zechariah, Elizabeth,John, Simeon, Joseph of Arimathea, etc., had in the Bible.

[This message has been edited by Thaddeus73 (edited 5/26/2010 4:46a).]

Like the rich man getting to heaven verses the camel passing through the eye of the needle. For man it is impossible, but for God, all things are possible. Praise be to the God who judges me on the righteousness of Jesus!

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Considering the incredible devotion to the law shown by the scribes and Pharisees, how can we ever hope to exceed their righteousness?...

The Pharisees were so scrupulous in their keeping of the law that they would even tithe from the small spices obtained from their herb gardens (Matthew 23:23). The heart of this devotion to God is shown by modern day Orthodox Jews. In early 1992, tenants let three apartments in an Orthodox neighborhood in Israel burn to the ground while they asked a rabbi whether a telephone call to the fire department on the Sabbath violated Jewish law. Observant Jews are forbidden to use the phone on the Sabbath, because doing so would break an electrical current, which is considered a form of work. In the half-hour it took the rabbi to decide "yes," the fire spread to two neighboring apartments.

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http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=005

These things they SHOULD HAVE DONE, without ignoring the weightier matters of the Lord.

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These things they SHOULD HAVE DONE, without ignoring the weightier matters of the Lord.

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I think we need to be careful about tying rebukes the Lord gives to the Pharisees elsewhere to what he is face value saying to the person/people in Matthew 5. He does not qualify it by saying “I know the general perception of all is that they are righteous, but they are really not, and I am going to tell them they are not another day”.

His singular point there is to drive people to despair of their own righteousness, and to look for a savior, a redeemer, the righteousness of God, that He Himself will provide.

One of the points of the beatitudes that so many people miss is that He is the only one who has ever perfectly fulfilled this vast expansion of the Law. He takes the Law, and it’s fulfillment and makes it a heart issue. On the one hand We Christians are now governed by this type of new obedience from the heart, but one the other, we should not loose sight of our redeemers fulfillment of all these things, and say again, “The Lord Our Righteousness”.

[This message has been edited by Notafraid (edited 5/26/2010 10:53a).]

"by this type of new obedience from the heart"

and our feet, our hands, our lips, our minds. heart, thoughts, actions, desires.

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

Romans 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

2 Corinthians 1:22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 3:3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

...I think those verses get at the heart of the issue.... (Drum roll, crash… Thank you…thank you.. I’ll be here each night this week…)

shifty,

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heart, thoughts, actions, desires.

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I'm not sure you put this in any particular order but I would say heart->desires->thoughts->actions.

IOW our motivation for doing the action comes from our heart.

I'm not sure you put this in any particular order but I would say heart->desires->thoughts->actions.

IOW our motivation for doing the action comes from our heart.
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Metaphysical theology...since no one has ever seen a "thought" or a "desire" or the use of the term here of "heart," all you can observe ultimatly in yourself or others is actions/behavior.

Metaphysical theology?

Is there another kind?

Metaphysical theology?

Is there another kind?
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Well, I studied ES theology back in the 90's.

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since no one has ever seen a "thought" or a "desire" or the use of the term here of "heart," all you can observe ultimatly in yourself or others is actions/behavior.

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Good point but remember God is the one who judges.

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...It's a righteousness that someone else has earned that you can have as your own, by faith!

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How do you know you have it?

Good point but remember God is the one who judges.
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Thank God...seriously.