Surpassing Righteousness
"Do not think
that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish
them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth
disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks
one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will
be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches
these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you
that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5:17-20
“What did you just say, Jesus?
My righteousness has to surpass that of the Pharisees?”
That must
have been the reaction of some of his followers when they heard this for the
first time. I know that it was my reaction when I first read it and began to
think about the Pharisees, who were a very strict sect of Jews who built layer
upon layer of rules regarding times of prayer, rules for the Sabbath, hand
washing, fasting, tithing on the smallest amounts, and many other religious
rules. When it came to outward appearance, the Pharisees’ righteousness was
second to none.
But Jesus
knew that, he knew that it was only an outward appearance of righteousness. At
other times he called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers, sons of hell, and
white-washed tombs.” He obviously wasn’t telling his disciples to be like the
Pharisees. Instead, he was making a deeper point, making an extreme statement
to get his disciples thinking about what he is saying and perhaps ask him
questions about it or make their own conclusion as to the deeper point that
Jesus was making.
I wish that
I was there, with his followers on the hilltop listening to him teach the
Sermon on the Mount. If I was, I am sure that Jesus would have explained that
true righteousness is in the heart and comes through faith in Him. Since I
wasn’t there, I have to rely on the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans
3:21-24:
“But
now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the
Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Did you
catch that? We who have put our faith in Jesus Christ have a righteousness from
God that surpasses that of the Pharisees! It comes by faith alone, not from
keeping the law, for Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly and when we are
identified with Him, His righteousness becomes ours.
Feeling a
little down, like you can never measure up, never live the righteous life that
you would like to? Feeling like your salt that has lost its’ saltiness? Feeling
like your light isn’t shining as brightly as it should? Relax. You’re in the
same boat as the rest of us Christ-followers who rely on Jesus to be our
righteousness. We don’t stop trying – we love God and our neighbor and we want
to be good salt, a bright light, a force for God in the world – but we know
that our salvation is not dependant upon it.
Instead, we
know that our eternal destiny and our relationship with God is dependant upon
Him – upon the crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection power over death and
sin. He died on the cross so that we can be forgiven and he rose from the dead
to show that sin and death had no hold on Him. We don’t have to rely on our own
futile attempts at outward righteousness; we have an inward righteousness – a
righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees – that comes from God to
those who have faith in Christ.
Thank you
Jesus!
Pray with me:
Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for
me. Thank you that you rose from the dead and I have victory over sin and death
through faith in you. Thank you that my righteousness surpasses that of the
Phairsees; help me to live up to what you have already given me. Help me to be
the salt, the light, the righteous person you have created me to be. I love you
and want to live for you alone…continue praying as the Spirit leads…
For Further
Reflection:
Read the parable of the wedding
banquet in Matthew 22:1-12. Pay close attention to whom Jesus is telling the
parable. Reflect upon the wedding clothes; what do they represent?
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him
at randybrockett@yahoo.com.
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