His Righteousness = your righteousness

Matthew 5:20
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.

If you want to really challenge people, if you really want to raise the stakes and get your congregation on board with serving, then start teaching them about the works they have to do to get into heaven. Go right ahead and tell them that Jesus said that without their good works and exceeding righteousness, they’ll never get into Heaven. That’s a good way to really expound the Gospel of Grace to the masses (note sarcasm!). I know a message like that would make me feel really good. I would probably start thinking, “Wow, I’ll never be as good as (insert famous Christian leader’s name here)! Guess I’m not going to heaven. What’s the point?”

In order to understand this passage, we first have to understand who is speaking. It’s Jesus here folks, and guess what, He’s talking about Himself. Just prior to uttering these seemingly harsh words and giving this impossible challenge, Jesus talks about His mission to FULFILL the Law! The verse just before this one says, “whoever practices and keeps these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Who is called great in Heaven? Jesus! (Revelation 5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”) I know the verse doesn’t say “great” but it’s implied. If everything and everyone is worshipping and giving praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever to the Lamb on the throne, then we can assume that Jesus is considered great in heaven.

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. They were the ones who walked around passing judgement on others and boasting about all the good they themselves had done. They were the ones who “kept” the law; that is, they enforced it on others, but didn’t abide by it themselves. They were viewed by the community as righteous, so Jesus had to make a point that being great in heaven meant being even more righteous than the Pharisees. The Jewish people must have been completely confused, wondering how they could be more righteous than their religious leaders.

At that time, they were living under the restrictions of the Law and by the rules and regulations passed down from God to Moses. They had no understanding of the redemptive blood of Christ because He had not yet died. They had no clue what Grace was because the “Age of Grace” had not yet begun. It wouldn’t begin until Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. So their understanding of this would have been literal; good works and obeying all of the law, without exception, grants you access to heaven. But our understanding is through Grace. We have to read this scripture for what it truly is saying.

Jesus is telling us that He is well aware of the fact that no one (except Him) can fulfill and live out all of the laws. He is saying that even the Pharisees, with all of their perceived righteousness attained through works and deeds, aren’t good enough. He’s telling us that the only way to get to heaven is by having His righteousness. That is the righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees.

The Bible tells us that we have become the righteousness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.) That being the case, our righteousness has already surpassed that of the teachers of the law. Their attempts to live out the letter of the law, to lord it over our heads as a necessity for salvation are scripturally and doctrinally wrong. Faith and trust in Jesus Christ is what makes us righteous. (1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.)

So let your works speak to the fact that you have been given a new life through Christ Jesus, but don’t let them be the definition of your salvation. Realize that you have been made righteous through His blood and that your righteousness surpasses that of the teachers of Law. Let the Grace of Christ abound in your life.