“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.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:20-26 NIV)
“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.” Do you know how righteous the Pharisees were? In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were the most righteous people around. They cared deeply for God’s Word—what we call the Old Testament. In their zeal for righteousness, Jewish rabbis counted up how many commands there are in the Law of Moses. Do you know how many commands they found? 613. The Pharisees prided themselves on keeping all 613 commands.
But that was just the start. The Pharisees were so zealous for righteousness that they added more laws to God’s laws. 1,500 more laws! They called it a “fence.” They made commands stricter than God’s commands to make sure that no one violated God’s commands. Like a fence. Make sense? For example, they said you couldn’t spit on the Sabbath Day. Why? Because spitting on the ground works the soil, which would be like plowing, which would be work. So, no spitting! And no swatting flies on the Sabbath Day. Why? That’s like hunting. More work! The Pharisees were super-focused on keeping God’s commands. They were the most righteous people around.
So it must have been shocking to hear Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” What? Really? These men who tried their hardest to follow all 613 commands in the Bible and even made up 1,500 additional commands, they were not righteous enough to get into heaven? This was shocking! You need to have more righteousness than the Pharisees? Jesus said, “Yes!”
Do you think you’re righteous enough? Every person is concerned about righteousness. Maybe you don’t think about the word “righteousness,” but every person is striving to be “right.” We all strive to feel good about ourselves. We all want to believe that we are good people. Just like the Pharisees long ago, we all find our group of people with our set of rules to try to be righteous.
Some people have decided that righteousness comes through driving an electric car, recycling, and reducing their carbon footprint. People are very zealous for those things, right? What are they really doing? Striving for righteousness. Other people have decided that righteousness comes through driving a pickup truck, owning a gun, and eating BBQ. People are very zealous for those things too, right? What are they really doing? Striving for righteousness.
We’re all seeking some way to feel good and righteous about ourselves. Maybe you’re seeking your righteousness through being a mom. What standards do you try to live up to? Well-behaved kids. A clean house, at least whenever someone comes over. Food—good food—that everyone in your family wants to eat. It’s a lot of work, isn’t it? Maybe you’re seeking your righteousness through work. What standards do you try to live up to? The best numbers at the end of each month. Always on-time. Well-dressed. Saying the right thing when the boss is around. That’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it? We’re all really the same. We’re all striving for our own righteousness.
Maybe you’re seeking your righteousness—your goodness—through your friends. What standards do you try to live up to? You have to dress a certain way. You need to know all about music and movies and games. You need to have all the right apps on your phone. Everybody is doing this somehow. Just like those Pharisees long ago, everybody is seeking righteousness in one way or another. “I’m good, because my family is growing up so well.” “I’m good, because I’m so productive at work.” “I’m good, because I have so many friends who want to be like me.”
So Jesus’ shocking words are meant for us: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Huh. Will driving an electric car—or a pickup truck—make you righteous in God’s sight? No. Will having polite kids or getting a great promotion or being the best friend make us righteous in God’s sight? No. These are powerful words: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees…, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” That’s a lot of righteousness!
To drive that home, Jesus turned to some of the Ten Commandments. Can you recite the Ten Commandments? I hope so! “You shall have no other gods.” “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” “Honor your father and mother, that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” “You shall not murder.” “You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not steal.” “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, workers, animals, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Of those Ten Commandments, I think there’s one that’s clearly the easiest. Know which one? The Fifth Commandment: “You shall not murder.” We’ve kept that one, right? I haven’t murdered anybody. Have you? We’ve all kept that commandment, right? We’re righteous!
Except, did you hear what Jesus taught? “I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” Let that sink in. I haven’t murdered anyone, but have I been angry with someone? A thousand times. What does Jesus say? That’s just as sinful! “Anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” The word “Raca” seems to mean, “empty.” Probably like calling someone, “Empty-head!” How many times have you or I insulted someone else? For that one sin, what do we deserve? “The fire of hell.” Not a single one of us is righteous enough.
Those Pharisees totally misunderstood God’s Law. They thought that God’s commands make us good. That if we just keep God’s commands—at least on the outside—we’ll be good. Righteous! Jesus destroys that idea. God’s commands don’t make people good. God’s commands show our sins. We think, “One word won’t kill you.” But the Jesus says, “Everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36). We think, “My thoughts are safe!” But the Bible says, “The Lord will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Are you righteous in your thoughts? Are you righteous in your words? No? Then what do you deserve? “The fire of hell.”
And we say, “Jesus, this is impossible! If true righteousness means keeping every one of God’s commands in our thoughts and our words and our actions, no one is righteous. If I’m supposed to be even more righteous than the Pharisees to get to heaven, there’s no way I deserve to be in heaven. If people who say angry words deserve hell, then I deserve hell. If this is really what true righteousness is, then I can’t be righteous, no matter how hard I work. I’m not righteous!”
And do you know what Jesus would do? He would smile a big smile and give you a big hug and say, “Finally! You understand!” True righteousness doesn’t come from what we do. It can’t! We’re sinful. We need someone else to make us righteous. So the Bible promises, “In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17). Whom does true righteousness come from? Not us. God! Another passage says, “This righteousness of God is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). We can’t be righteous on our own. So who is righteous? Those who have faith in Jesus! Righteousness is by faith from first to last.
That’s why later in this same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Those Pharisees had it all wrong. Righteousness doesn’t come from our good works. Righteousness comes from Jesus and his salvation. If you try to earn God’s love, you will always fail. Instead, trust that God already loves you by grace. When you believe in Jesus, God declares you to be righteous. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
This is the truth that unlocked the Bible for Martin Luther. As he grew up in the Catholic Church, Martin Luther was very conscious of his sins. He sought righteousness. He wanted more than anything else to be good. He would fast and go without eating for days. He would beat his body to suffer pain for his sins. He would go to confession and confess his sins for hours at a time, but he still felt guilty. He didn’t find righteousness. Until he realized from God’s Word that righteousness doesn’t come from our works. It comes from God’s grace to us in Jesus. That’s what gave Martin Luther peace and joy: The righteousness from God is by faith from first to last.
This changes everything. If you insist on making yourself righteous by what you do, you will constantly hear this word: “Do! Do! Do!” If you trust in Jesus’ righteousness for you, do you know what you hear? “Done. It’s done. It’s all done for you.” If you insist on making yourself righteous, you will constantly tell yourself, “I have to earn it. I have to earn it. I have to work harder to earn it.” If you trust in Jesus’ righteousness for you, do you know what Jesus tells you? “Here. It’s yours. It’s a gift. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are saved. All by me!”
Do you see the difference true righteousness makes? From “I’m trying to be good” to “I’m a redeemed child of God.” From “At least I’m better than that guy” to “I’m totally forgiven by Jesus’ blood.” Every day, you seek righteousness in one of two ways. Either by constantly fighting to make yourself look good. Or by rejoicing that Jesus has made you good. Seeking righteousness by our works always leads to guilt. You’ve felt that as a mom, as a worker, as a friend… Seeking righteousness by faith in Jesus leads to peace. Why? Jesus paid it all for us. You can breathe. You can relax. It doesn’t depend on you. It depends on the cross of Jesus.
Here’s the irony. When you know and trust in the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus, do you know what will happen? Your life will be filled with more good works than you ever did before! Why? Well, how can you not get angry? Because you know Jesus’ forgiveness. How can you be kind? Because Jesus is so kind to us, isn’t he? How can you be generous and patient and caring? Because God’s love for us is the source of all good things. “Seek first his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” True righteousness comes from Jesus.
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
Upside-Down Savior 