Despite the importance and complexity of these two verses, I don’t plan on keeping you long today. How can we concentrate and focus on difficult verses and doctrines, when we are so comfortably full? We’ve eaten a big meal, and now we are seated on these wonderfully cushioned pews – gifts of God. I know that you won’t be with me long. So I’ve decided to look at these verses by separating them and trying to bring them together again later. And it is probably best to begin with the second verse in order to somewhat understand the first. Notice the word “for” in verse 20. It tells us that, at least, they are linked together, and perhaps the key is in the latter verse.
There are six key words and phrases in these two verses – They include – “commandments,” and “breaking” those commandments, “least in the kingdom of Heaven,” “righteousness,” the Scribes and Pharisees, and “shall not enter.”
Let’s start with “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”
“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.” I believe that one of the key elements in a proper understanding of the Word of God is this: The Church, Israel, the family of God and the Kingdom of Heaven, are four separate entities. Whereas many people try to unite one or more of these things, they are always separate items. Israel, despite at times being an illustration of the others, is and was a nation among nations. In almost every case, references to “Israel” are references to the Old Testament nation and to the nation which it has become today. To take the promises or statements about Israel and apply them to Christ’s church, for example, is a mistake. On the other hand, a “church” is a “called out assembly” of believers in Christ. The first of those churches was personally founded by the Lord Jesus Himself. “THE church” is sometimes used to describe all the Lord’s churches in one broad stroke. But there is no such thing as a “universal church” made up of all of the Lord’s saints. All those saints – all of the redeemed on the earth at this moment might be properly called “God’s family.” The “family of God” and the “church of God” are related, but not identical. Only those of God’s family who willingly submit to the Lord in baptism and church membership are in the Lord’s Church – and there are special blessings and privileges for those people.
Of those four entities, “the Kingdom of Heaven,” sometimes called “the Kingdom of God” is the most complex. In fact, it is down-right confusing. In some contexts it is referring to the rule of God over His creation – and that means at this very moment. Some scriptures talk about how the wicked are in the Kingdom of Heaven – but as criminals and rebels. “The kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seen in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.” The master of the field then said, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” In other verses “the Kingdom” is speaking of the Millennial kingdom under the rule and reign of Christ. Then in other places it seems to be speaking of Glory – the Heaven of God in all its perfections. “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.”
There are some commentaries which tell us that the Kingdom of Heaven in these verses is speaking about the rule of the Lord in today’s world. They say that those who mis-teach the commands of God will be little and probably judged by God – in today’s world. John Gill believed that and even went one step beyond that by saying that the kingdom of Heaven is God’s church. Those who reject the law of God will be little in God’s church and should be excommunicated. Of course, the mighty John Gill was in error about the church and quite often said silly things like this.
The attitude in these words suggests to me and that this is a future Kingdom of Heaven. “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he SHALL be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 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.” I think that in this case the context shows that this “Kingdom of Heaven” is referring to the place where salvation ultimately leads – Heaven. “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into … heaven.” But again, I remind you that there are very smart people who disagree with me.
Our second term for the afternoon is “RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
“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.”
I dare say that 90% of professing Christians couldn’t define “righteousness” if they were asked. The Greek word “righteous” is used eighty-one times, and it is translated four ways: “Righteous” forty-one times, “just” thirty-three times, and “right” or “meet” seven times. James Strong explains the word this way – “Righteous, observing divine laws. In a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God. Of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined. Innocent, faultless, guiltless. Used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life. Only Christ truly; approved of or acceptable of God. In a narrower sense, rendering to each his due and that in a judicial sense, passing just judgment on others, whether expressed in words or shown by the manner of dealing with them.” In other words “to be righteous” is to be “right – in someone’s opinion.” Now that opinion might be nothing more than the person himself. Or it might be right or innocence in the eyes of other people. But then there is another completely different level of righteousness – that which is in the sight of God. This is the only one that really matters, because, ultimately, there is none righteous, but God alone. The omniscient God looks at the people of this earth, man, woman and child, and sees how sinful, faulty and corrupt we are. And his conclusion is: “There is none righteous, no not one.”
But without righteousness no one shall enter into the ultimate Kingdom of Heaven. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” In this case “holiness” is essentially a synonym for “righteousness.”
This is why you and I need to be born again. One aspect of God’s salvation is called “justification.” “Justification” is the gracious act of God whereby He declares certain sinners to be righteous. This justification is based upon the sacrifice of Christ who satisfied the demands of the broken law. It is accomplished by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us and to our account before God. Romans 4 – “What saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” The righteousness which sinners must have in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven must come from God Himself. It was purchased by the death of Christ. It is applied by the Lord to the sinner of His choice, and all those blessed sinners prove that righteousness through their repentance and faith in Christ.
But here in Jesus’ Sermon, He refers to the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees.
Remember that by simple definition, “righteousness” is to be right – right in someone’s sight. The Scribes and Pharisees tried with all their might to make themselves appear as righteous in the sight of their peers as they saw themselves in their own eyes. The word “Pharisee” by definition refers to someone who was “separate” from everyone else. These people believed they were different from the rest of society, because they kept the letter of the law. But as I plan to point out next week, the letter of the law to them was a somewhat flexible entity.
Quite often the word “Scribe” is inscribed right next to the word “Pharisee.” The Scribes, where professional “lawyers,” but not in the sense of lawyers today. The Scribes were people whose lives were spent in reading, transcribing and sharing the law with others. Matthew and Luke use “Scribe” and “Lawyer” as synonyms. Luke tells us, “And (Jesus) said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.” “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” These are the same things that Christ said to the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. “And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?”
Now here is the thing – the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was self-designed, self-governed, self-motivated and self-judged. It was “self-righteousness.” It involved the laws of God through Moses, but only when it suited them. It was an outward righteousness, designed to impress the people around them. It was not imputed to them by God, and theirs was totally unworthy of God. In Matthew 23 Christ spent nearly an entire chapter condemning the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.
So when Christ Jesus said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven…” He was saying that He wants our righteousness to go beyond the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Robertson says that “exceed” means to overflow its banks like the Jordan River in flood stage. Our obedience to God’s law should make the scribes and Pharisees’ righteousness look like a mere mud puddle. We’ll come back to this idea next week, but our righteousness should make the rabbis ashamed. It isn’t just that Christ wants us to be more diligent to obey the details of the law, but to have a righteousness of an entirely different kind. He wants us to have a righteousness which proceeds out of a regenerated new heart, not simply because we have memorized a few laws and defined them in ways that suit our preferences. Yes, our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisee, but it should do so because it has a different source than theirs.
I have said many times that our Lord was preaching to His disciples that day. That being true, I can’t say that there were no others present – but I’m thinking that there were not. On the other hand, were all of the twelve sitting there before the Lord? In other words, was Judas Iscariot among the students? It might be argued that verse 20 sounds more related to a gospel message than something for the saints. But remember two things: This verse is going to be used to help explain what He says in verse 19 which we will look at next week. And even among the church members, there is very likely going to be a lost man or two.
And that could be the case even this afternoon. Does your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees?