Matthew 5:20, commentary and pictures

Except a person's righteousness goes beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees, entrance into the kingdom of heaven is impossible, for this is an absolute condition and not a counsel that may be set aside. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees failed because it was merely outward, formal and self-trusting, exact in rules, ceremonies and show while the motives and purposes within remained selfish and impure. The righteousness that exceeds it is conformity of heart and life to God's revealed will, with the law governing thoughts, purposes, words and actions so that outward obedience expresses inward purity. That standard stands because Christ came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill them, revealing their exceeding breadth and spiritual force and leaving not one jot or tittle to pass away. It cannot be produced by self-effort or ceremonial observance, but is God's free gift in His Son, received by a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, dwelling within by Christ and transforming the receiver into His likeness.

Setting and Plain Demand

For except a person's righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, entrance into the kingdom of heaven is impossible, and no lesser measure will open the way. That required righteousness is not outwardly exact observance of religious rules, formal profession, or outward standing, but true repentance of heart and a reformed life that respects the whole law in its exalted significance. It keeps the commandments in their exceeding breadth as reaching to the very motives that control the heart, where self-love itself makes a person a transgressor, rather than relying on human traditions or outward rule-keeping. It is expressed in the godly qualities Jesus blesses and in doing and teaching God's commandments, not treating the law as abolished.

The saying was spoken by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount as instruction to His disciples about their work, and its demand applies to His disciples throughout all ages and throughout time. It was addressed specially to the disciples gathered close about Him, and also to the hearts and consciences of the mixed multitude assembled with them and within hearing. Christ taught the truth there where it could reach people in ignorance and error, seeking to uplift all who came to Him.

The word disappointed the expectation present at every large gathering for a great display of power concerning the new kingdom to free the believing Jews from the yoke of bondage and reinstate them in ancient glory. Instead it opened the principles that govern His kingdom of divine grace as contained in the beatitudes. That kingdom is unlike the worldly greatness the hearers expected, and its foundational principles are truths people in every age need to learn.

In its immediate setting the demand stands with being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, letting light shine before men in good works that glorify the Father instead of hiding it under a bushel. It stands with Christ coming not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfil them, with not one jot or tittle passing from the law till heaven and earth pass and all be fulfilled. Doing and teaching even the least of the commandments therefore determines greatness in the kingdom, while breaking one of the least and teaching men so brings the lowest place. That obedience refuses to make void the law through tradition and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, and includes keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the sign by which God sanctifies His people.

Pharisees' Deficient Righteousness

The righteousness that must be exceeded was merely outward, formal and professed, an exact observance of religious rules, forms and ceremonies whose outward show concealed inward deformity of motives and purposes. Outward exactness is not enough for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, for what God requires goes beyond formal observance to true repentance of heart and a reformed life. It is conformity of heart and life to revealed will, with the law governing the mind's thoughts and purposes so that outward religious practices express inward purity rather than hypocrisy, without which religious ceremonies are empty. Their righteousness was superficial piety rather than sincere and wholehearted obedience, selfish and consisting of outward forms, while God requires righteousness both within and without, the heart purified so Christ can dwell there and the life conformed to His will. Their failure was made complete because they had built around the law their own human exactions and finite ideas until no one could keep even the letter as they interpreted it, and Christ answered by giving old light in a new setting within the framework of the gospel, revealing the exceeding breadth and extended character of the law reaching into the inmost parts of the mind and bringing out the purposes of God's law.

That outward strictness was self-centered, selfish and self-righteous, trusting in own efforts and profession and seeking own honor, consisting in outward strictness and religious forms without contrition, tenderness or love. Trusting in one's own righteousness cannot bring entrance, for sin cannot be turned into righteousness but must be taken away with Christ's righteousness put in its place, His righteousness bringing life and healing in contrast to sin bringing death. Religious privilege, knowledge and outward forms are not true righteousness, which instead bears fruit in goodness, truth, love, devotion and Christlike character sharing God's light with the world, a fruit the Jewish nation through pride and self-righteousness failed to give in response to blessings and light received. A legal religion of hard, rigid orthodoxy destitute of contrition, tenderness or love is worthless and only a stumbling-block to sinners, like salt that has lost its savor whose influence without the grace of heaven has no power to preserve the world from corruption. The righteousness that exceeds theirs and enters the kingdom is the only true faith, faith that works by love to purify the soul and like leaven transforms the character, as already taught by the prophets that God requires not burnt offerings, thousands of rams or rivers of oil but doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.

They built human exactions, traditions, maxims and customs around the law until no one could keep even the letter as they interpreted it, covering its pure principles, making it a yoke of bondage, departing from love to God and love to man, and making it void and meaningless. They mingled cheap ceremonies and traditions and sayings of men with the pure principles of God, making the law meaningless and void through tradition and losing its spirituality through ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God. Their righteousness rested on traditions and human customs treated as God's commands, but those rules did not lead people to keep God's law in their hearts through love, and their hypocrisy is exposed by the call to follow God's commandments rather than replacing them with human practices. In both practice and teaching they disregarded God's law, replaced God's Word with human traditions and set aside His holy precepts, whereas the greater righteousness is shown by keeping God's commandments and teaching others to keep them, by entire and willing obedience cherishing and living the truth, and by doing and teaching even the least of the ten holy precepts. Christ came to rescue and restore that holy, just and good law from rabbinical rubbish, to cut away human maxims and exalt it, proclaiming from the mount its true purity and far-reaching spiritual force.

The law in its true breadth reaches motives, thoughts, unspoken purposes and the inmost mind, so self-love and inward disloyalty itself make a person a transgressor even without outward disobedience. Christ exposed the law's full reach into the motives of the heart, where self-love itself makes a person a transgressor, so true righteousness respects the whole law in its exalted significance rather than relying on human traditions or outward rule-keeping. The exceeding righteousness is keeping the commandments in their exceeding breadth as penetrating to the very motives that control the heart, with the law governing thoughts and purposes and inward purity matching outward form. God requires a genuine work of grace that changes the heart to conform to revealed will, for His law reaches thoughts, intentions and purposes so that a person can violate it inwardly even without showing that disobedience in feelings or outward conduct. Fulfilling the law means observing all its claims and living out its holy principles, measured by God's law in its original purity, not by human customs or outward observance alone, since traditions that set aside God's commandments cannot provide this righteousness and those who burdened the law with added exactions did not keep it themselves.

While claiming to know the law they did not keep it themselves, neglected its vital principles and spirit, and led people into confusion and darkness by teaching human commandments, arranging the least commandments by human wisdom, and setting aside the Word as nonessential. Their claim to knowledge did not make their righteousness sufficient, for they made void the law through tradition, taught that it makes no difference whether the divine law is broken or kept, and by both precept and example led souls into confusion and darkness so that commandment-breakers and those uniting with them will not be in the abodes of bliss. They arranged the least commandments by human wisdom to teach false doctrines, set aside teachings of the Word as nonessential and unimportant, put human laws in place of the divine, and served God in a selfish way while passing by neighbors, failing to realize that the least disobedience against one precept brings condemnation. Their teaching misrepresented God's character and commandments, while true righteousness is shown in doing and teaching God's commandments, springing from the heart and extending throughout the being within and without to bring heart and life into conformity with revealed will. Religion in the heart with a meek, obedient, teachable spirit is more acceptable than any amount of outward service often performed in a selfish, inconsiderate, presumptuous manner, and perverting the teachings of the Word by misquoting Scripture and wresting its meaning causes great loss.

True Righteousness Described

The righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees is conformity of heart and life to God's revealed will, not mere outward rule-keeping for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. God's law must govern the mind's thoughts, intentions and purposes as well as actions, so that a person can violate it inwardly even without outward disobedience, and outward religious practices and ceremonies must express inward purity rather than stand as empty hypocrisy. That required righteousness must spring from the heart and extend throughout the being, within and without, as a genuine work of grace that changes the heart to fulfill all the claims of the law and live out its holy principles, rather than selfish external strictness, formal obedience, and traditions that set aside God's commandments. Jesus sought not merely observance of the law but understanding and practice of its principles and the prophets' teachings, without abandoning the truths given through Moses.

God requires righteousness both within and without: the heart must be purified so Christ can dwell there, and the life must be reformed to conform to God's will. Outwardly exact observance of religious rules and mere profession of religion are not enough, for sin must be put away, God's law obeyed, truth lived and given first place until it transforms the whole character, in true repentance of heart and a reformed life. This righteousness is shown in genuine conversion, a changed life whose words, motives and actions reflect the good works that let others glorify God, and which honors and teaches God's commandments rather than breaking them.

That exceeding righteousness is the only true faith, a faith that works by love to God and neighbor and purifies the soul, as leaven that transforms the character. It purifies the soul from all hereditary and cultivated objectionable tendencies and faults under the molding influence of the Spirit of God, not a claim of faith or sanctification while living contrary to Christ's teaching, and those who contradict this teaching need conversion and cleansing from sin before they can be acknowledged as children of truth. It is seen in transformed character combining the sweetness of humility with firmness and solidity, in contrast to hard, rigid orthodoxy destitute of contrition, tenderness or love that is only a stumbling-block to sinners, like salt that has lost its savor and has no power to preserve the world from corruption. The Jews should have learned this from the prophets, where the soul's cry for justification with God is answered not by burnt offerings, thousands of rams, or rivers of oil, but by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.

It is shown in doing and teaching even the least of God's commandments rather than breaking them and teaching men to break them, in obedient faith and love that keeps them, and not in treating the law as abolished or lowered or in outward self-righteous observance. Christ's followers keep the law and let their good works shine so that others glorify God, revealing a pure, holy character as a bright and shining light amid moral darkness, elevated above the customs, practices and policies of the world as doers of His Word. The lesson sounds down to the present time when the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the great crisis question agitating the world, and it reflects the commandments' full reach and their principles in practical godliness, with love for God expressed in the first four commandments and love for others in the last six.

The righteousness required for entry into God's kingdom bears fruit in goodness, truth, love, devotion and Christlike character, sharing God's light with the world and reflecting Christ who kept God's commandments. Religious privilege, knowledge, theoretical agreement with truth, external ceremonies, a person's own efforts to keep the law, and outward forms are not true righteousness, for the Jewish nation claimed superior righteousness but through pride and self-righteousness gave no such fruit in response to the blessings and light it had received. Mere agreement with truth does not make a person righteous, for religious claims can coexist with selfishness, hypocrisy and immoral conduct, while accepting Christ as Saviour awakens a sincere desire to obey and serve God in a changed character that reflects Him.

Law Remains Binding

The demand for a greater righteousness stands together with coming not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them, with not one jot or tittle passing from the law till heaven and earth pass and all be fulfilled. The law is therefore immutable and eternal, never changed, set aside, or abolished, and those who keep and teach its commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Bearing the penalty of the violated law to rescue humanity did not annul it, for the gospel aims at freedom from sin through faithful obedience. The exceeding breadth required is keeping the commandments as penetrating to the very motives that control the heart.

That righteousness is measured not by human exactions, finite ideas, cheap ceremonies, traditions, and sayings of men, but by the law in its exalted significance and extended character reaching into the inmost parts of the mind. What had become mere pretense, outward show, and a yoke of bondage covering pure principles and departing from love to God and love to man was cut away, so that precious truths were rescued from rabbinical rubbish, human maxims, customs, and false interpretations. A most decided, far-reaching explanation was given, proclaiming from the mount of blessing the law's true purity and spiritual force with greater power than on Sinai, even to unspoken thoughts and purposes. Brought to light in original purity within the framework of the gospel and illustrated by perfect obedience, it was placed to stand forever as truth that lies at the foundation of all righteousness and sanctification.

The law taught on the mount is the same law spoken on Sinai from the beginning, with no substitution of a changed law. It is holy, just, and good, the standard of righteousness revealing character and jurisdiction over all men, taking cognizance of every word, action, and motive as approving or condemning every soul. It reaches every action, condemns evil, calls for perfect spiritual obedience, and remains the great standard by which all will be judged when judgment sits and the books are opened. The law is the tree and the gospel is the fragrant blossoms and fruit it bears, making truth, holiness, and perfection of character attainable through grace, magnifying the law and making it honorable. Entrance into the kingdom therefore depends on keeping all of Jehovah's law in freedom from sin, following the One who kept God's commandments with a changed character reflecting Him.

Exceeding righteousness refuses to break one of the least commandments or teach men to do so, and instead does and teaches them, bringing greatness rather than the lowest place in the kingdom. This obedience lets light shine before men in good works that glorify the Father in heaven, elevated above the customs, practices, and policies of the world. It includes the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the great crisis question agitating the world and as the sign between God and His people by which He sanctifies them, allowing no power any excuse to change the law while heaven remains above and earth beneath.

No rank excuses transgression, for not one dishonest action is overlooked in kings or nobles, ministers or teachers. Status in the world, privilege, and human wisdom cannot set aside the least precept or put human laws in place of the divine without bringing condemnation. Arranging the least commandments by human wisdom, teaching false doctrines, setting aside teachings of the Word as nonessential, misquoting Scripture, and wresting its meaning cause great loss and grave danger even in the ranks of believers. Transgressors, whether priests, rulers, scribes, or Pharisees, must reach a much higher standard through illumination of the true Light and faith working by love to God and neighbor, with religion in the heart and a meek, obedient, teachable spirit extending throughout the being within and without.

Righteousness Gift in Christ

No self-made righteousness and no mere keeping of ceremonies can open the kingdom of heaven, for trust in one's own goodness like that of the Pharisees falls short of what entrance requires. Sin cannot be turned into righteousness, but it can be taken away and Christ's righteousness put in its place. That self-built righteousness comes from oneself and trusts in good works to earn salvation, while entrance demands putting on Christ's righteousness and becoming like Him.

The righteousness that must exceed the Pharisees' is God's free gift offered in His Son, the perfect righteousness the law requires. Christ's righteousness brings life and healing, in contrast to sin which brings death. Depraved man cannot of himself produce it by his own efforts to keep the holy law according to his own ideas for selfish benefit, and the Pharisees failed because they rejected Christ, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own instead of submitting to God's. This gift is received by faith and is the beginning, middle, and end of the only thing God will accept.

When hearts are fully opened to receive Christ, God's own life and love dwell within and transform the receiver into God's likeness, and thus give the righteousness the law requires. It comes in entire dependence upon Christ rather than any attempt to merit favor, earn approval, or make oneself good enough by self-effort. Man is fallen, weakened, and void of ability to cope with evil or take one step back to God, and self-sufficiency is inefficiency; only as divine power combines with human effort through Christ the Substitute and Surety who died to save can man overcome. This righteousness may be claimed by faith, and through faith in Christ man works out his own salvation with fear and trembling because God works in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure, putting off the old man, being renewed in mind, and putting on the new man created in righteousness and true holiness as an abiding inner principle.

Jesus illustrated this righteousness by His own perfect obedience to the law as expounded in its original purity and far-reaching claims upon the heart even to unspoken thoughts, freed from man-made customs. His righteousness was far greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees, for He did not rely on religious forms and ceremonies but encouraged sinners to approach God as a merciful Father, exposing how leaders could enforce ritual while making God's law void. As Head of humanity He came to fulfil all righteousness and to show that man can do the same work and meet every specification of God's requirements. Through the treasures of grace given to man, truth, holiness, and perfection of character are attainable to everyone who strives, and not one need miss heaven, for in keeping God's commandments the path to fulfilling all righteousness is made easier, thus magnifying the law and making it honorable.

True godliness relies on the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour rather than on oneself. Christ endured temptation in the wilderness, including temptation on the point of appetite, and conquered Satan. His victory gives people divine strength to overcome appetite and every unholy passion.

Living the Requirement

The saying is to be read and believed and practiced on its own merits, with preconceived opinions laid aside and truth explaining truth, as the bread of life come down from heaven, and by itself it is enough so that no soul who receives it would be lost. It is to be studied for individual benefit and written upon the tablets of the soul and acted upon, for hearing Christ's sayings and doing them is like the wise man who built his house upon a rock so that rain and floods and winds beat upon it and it fell not. The truths of the Sermon on the Mount are a sure foundation for faith and practice, expressed plainly enough for the poor and unlearned to understand and simple enough for a child to study without being misled, and living its lessons makes a deeper and more lasting impression than preaching alone.

Believed and practiced regardless of financial loss or gain, it changes the life and develops Christlikeness of character and writes divine principles in the heart as if with the finger of God. It gives courage that neither lion's den nor fiery furnace can intimidate into denying truth for favor, honor, position, or reputation, living to obey the word of Christ and counting death for truth as gain. That righteousness is not mere profession but transformed character under the molding influence of the Spirit, by faith that works by love and purifies the soul from all hereditary and cultivated objectionable tendencies, seen in good works that glorify the Father in the sweetness of humility combined with firmness and solidity of character, as salt of the earth and light of the world.

Profession alone does not save, for bearing a religious name or claiming to serve God is not enough, and no one should take salvation for granted. Every professor is tested as a merchant tests silver to see whether it is genuine, guarding against deception by requiring genuineness in all who profess godliness, and the essential lesson to be practiced and done by all who claim to be Christians is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, with the things needful for this life added. Sanctification is the lifetime work of doing and teaching even the least commandments and doing the Father's will rather than merely saying Lord, Lord, instead of a ground for assuming salvation. That inward work must be carried into daily life and shown in conscientious conduct, for self-deception, neglect, indifference, and unfaithfulness are incompatible with it, and those who claim to follow Christ but live without conscientiousness or faithfulness deceive themselves. Extravagance and selfish indulgence, especially when they divert resources from saving souls, are contrary to practicing the truth and doing the Father's will.

Failing this righteousness includes hiding the light under a bushel instead of letting it shine before men in good works that glorify the Father and dispel darkness, by neglecting missionary work in unworked fields and cities such as Memphis and New Orleans and leaving awakened interest unfollowed and cities unworked. It includes choosing darkness rather than light and refusing evidence of truth. It includes living without conscientiousness or faithfulness, extravagance and selfish indulgence that divert resources from saving souls, and dishonest business and unjust dealing. It includes a condemning, fault-finding spirit that accuses others and undermines believers, contrary to the obedience, love, unity, and Christian fellowship learned through Christ's teaching, and contrary to rejecting malice and revenge, leaving wrongs unavenged, loving enemies, and following God's purity rather than human traditions, in whom is perfection as God is perfect.

The lesson reaches laborers in the office, called to have religion worked into the soul and shown in conscientious and faithful life. It reaches parents, who are to carry out God's purpose in home life by patiently teaching Scripture to children from their earliest years, with care for their habits and spiritual education. It reaches new converts, who fail in the claims of the law unless they are impressed with its heart principles, for the spirit of the law must be in the heart and the state of the heart regulates life and character. It reaches believers in every age, who are to put Christ's lesson on practical godliness into practice in practical purity and faith that works by love and purifies the soul, not a claim of faith or sanctification while living contrary to His teaching. It warns the remnant church against the same work of formal outward obedience, arranging the least commandments by human wisdom to teach false doctrines, setting aside teachings of the Word as nonessential, putting human laws in place of the divine, and perverting teachings by misquoting Scripture and wresting its meaning, which brings grave dangers where many lack spiritual discernment and causes great loss.

The call exposes the pride and self-righteousness of the Jewish nation, which claimed superior righteousness in religious privilege, knowledge, and outward forms but bore no fruit in goodness, truth, love, devotion, and Christlike character sharing God's light with the world in response to blessings and light received. That people were separated from God because they failed to walk in the light given through patriarchs and prophets, and as they allowed that light to shine without following it, darkness came upon them in like measure, whereas obedience to God's revealed will could have shown the world a character and way of life fitting the light they had received. It also corrects the false picture of God as stern and without compassion given by self-righteous teaching mingling human maxims and traditions with God's commandments, revealing instead God's loving, paternal character in contradiction to those doctrines.

Receiving Christ's teaching with humble spirit brings conversion and cleansing from sin and removal of God's rebuke for past wrongs. Accepting Christ as Saviour awakens a sincere desire to obey and serve God, shown in a changed life whose words, motives, and actions reflect the good works that let others glorify God, and which honors and teaches God's commandments rather than breaking them, following Christ who kept God's commandments in changed character reflecting Him. Those who contradict His teaching on practical godliness need conversion and cleansing from sin before they can be acknowledged as children of truth.

The chapter reveals the truth about the laws of God's government and warns of the peril of disobeying God's commandments. A person whose righteousness consists only in outward rule-keeping cannot enter, and a person who knows God's law and continues to break it has no place among the blessed. Transgressors of God's law, whether priests, rulers, scribes, or Pharisees, must reach a much higher standard than they have reached, needing the illumination of the true Light to reveal what they are and the faith that works by love to God and love to neighbors.