Jesus said, "For I tell you unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
The Pharisees were the dominant teachers of the people during this time. They were strict about obeying the law of God. Jesus once said to them, "You clean the outside of the cup, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may be clean also."
The majority of the Pharisees were not truly righteous, that is why Jesus said we must be better than them. They looked good on the outside, but inside were full of evil, for they had not given their hearts to God. Some were good men however, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Their minds and hearts were open to the leading of God and so recognized the Messiah when he came. Many priests believed after Jesus was crucified.
God said, "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people." Jerimiah 31:33
This is what it means to be more righteous than the Pharisees.
4 comments:
Great description of what the Pharisees were, Belle (at least the majority of them). Self righteous and arrogant; no wonder Jesus was not fond of them. I do like that scripture from Jeremiah; love the thought of being God's people!
have a good day!
betty
I think God has righteous anger at people who teach about God and then go and hurt people. This is happening today all over the world. It is so sad to see because then people get the wrong idea about Jesus and God. I remember Jesus saying they took advantage of widows and orphans. God said that in the old testament too. May God save us from ever being like that!
Oh I love your post today, I try to remind myself daily, Rhonda it is about "inside" for if the "inside" is Christ then the outside will reflect Him..but if the inside is of self...then that will be what others see ...thanks for your sweet reminder for me today....let Jesus be my righteousness....Happy Thanksgiving Season
Happy Thanksgiving to you also! I'm glad you liked it today.
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