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Under Construction, Week 5, Day 34

by David Joynt on September 13, 2019

Under Construction, Week 5, Day 34

MATTHEW 5:20| For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I can’t give you a definitive read on this verse!  But I can offer some suggestions.  What is the “righteousness” that exceeds the Pharisees?  It could be obedience to Jesus’ commands, since the Pharisees obey only the Torah and their supplemental rules.  It could refer to the emphasis in our behavior.  Jesus said, “I deserve mercy not sacrifice,” quoting the prophets and it could mean fulfilling the command to neighbor love before attending to the fussy particulars of personal holiness.

It might refer to the attitude with which we obey.  Jesus asked us to be humble servants, not proud law abiders.  Perhaps the call to be like a little child, open and teachable and dependent, is referred to him.  Maybe he is talking about the fruits our lives should generate.

What do you think?

 

Tags: love, mercy, children, pride, righteousness, sacrifice, kingdom of heaven, humility, righteous, pharisees, obedience, commandments, obey, love thy neighbor

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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