Righteousness that Surpasses the Pharisees

This is a scripture that has been on my mind for a while now. “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.” (Matthew 5:20) It keeps coming back to my mind. What did Jesus mean when he said that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees? The Pharisees were considered the most holy and most righteous people of their day. These Pharisees were known to have the entire Tanak (Old Testament) memorized, and were also considered to have been the people with the most accurate interpretations of the Scriptures. Jesus himself even said to do what they teach. So, what does it mean for us to be more righteous than the Pharisees?


I was laying in bed praying, and I believe that Jesus revealed the answer to me. The Pharisees were indeed righteous, this was beyond dispute, but they did their acts of righteousness with the wrong motivation. They were motivated by duty, pride, fear, or many other outside factors, which is why their righteousness fell short. Jesus taught that love was the greatest commandment, and that love fulfilled the law, and he gave us a “New Commandment” to love. We also see this revealed in Pauls first letter to the Corinthians, when he writes about many different spiritual, religious, and righteous acts done without love are meaningless.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1Cor 13:1-3)

Paul then continues to describe how love fulfills righteousness.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evilbut rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” (1Cor 13:4-10)

Paul, in other scriptures, also echos Jesus teachings that love is the fulfillment of the law, and that love should be our goal in everything we do. John, in his first letter, also teaches that love is above all else, and that the only way to know God’s people is by their love, because God is love, his people will also be love.

Love should be our motivation for everything we do. If we do anything for any other reason, then we are doing it for the wrong reason. This is the only way that our righteousness can surpass that of the Pharisees, if our righteous acts are motivated by love.