Christ's Righteousness

[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-20).

President Reagan embraced Premiere Gorbachev on Red Square, and in the next "Firing Line" debate, William Buckley Jr. expressed deep concern on his fellow anti-communist hugging the symbolic leader of the communist world. Was it contradictory for a man who had preached about the communist threat all his political life to be embracing the very thing he'd preached against?

Christ is seemingly saying the Pharisees and scribes are in "high cotton" (a really good thing) for their righteousness. This is the same Jesus who will describe them as "vipers and hypocrites" (Matthew 23). What we learn is Christ is actually showing his sinless contempt for them in this passage as he begins his ministry. They believe they follow the law. They judge others, including Christ, in ways they don't hold themselves accountable. Christ is about to turn the tables on them in the next set of passages from his sermon on the mount as he talks about sin and broadens it for the listeners, including the Pharisees (and us today), The point will be that it is not possible to follow just the letter but the spirit of the law.

Christ's righteousness, our righteousness, follows and leads in both the letter and the spirit of God's Law. "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Pray with me: Gracious and Merciful Father, You gave us your Son to die for us by going to the cross. He rose from the dead to free us from the burden of death by becoming righteousness for us. We give you thanks for redeeming us through this gift. In Christ's name, Amen