For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20 ESV
Jesus told his disciples that he had not come to abolish the Law and Prophets but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17), and he commended those who kept the Law (Matt. 5:19). But then he dropped a bombshell on them. Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
What makes this even more challenging is that the Pharisees were a group dedicated to keeping the Law. If anyone was righteous by the standards of the Law, it was the Pharisees. And one Pharisee, Paul the Apostle, even claimed he was faultless in keeping the Law (Phil. 3:6).
So, if even the most faultless keepers of the Law were unable to enter the kingdom of heaven, who could? Is it even possible to become righteous enough to satisfy God’s requirements? This would seem to be an impossible standard.
Paul answers this in Romans 3:20, saying, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law.” So what hope do we have if we can never become good enough for God? Fortunately, we are not without hope.
An Imputed Righteousness
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
Romans 3:21-22a ESV
While my own righteousness is insufficient for entering the kingdom, the righteousness God gives is not. This is a righteousness that we receive through faith in Jesus.
It is a righteousness that the Law and Prophets looked forward to. A righteousness that Jesus made available when he gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for us on the cross (Rom. 3:24-25), fulfilling the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17).
What I could not do for myself, Jesus did for me, perfectly fulfilling all the requirements of the Law. And now, by faith in him, his righteousness is imputed to me. I am justified in God’s sight and have entered the kingdom of heaven.
