Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Jesus told his followers, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:20). This must have seemed to Jesus' disciples to be an impossible challenge. How could their righteousness possibly exceed that of the Pharisees? The Pharisees were so devoted to their religion that they wove Scriptures onto their clothing; they prayed long, loud prayers in public; they spent money to cross land and sea in order to win converts to their faith; they rendered tithes on everything they possessed, even spices that came to their tables; they built monuments to martyred holy men of God; they fasted at least two days each week. What could Jesus' disciples possibly do to make their righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees? Yet, Jesus said they had to do that, or they would never enter into God's eternal kingdom!
It is obvious that the disciples could not do more religious works than the Pharisees were doing. No one could compete with men so consumed with religious ceremony and form. The answer, then, is that the disciples had to concentrate on quality of life, not quantity of religious acts. And this is exactly what Jesus meant for them to do. The only righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees is God's, and Jesus made the way for his disciples to partake of that.
Paul wrote to the saints in Corinth that Christ was made sin for us, so "that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2Cor. 5:21). Jesus offered himself for the sins of the world so that those who believe can become "partakers of the divine nature" and live in harmony with God. This "new and living way" is not a way of proper ceremonial form; it is a way of serving God in "spirit and in truth". God was disgusted with the showy religious deeds of Israel's elders; He wanted a people who would serve Him from the heart with all sincerity. "The Father seeketh such to worship Him", said Jesus.The righteousness of the disciples exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees when they were filled with the holy Ghost and began walking in the Spirit. They ceased trusting in their own righteousness and started trusting in God's when they began to live by faith in God. The power of the holy Ghost gave them a righteousness that was far greater than the righteousness of the Pharisees.
Your righteousness will never exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. They were experts in the earthly form of righteousness. But God's righteousness exceeds man's. Live in His righteousness and forsake ceremonial worship. It is the only way to please God.