Righteousness! What is it? And, why did Jesus say: “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20)?

There is righteousness, like that of the Scribes and the Pharisees; and there is the righteousness of Jesus.

The Scribes and the Pharisees were slaves to rules and regulations. Jesus described them as blind leaders of the blind. These stern teachers of the law loved to lay heavy burdens on people. Not only did they prevent the people from entering the Lord’s Kingdom, they even prevented themselves from entering as well (Matthew 23:13).

The Lord’s Kingdom, as Jesus shows, is not about rules and regulations. It is not about the mere observance of laws. It is about loving God and one another the way Jesus did. The law, according to St. Paul, brings death (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). The spirit, on the other hand, brings life (John 6:63). And Jesus has given us a new spirit—the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is love.

Love is what Jesus’s message is all about. Love is what true righteousness is all about. Before He left this earth, Jesus gave us a new commandment that sums up everything in the the law:

“Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34–35).

This new commandment, this new righteousness is not a dream. It is not a pie-in-the-sky concept. It is very concrete, very down-to-earth, very real. In Matthew 25, Jesus spells it out. He wants us to treat one another, especially the least among us, as we would treat Himself: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:45).

We will be judged righteous by our love for one another whenever we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison (Matthew 25:35–36) This is the righteousness that surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees. This is the righteousness that is born of love of God and love for our brothers and sisters in need. This is the righteousness that is modeled on the example of Christ.

The gospel is about following the example of Jesus Christ who has freed us from the control of selfish passions to love one another as he has loved us.

That is why the Lord says: “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

—Fr. Hugh Duffy