Rising Above the Pharisees: A Journey of Spiritual Enlightenment

Rising Above the Pharisees: A Journey of Spiritual Enlightenment

You are righteous, I am righteous, everybody is righteous today and that is very good, but I found that there is another level of righteousness if the whole essence is to make it to the kingdom of heaven, and not to make a show of a congregational righteousness. How to take it to the next level is to attempt and live the way of the teaching of Jesus Christ where He mentioned making our righteousness above that of Pharisees.

Matt. 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The main question to understanding the teaching of Jesus here is; what does the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees look like? The scribes are the custodians and readers of the law while the Pharisees are like the Preachers or enforcers of the law, the Pharisees know the law in and out and are very fast to identify those who are not keeping the law as they ought to. They see easily those who will not wash their hands before eating, those who eat with unbelievers, those who sinned one way or the other, they lay loads on people and identified those who are weak, but they are like lamps that never see beneath. The Pharisees name and condemned wrong doings of others very fast, but they never see theirs, they are close to living above the law, yet follow to see people obey the law daily.

Talkers of righteousness they are, but never seeing themselves as expected to do. The righteousness of the Pharisees may end a man to lead others to heaven but never enter, may that not be our lot. The Pharisees are so respected because they know the law, hence people easily mistake that for doing the law, so much so that they almost take their mistakes for the right thing to do. No wonder the Bible warns against aspiring to become a teacher of the Word; heavier are their responsibilities than those they teach, you must continue to be a student of Jesus if you will teach others to follow Him well.

If you teach and never do; you are a Pharisee.

Prayer: Lord Jesus I ask for the grace to take my righteousness beyond words to action, let mine exceeds that of the Pharisees in that I do what I encourage others to do, leading by example all the time, Amen!