20For 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 Lord while He was here on earth never treated anyone contemptibly except for the religious leaders. He never looked upon an ordinary sinner and rebuked him, never not once. His response to sinners was "your sins are forgiven". It was like He was walking around looking for someone to say that to. That is His attitude toward sinners, loving, forgiving and pity mixed with a willingness to help. Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners not to condemn them.
The religious leaders are the ones who are in trouble. The Lord does not take kindly to being mis-represented. Remember what happened when Moses struck the rock 2 times? He represented God as being angry with the people when He was not. Moses was angry with the people. I guess he got cranky in his old age... anyway, for that Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land. There is a stricter judgement on those who teach on behalf of God. Always was.
1 Cor. 4 says "do not go beyond what is written" this is a trustworthy saying. It will keep us from misrepresenting God.
To have my personal righteousness exceed that of the teachers of the law is impossible however I stand not in my own righteousness but that of Jesus who covers me with His atoning blood. The right things I do do are done out of gratitude for His goodness and forgiveness toward me, not an attempt to be right before Him.
APPLICATION
Today I will take some time to specifically pray for the leaders of the Church worldwide, national and local.
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