Friday; April 13
Early on in Jesus’ ministry He appears to go on record as to what His disciples (and His adversaries) could expect from Him. One certainty was controversy. Jesus made a lot of startling statements throughout His life, many of which come in what is called the Sermon on the Mount. One such statement is, “ For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) The scribes had become the “experts” in the Law of Moses and the Pharisees consisted of some of the most religious people in the nation, so this statement was bound to raise some questions (as well as some ire). How could Jesus’ disciples become more righteous than those who had dedicated their careers to religion? The answer is found in those two “r” words – righteousness and religion. Jesus’ disciples were to practice His religion, but they were also to emulate His righteousness. They were supposed to demonstrate th