Jesus Answers the Question: What Does it Really Mean to be Righteous?

I’ve lived through a good many phases of interpreting the Christian life, and maybe you remember some of them, too. In the 80s, young Christian women like me were encouraged to be fervent and verbal about our faith. It helped if somewhere along the way you’d experienced a Damascus Road turnaround with a gripping story. (I hadn’t.)

Then later it became popular to be a mess and proud of it. The lyrics to that song were heavy on “seen and known” and blog posts abounded confessing to laundry overwhelm and parenting fails.

To be honest, I’m not sure about the current boilerplate for the testimonies of grandmothers, empty-nesters, or long-time church women who aren’t “deconstructing.” I’ve been criticized for being “too much” and also, ironically, for being “not enough.” My heart resonates with the desire Eugene Peterson expressed in his journals: “I want to be a saint.” And I’m learning that the only trustworthy guide for following Christ is his own words in scripture and the faithful words of his forerunners and followers in our sacred text.

Jesus lived in an era when righteousness had become a very visible and measurable goal—at least from the perspective of the religious elite of the day. In his Sermon on the Mount, he pushes back—not against the law, because he was clear in his role as Law Fulfiller, not Law Abolisher. His objection is not with the law but with the hypocrisy of outward obedience that masked a heart that was far from the God who gave us the law.

In six discrete units starting with the words “You have heard that it was said,” Jesus cites a commonly held standard of right living and then goes on to explain true Christian righteousness that surpasses or “exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.” (Matthew 5:20)

What Does the Righteousness of a Christ-Follower Look Like?

Jesus turned his attention to points of the law that were being taught in harmful ways: murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and loving our neighbor. His focus in all of his teaching is right actions for right reasons, with the chief right reason being the goal of glorifying God. In his world, where the appearance of righteousness was most valued and sought after, his words would have been startling, but maybe we understand that better than we’d like to admit?

For example, we’d all agree that murder is wrong and a breach of the sixth commandment, but anger has been elevated in our culture to the point of being a virtue! Jesus pronounces stern judgment against anger (Matthew 5:22) and urges quick and clean reconciliation between “brothers”—even if it means delaying worship at the altar (Matthew 5:23). Sleazy gazes, reckless divorce, frivolous words, keeping score, and pandering to the in-crowd are condemned as unworthy behavior for a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus has called us to a deeper obedience.

Praying Together

Lord, deliver us from the spirit of bare-minimum obedience and instill in our hearts a desire to live as a true saint and citizen of your Kingdom. Give us supernatural love for the people who would naturally make us angry or invite our scorn. Teach us the meaning of purity. Give us the courage to take the low place in order to lift up others. We know this is how you lived, and in our deepest heart of hearts, we want most of all to live with your surpassing righteousness. Amen

Let’s continue this conversation:

• Read Matthew 5:21-48 with this question in mind: How is getting right with God connected with getting along with each other?
• Based on our reading of the Sermon on the Mount to this point, how would your definition of righteousness be impacted by Jesus’ rejection of bare minimum obedience?