Kingdom Influence Part 20
At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Influence,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.
Last week in our Kingdom Influence series, we saw something essential. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law. He came to fulfill it. He revealed that the Law was always pointing to Him, and that the life God desires is not rooted in rule keeping but in transformation. The Law was never meant to be the finish line. It was always meant to lead us to a Person. And now Jesus says something that would have stopped His listeners in their tracks.
Matthew 5:19–20 (NIV)
19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees. For those listening, that sounded impossible. The Pharisees were the most disciplined, knowledgeable, and committed people they knew. If anyone appeared righteous, it was them. And Jesus says, you must go beyond that. That raises an honest question. What kind of righteousness is Jesus talking about? Because if righteousness is simply about external obedience, then the Pharisees had already reached the highest level. But Jesus begins to expose something deeper. The issue was not their effort. The issue was their focus.
Matthew 23:27–28 (NIV)
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Their righteousness was outside in. It was visible, measurable, and performative. It looked right on the surface, but it was disconnected from the heart. That is why Jesus uses such strong language, calling them whitewashed tombs. Clean and polished on the outside, but empty and unclean within. The problem was not that they cared too much about obedience. The problem was that their obedience never reached the core of who they were.
Jesus is inviting us into a different kind of righteousness. Kingdom righteousness is inside out. It begins where no one else can see. It starts in the heart. This is exactly what God promised long before through the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 36:26–27 (NIV)
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
This changes everything. Obedience is no longer something we strive to manufacture. It becomes the natural overflow of a life that has been transformed by God. So when Jesus says our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees, He is not calling us to try harder. He is calling us to go deeper. Beyond appearances. Beyond performance. This is heart transformation. And when the heart is transformed, everything else begins to follow.
This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.
Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.
