Inside Out

The Pharisees were men deeply committed to the Old Testament Law. In fact, they made it their mission to know, memorize, and obey every commandment of God in excruciating detail. However, when speaking about the importance of the Law, Jesus declared, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Making sense of this statement is the key to understanding what follows in the Sermon on the Mount.