First century Jews respected and revered the group of religious leaders known as the Pharisees. Their devotion and meticulous observance of the law was seen as the way to achieve holiness and good standing with God. To them, Jesus’ words would have been confronting, “But I warn you — unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 5:20).
Jesus was not saying, “Do better, be better.” On the contrary, he was exposing how that kind of religion that can never lead to true holiness and cannot bring us into right relationship with God. A fear-based ‘holiness’ leads to pride and comparison, isolation and control. It blinds us, causing justification of behaviours that are not in alignment with Jesus’ heart for His people.