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NASB | Matthew 5:20 ¶ "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:20 ¶ "For I say to you that unless your righteousness (uprightness, moral essence) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. |
Subject: what was meant by righteousnes grtr than |
Bible Note: Dear Cheri, The Jews themselves knew their were "good" and "bad" Pharisees. They recognized seven different kinds of Pharisees. William Barclay -- whose not much good with doctrine, but is great with historical culture -- lists them as: The Shoulder Pharisee, who carried his good deeds on his shoulder; the Wait-a-little Pharisee, who were good procrastinators; the Bruised Pharisee, who would bump into things because his eyes were closed in order to avoid seeing a woman; the Hump-Backed Pharisee, full of false humility; the Timid Pharisee, constantly fearful of the wrath of God. However, there were also God-Loving Pharisees, who sought to walk in love and charity. Nicodemus was of this latter group. Generally, when we think of Pharisees, we should remember that they represented a pretty broad spectrum of people. Today when we say Baptist, for example, there's a huge range of thoughts and ideas behind that simple name. When the NT comes down hard on Pharisees, the real message for us, is to see how much we are like them today. Different ideas, different words, but the same corrupt natures. In Him, Doc |