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.
Matthew 5:20 NIV
This statement from Jesus in Matthew 5:20 challenged the traditional understanding of righteousness. The Pharisees and teachers of the law practiced a form of righteousness that involved rule-keeping. Jesus presented a revolutionary concept: true righteousness goes beyond mere adherence to rules.
This contrast is further illustrated in John 8:39, where Jesus points out the failure of the Jewish people around him to build a relationship with God like Abraham did.
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
John 8:39 NIV
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did.”
The Greek word for righteousness “dikaiosýnē” is most often defined as justice, doing what is right, or possessing moral integrity. Yet at its deepest, this word is inherently relational—referring to a right relationship with God and others. This comprehensive view of righteousness is exemplified by Abraham, whose belief in God was deeply personal, emotional, and spiritual, as reflected in Romans 4:3 and James 2:23.
What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:3 NIV
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
James 2:23 NIV
The Bible gives Abraham as an example of true righteousness, emphasizing that it is fundamentally about relationships, not rules. This understanding stands in stark contrast to the perspective of many religious people, both then and now, who equate “righteousness” with moral perfection and strict rule-following.
The Pharisees, in particular, were limited in their understanding of righteousness, merely focusing on conforming to a code of conduct.
The misinterpretation of righteousness as solely about following rules often results in people failing to truly know God, missing the relational essence of righteousness that Jesus sought to reveal.
This shift in understanding righteousness is fundamental to grasping the teachings of Jesus. To fully appreciate the depth of this change, let’s explore how Jesus redefined righteousness, moving from a behavior-focused paradigm to a relationship-centered one.
The Pharisees’ limited view of righteousness
Righteousness, at its core, is relational. It encompasses:
- A right relationship with God
- Right relationships with others
This understanding surpasses the narrow view of personal morality or rule-following.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law viewed righteousness through a restricted lens, focusing primarily on conforming to a code of conduct and emphasizing outward behavior over inner transformation.
This limited view led to several problems:
1. The Pharisees created unbearable religious demands.
The Pharisees turned God’s commands into unbearable religious demands. As a result, they crushed people with their mechanical approach to faith rather than inspiring them with a relationship-centered one.
They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
Matthew 23:4 NLT
But now you need no longer worry about the Jewish laws and customs because you “died” while in their captivity, and now you can really serve God; not in the old way, mechanically obeying a set of rules, but in the new way, with all of your hearts and minds.
Romans 7:6 TLB
2. The Pharisees prioritized status over relationships.
The best definition [of sin] I like is “disordered love,” which is the Augustinian definition that we all love a lot of things and that some loves are higher than others. But..sometimes we get our loves out of order.
David Brooks
The love of the Pharisees was, in many ways, out of order. They prioritized status over relationships, and they created a culture of disordered love where position was valued more than people.
And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’
Matthew 23:6-7 NLT
“Great sorrow awaits you religious scholars and Pharisees—frauds and pretenders! For you are obsessed with peripheral issues, like insisting on paying meticulous tithes on the smallest herbs that grow in your gardens. These matters are fine, yet you ignore the most important duties of all: to walk in the love of God, to display mercy to others, and to live with integrity. Readjust your values and place first things first.
Matthew 23:23 TPT
3. The Pharisees looked down on others.
The Pharisees prided themselves on their ability to behave perfectly, and their pride hindered their ability to build relationships. It led them to look down on those who didn’t measure up to their standards.
The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Matthew 23:11-12 NLT
4. The Pharisees chose conformity over love and unity.
By practicing the cold, mechanical demands of conformity instead of true righteousness based on love and unity, the Pharisees made God unappealing. This is why they had to work so hard to get even one person to join their ranks.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!
Matthew 23:15 NLT
Experiencing true Christianity is to experience it as a relationship religion, which means surpassing the Pharisees limited view of righteousness by embracing the relational paradigm shift of Jesus.
The relational paradigm shift of Jesus
Jesus introduced a profound shift in understanding righteousness, transforming it from a set of rules to a way of relating:
1. Jesus moved beyond behavior.
“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'”
Matthew 15:7-9 NIV
Jesus moved beyond mere outward actions to the heart of relationships. He emphasized that true righteousness must extend beyond outward behavior. It is about the condition of our hearts, which determines how we connect with God and others.
2. Jesus taught us to dig deep.
As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. [48] They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Luke 6:47-48 NIV
In this parable, Jesus illustrated a profound truth about the nature of genuine faith and character. Jesus considered righteousness an inside job, where we dig deep into our hearts to lay a foundation for changing not only our actions but our attitudes. He wanted our outward behavior to be a true reflection of our heart, because it is from the heart that the truth of who we really are flows.
This realness, where our heart and behavior are one, produces a relational authenticity—we stop pretending and eradicate hypocrisy from our lives. Only then can we form genuine connections with both God and others, as our actions and attitudes align seamlessly with our inner convictions.
Ultimately, Jesus taught that true spiritual strength comes from a deep, internal commitment to the Word of God, not from superficial adherence to rules or appearances.
3. Jesus prioritized love as the foundation.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12-13 (NIV)
Jesus prioritized love for God and others as the cornerstone of true righteousness. This love isn’t just about avoiding harm, but actively seeking the good of others, even to the point of self-sacrifice.
4. Jesus made us his friends.
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15 (NIV)
Jesus elevated our relationship with God from mere obedience to intimate friendship. This shift emphasizes that righteousness is about knowing God personally, not just following his rules.
This redefinition challenges us to view our spiritual lives not as a checklist of dos and don’ts, but as a dynamic relationship with God that naturally flows into how we relate to others. It calls us to a higher standard—not just avoiding wrong, but actively pursuing love and connection with God and our fellow humans.
Final thoughts
As we can see, Jesus taught “The Power of Relationships.” This teaching wasn’t just for those with social or emotional talent or leadership capability, but for every single person who would follow him. This power to build great relationships flows from our walk with God, not our natural talents. Let us each embrace “The Power of Relationships.” Together, we can make the world a better place and ultimately transform it into what God has always intended—the perfect experience of his love!
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As the editor in chief for Deep Spirituality, Russ Ewell writes, teaches, and innovates with his eyes on the future. His teaching is rooted in providing hope for those turned off by tradition and infused with vision for building a transformative church. His passion to inspire even the most skeptical to view God through fresh eyes can be found in his book, He's Not Who You Think He Is: Dropping Your Assumptions and Discovering God for Yourself.
As the editor in chief for Deep Spirituality, Russ Ewell writes, teaches, and innovates with his eyes on the future. His teaching is rooted in providing hope for those turned off by tradition and infused with vision for building a transformative church. His passion to inspire even the most skeptical to view God through fresh eyes can be found in his book, He's Not Who You Think He Is: Dropping Your Assumptions and Discovering God for Yourself.
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