Matthew 5:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

Matthew only. The verse from "except" to the end is quoted verbally in Justin Martyr, as being in "the Memoirs." For I say . So far from you my disciples (verse 13) being right in despising any of the commands contained in the Law, they are all to be specially honoured by you; for your righteousness ( i.e. the righteousness you show in observing them; there is no thought hero of the imputed righteousness of Christ) must far exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees; otherwise there is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The righteousness of the kingdom. Antinomianism is unchristian. If Christianity is to be found in the teachings of Christ, Christianity does not relax the moral Law. On the contrary, it elevates and strengthens that Law. We cannot make a greater mistake than to suppose that the grace of Christ means a certain easy treatment of men, any diminution of duty, any release from the obligations of right. It is not a pardon of the past with indifference as regards the future. It is forgiveness as a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The better types of righteousness. "Shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees." How one righteousness can be thought of as exceeding another does not at once appear. We may apprehend it, if we duly consider this distinction. Heart-righteousness must, in every age, be the same thing; but practical righteousness, finding expression in conduct and relations, does go by an ascending scale, and does vary in different ages and nations. I. A RIGHTEOUSNESS MAY BE ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:20

Your righteousness - Your holiness; your views of the nature of righteousness, and your conduct and lives. Unless you are more holy than they are, you cannot be saved.Shall exceed - Shall excel, or abound more. The righteousness of true Christians is seated in the heart, and is therefore genuine. Jesus means that unless they had more real holiness of character than the scribes and Pharisees, they could not be saved.The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees - See the notes at Matthew 3:7.... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20. For, except your righteousness shall exceed Gr. περισσευση , shall abound more than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees Than that which is apparent in their lives, or even required in their precepts, as is described in the sequel of this discourse, as highly as they are generally esteemed; ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven That is, into the kingdom of glory after you die, or be owned by the Son of man as his subjects while you live. It is... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

39. A right attitude to the law (Matthew 5:17-20)In a lengthy section that runs through to the end of the chapter, Jesus points out that it is not good enough merely to follow the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. Realizing that people may think he is in some way opposed to the law of Moses, Jesus explains at the outset that this is not so. He does not abolish the Old Testament or overthrow its authority. On the contrary he gives it fuller meaning. He is its goal, and it finds its... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 5:20

the righteousness. Supply "[that]". Pharisees. See App-120 . in no case. See App-105 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.The religion of the Pharisees, hence their righteousness, consisted of externals, ceremonials, rituals, liturgies, and formalities of many kinds, with little or no attention being paid to the condition of the heart. Christ flatly denounced such a concept and indicated that no one could be saved in such a state as that of the typical... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17-20. Think not that I am come to destroy, &c.— Because the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning happiness was contrary to that which the Jews were accustomed to hear, and which their preachers pretended to derive from the prophets, whose descriptions of the glory of the Messiah's kingdom they understood in a literal sense; also because he was about to give explications of the moral precepts, of very different tenor from those which the Scribes and Pharisees commonlygave,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:20

20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees—The superiority to the Pharisaic righteousness here required is plainly in kind, not degree; for all Scripture teaches that entrance into God's kingdom, whether in its present or future stage, depends, not on the degree of our excellence in anything, but solely on our having the character itself which God demands. Our righteousness, then—if it is to contrast with the outward and... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:20

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 5:20

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 5:20

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 5:17-20

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:20

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