In Matthew 5:20 NIV, Jesus says, “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.”

The Pharisees thought themselves to be very righteousness. By their religious rites and observances, by their giving to the Temple treasury, and by their pious works, they felt that they were the most suited for heaven. Yet Jesus said that we needed to be more righteous than even the Pharisees.

To the disciples in Jesus’ day, that statement must have seemed a complete impossibility. If even the righteousness of the Pharisees was not good enough, who could ever be saved?

What type of righteousness was Jesus talking about? Can we really even obey on our own? What about our personal struggles with sin? How can we overcome?

Jesus was the epitome of righteousness on this earth. He lived a perfect life for you and me.

If we want to discover what Jesus meant when He said that we must be more righteous than the Pharisees, we must first study how Jesus lived His life. What was the source of His power?

Hebrews 2:14-18 tells us that Jesus was made to be like one of us in every way. He had struggles and temptations. He got hungry and thirsty and tired. He had to become like us so that He could qualify to become the second Adam, our Saviour.

He became an example for us in every way. Jesus can empathize with every human experience and circumstance. And we can never say that He had any special advantage.

How then did Jesus perform the miracles He did and how did He live obediently in every way?

Union with the Father

John 5:19 and John 8:28 tell us that He did nothing of Himself (or on His own). John 10:30-33 and 6:57 show us the secret of Christ’s power that we may also have. John 10:30 says “I and my Father are one,” and 6:57 tells us, “he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”

This is not some grotesque literal eating of Jesus, but a spiritual eating. In John 6:48, Jesus calls Himself the “bread of life,” in verse 51, “the living bread.” He is also known as the “Word of God” in John 1:1. The Word of God, then, is the Bible that contains His spoken words while on Earth, as well as Holy Spirit inspired words throughout 1500 years of Jewish history (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is the “bread” upon which we are to feast. Without it, we can not have life (John 6:53).

The Son was in close connection with His Father and it was through this close union that the Father was able to work through Jesus. Jesus was completely dependent upon His Father in all things. The miracles, the healings and the teachings were all through the Father. Jesus became totally human, dependent upon the Father for His strength.

This principle of union with the Father applies to us because we are to connect as closely with Jesus as Christ did with His Father. John 15:1-8 talks about Jesus as the true vine and each of us being a branch in Christ bearing fruit. Jesus tells us this:

Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing...If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples (John 15:4-5, 7-8).

An apple tree bears fruit because it is an apple tree, never to become one. The same is true in the Christian life. A Christian does good because he is a Christian, never to become one or to get any reward. If we abide in Christ then Christ lives within us.

Sinful men can become righteous only as they have faith in God and maintain a vital connection with Him (Desire of Ages, 309).

Just as Jesus was surrendered to the Father, so are we to be surrendered to Jesus.

How did Jesus maintain a vital connection with the Father? Mark 1:35 tells us that He got up early and prayed every day. And He did not pray selfish prayers but prayers that always put God's will first (Matthew 26:39; John 6:38). He was always asking “What would You have Me do?” and asking for strength to fulfill God’s will.

The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow (Desire of Ages, 300).

What a difference this is from the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola, Robert Schuller, and others in the new spiritual formation movement, which focuses the attention on us, our abilities to redeem ourselves, and even our ability to become gods.

What does Scripture say about how to pray? Read Practical Prayer Principles to find out.