Read: Matthew 5: 17-20

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Reflect:
When we think of the term “self-actualization”, many of us think of the point when a person reaches his/her full potential. How would you rate your progress?

When Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Old Testament, He spoke of both the literal fulfillment of prophecy and the fulfillment of salvation promised by His death and resurrection.

Over time the religious leaders had developed a list of more than 600 rules governing the lives of the people, and this form of legalism overshadowed the Truth of Scripture.

In contrast, Jesus said that we should “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37-40)

Respond:

Exceeding the righteousness of the religious is the same today.  Do our lives proclaim a love for God above all others?  Are we unselfishly loving our neighbors?