The Exceeding Kingdom Qualifying Righteousness That Takes Us from Passover to Tabernacles-Part 1

One of the many things about Passover (aka Pesach) and the Days of Unleavened Bread (aka Chag HaMatzah) that we must be mindful of as we progress through the Biblical Calendar Year is that these Feasts, which are embedded in the Creator’s Calendar, are emblematic of “mile-markers” or “sign-posts” (if you will) along a rocky, difficult and narrow pathway that begins with our leaving Babylon (I.e., Egypt; the world) and on to the Kingdom of Yah.

So, if Passover and the Days Unleavened Bread serves as a starting point for this fantastic, grand life journey that the Creator has called each of us to, then the Feast of Tabernacles (aka Sukkot) would represent our ultimate goal and destination that we all aspire to, which is the Kingdom of Yah.

I would dare say that the Feast of Tabernacles is just about everyone’s favorite Feast. Why? Because Tabernacles is fun. Everything about it is fun. It’s a happy time. And it tends to be the highlight of every true believer’s biblical calendar year. And it should be because Father designed it to be. It’s a joyous celebration.

Beloved, there’s no shame in admitting that we love Sukkot/Tabernacles more than we love Passover/Unleavened Bread.

Why? Because Pesach and the Days of Unleavened Bread is generally a somber time, with only glimmers of joy and hope sprinkled throughout the week. We’re encouraged to reflect on our sins and the sacrifice of our Master Yeshua Messiah to address those sins. We’re led to reflect on the solemness of the bread and wine ceremony and the story of the difficult exodus of Yah’s people out of Egypt. So, reflectively, these are not what we would call fun and happy days.

Consequently, we solemnly and meditatively enter Pesach and the Days of Unleavened Bread (emblematic of our redemption, the atonement, and the challenging sanctification process we all must go through in our respective walks with Messiah) with an anticipatory, yet excited eye towards Sukkot (emblematic of our receiving and being and reigning with our Master Yeshua Messiah in the Kingdom of Yah for a 1,000-years).

But it is that process of getting to Sukkot that proves to be challenging for the would-be child of the Most High: This getting from—this passing through Pesach to Sukkot. And so, we go through these set-apart days with Sukkot (the Kingdom) in our sights, and minds. And so, in essence, it becomes that Sukkot becomes the joy of our Pesach/Days of Unleavened Bread observances each year.

The blessing of Pesach and Days of Unleavened Bread is that it reminds us of the narrow gate and extremely difficult road ahead of us as we journey towards the Kingdom. For these days show us that we must meet certain criteria–certain standards if we are to make it into the Kingdom.

And one of the most critical standards or criteria that each of us must meet to receive Father’s Kingdom is that of operating in (walking in; living in) “righteousness.”

Now, we discussed what Righteousness is in several TMTO postings. But I would humbly direct you to our post entitled “The Righteousness of God Revealed from Faith-to-Faith: It’s True Meaning and Reality for God’s People” for a more detailed discussion on the topic of righteousness, especially if you’ve not had the opportunity to read or listen to that post.

Nevertheless, regarding righteousness, our Master Yeshua told His disciples that if they had any thought of entering the Kingdom of Heaven, their righteousness had to exceed/surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees. Master told His inner core Prushim/Disciples:

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. (Mat 5:17-20 ESV)

Knowing that the Scribes and Pharisees had less than a stellar spiritual reputation back in Yeshua’s day, one must ask what Yeshua could have possibly meant by such an outrageous pronouncement?

Attention:

The natural inclination would be to think that our Master was being melodramatic in making this pronouncement. That He was exercising hyperbole; over the top talk that was designed to jar His disciples into straightening up and flying right. Into being good little disciples. And so, in essence, He didn’t really mean what He was saying outright to them concerning the realities associated with their righteousness.

But what if that which Yeshua was saying here is NOT hyperbole? Not dramatics. Not superfluous talk. But rather, that He was expressing a very real concern about His disciples making it into the Kingdom—getting from Pesach to Sukkot? And so, what are we to make of this rather shocking pronouncement?

Satisfaction

If we truly hold to that adage and belief that our Master was in every sense of the phrase, the “walking-talking Word of Yah/Torah in human form,” then Yeshua’s understanding of the righteousness that was necessary for one to enter the Kingdom—to transition from Pesach to Tabernacles–would be the same as that of His Father.

Visualization:

Let’s Define What Kingdom Qualifying Righteousness Is

The Greek understanding of “righteousness” (in the context of Matthew 5:20) carries an overall meaning of one being found or existing in an acceptable position with the Creator; being in right standing with Yah; being approved of Yah. Which, in a broad sense, naturally appeals to most denominationalist. For this definition tends towards upholding and fostering a “lawless” life that consists solely of the Creator’s imputed righteousness that comes as a result of his or her simply reciting the sinner’s prayer and having some semblance of faith in the cross of Jesus Christ.

But is this the exceeding righteousness that Yeshua is addressing here in Matthew 5:20? Because quite frankly, that’s what millions of folks around the world recognize righteousness as.

As sound as the Greek definition for righteousness may be, it is absent Father’s more substantive understanding of the word and does not define completely the righteousness that the Child of Yah must possess and operate in if they are to make it to Sukkot (aka the Kingdom).

The Hebrew word for our English term righteousness is “tsed-aw-kaw,” the root of which is “tzad-deek.” And the meaning that we draw from “tzed-aw-kaw” and “tzad-deek” is that of one who walks a straight path. The word points to one whose walk is straight; that has no bends or curves to it; that is true and without flaw.

So, if we apply the Hebraic understanding of “righteousness” to Matthew 5:20, we are forced to recognize, not just that form of Godliness, or rather righteousness that is given to the one who answers the call to come out of Egypt/Babylon (aka Pesach our starting point leading us to Sukkot); that righteousness that is ignited because one believes–one trusts Yah—Father’s imputed righteousness, but also that righteousness that flows from walking and operating in the Creator’s ways. We’re talking about uncompromising obedience to Father’s Word–His Torah–His instructions in righteousness.

Therefore, it stands to reason that those righteous garments that one receives as a result of their repentance, confessing unto Father their sins, and trusting faith in the Person and Ministry of Yeshua to take them out of Babylon–out of Egypt—out of the world; to begin that long, difficult, narrow-gate and rocky path journey from Pesach to Tabernacles; well, that righteousness compels him or her keep those garments of righteousness spotless by operating–living–walking in a life of obedience. In other words, to walk, as the Prophet Jeremiah prophesied, “by the rivers of waters in a straight way where we will not stumble” (Jeremiah 31:9).

So then, what was Yeshua’s issue with the Scribes and Pharisees in terms of the righteousness they possessed? Clearly, they didn’t believe Him and the things He taught. Beyond these things, Yeshua in fact referred to them as hypocrites; blind guides; a brood of vipers.

So, what righteousness did the scribes and pharisees possess that was worth mentioning by Yeshua?

Yeshua recognized that His nemeses, the Scribes and Pharisees, walked in an exceptional degree or level of righteousness that few in His day could ever match. Turns out that the Scribes and Pharisees lived quite disciplined lifestyles, despite many of them being hypocrites, blind and outright jerks. Regardless, they lived extremely disciplined lives. They DID in fact possess a righteousness. But it was a FORM of righteousness. Obviously not the type of Exceedingly Qualifying Kingdom Righteousness that Yahoshua requires of His disciples.

Yeshua talked about scribes and pharisees being so meticulous in walking out their religion which they described as a fence around Torah:

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.  ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! ²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. ²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. (Mat 23:23-31 ESV)

The Scribes (“grammateus” in the Greek and “sopherim” in the Hebrew) were precursors to what we would refer to today as the so-called Jewish sages. The “wise ones.” These folks were the “teachers of Torah.” They were the teachers and expositors of the Law. Luke referred to them as “doctors of the law” (Luke 5:17; Acts 5:34). The Prophet Ezra was a Scribe, albeit not corrupted as those in Yeshua’s day (Ezra 7:6; Nehemiah 8:1). But the job of the scribe was to interpret the Law/Torah and serve as officers of the Court or in Yeshua’s day, the Sanhedrin. They were the smartest kids in class, so to speak. If you had a question about anything related to how one was supposed to walk-out their religion, these were the guys you went to for the answers.

The Pharisees on the other hand were sort of religious politicians in addition to Torah scholars. They were birthed of the Hasmoneans. The Hasmoneans being of the Maccabees fame. These were the ones who were known for their meticulous practicing of Torah that was generally filtered through their personal sensitivities and preferences. And their obedience to Yah’s Torah often proved to be lopsided in that they essentially “majored on the minors” and “minored on the majors” (Matthew 23:23).

The Apostle Paul was a notable Pharisee, who described himself as a zealous “pharisee of pharisees” who persecuted the Body of Messiah (Philippians 3:5-6).

Nevertheless, Yeshua held these folks responsible for teaching and modeling Torah to the people. To Him and His Father, their righteousness should have been the example that the people would aspire to; would imitate. But it turns out that these folks, despite their diligence, zeal, and meticulousness in expounding and keeping the parts of the Law that worked best for them (e.g., Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42)—picking and choosing what laws to keep–most of them, were hypocrites and corrupt. They basically did not practice what they preached.

The problem as it related to the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees as Yeshua saw it was that their disciplined lives were made up and prescribed by them, not by Abba Father. They set the rules, traditions, and laws for their way of life—their Faith, that they essentially forced upon the people. Not unlike that which the “church triumphant” has done throughout the centuries. And it was THEIR righteousness that they doubled-down upon and pushed upon the people. Consequently, they did not double-down upon the life that God originally prescribed for His people to walk in. And woe to any who would challenge them and their authority and their way of life. And Yeshua would end up paying the price for doing that very thing.

These were blinded by the dull brilliance of their religion that stripped away the authority, power, and sovereignty of Yah’s instructions in righteousness.

Paul described this human condition which would be the hallmark of the peoples of this world in the latter days:

² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. ⁶ For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷ always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.  ⁹ But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. ¹⁰ You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹ my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra– which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. (2Ti 3:2-11 ESV)

The scribes and pharisees effectively replaced Yah’s righteousness with a righteousness they themselves imagined and enforced. Unfortunately, their righteousness was devoid–missing the essential elements of Yah’s/Father’s heart, which consisted of love, true justice, and mercy in each of His children’s walk. Their religious traditions, laws, and rules prevented them and their followers from living righteous lives that would take them from Pesach to Sukkot-the Kingdom.

As in Yeshua’s day, many of God’s set-apart people look to their religious leaders and religious institutions to inform them–to describe to them–to model for them the righteousness that would get them into the Kingdom; that would essentially take them from Pesach to Sukkot. But sadly, that exceeding kingdom qualifying righteousness will not be found in these entities. It is to be found only in the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah.

Action:

In my next post, I will describe/define for you those very elements of righteousness that WILL take us from Pesach to Sukkot (aka the Kingdom of Yah).