Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20 is the twentieth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has reported that he came not to destroy the law, but fulfil it, but in this verse makes clear that the common understanding of the Law is not enough.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

For a collection of other versions see BibleRef Matthew 5:20

This verse closes the discussion of how strictly Christians must obey Mosaic law and introduces the next section where Jesus will show how the law as it was then followed was wrong. The Pharisees were the leading faction within Judaism at the time of Jesus, and are very poorly looked upon in the entire Gospel of Matthew. Schweizer notes that here Jesus does not doubt their righteousness, he just does not feel it is extensive enough. France notes that while in the previous verse those who relaxed the law were still admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven, those who take an overly legalistic approach to it are not admitted at all. The scribes were the recorders and interpreters of Mosaic law. Most of them were Pharisees, though not all, and not all Pharisees were scribes, though many were.

In Catholic Answers, Mark Brumley interprets this passage thus:

Kingdom of Heaven is one of the author of Matthew's favourite phrases. Gundry notes that "enter the kingdom of heaven" appears three other times in the Gospel, at Matthew 7:21, 18:3, and 13:13.

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