“For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). What a shocking statement! Jesus Christ, in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, must have seemed to many of His listeners to be setting the bar extremely high! Righteousness exceeding the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? Was that even possible? Just how important is true godly righteousness to Almighty God? Did Jesus Christ emphasize its importance? Consider His exhortation later in this same message – the Sermon on the Mount – “…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).