Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

When Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody He withdrew to Capernaum which fulfilled scripture, "'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a Light dawned.' From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 4:15-17).

As Jesus walked this earth, great multitudes of people, for the most part, the unlearned, the poor the sick, those in need of spiritual uplifting, the ones who were in the dark and near spiritual death, gathered around Him as he spoke the good news to mankind with power and love and He demonstrated His deity by healing the lame, the blind, the sick, and cast out the demon's who possessed (Matthew 9:8-33) and spoke with great authority before the religious rulers when they questioned who He taught, "And when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that HE was eating with the sinners and tax-gatherers, they began to say to His disciples, 'Why is He eating and drinking with tax-gatherers and sinners?' And hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" (Mark 2:16-17).

That brings us to our question, "Why compare the multitudes righteousness?". When the multitudes saw Jesus perform the many miracles before them, many concluded that at the very least, He was a great prophet, but many believed that this was the very One they had waited as did their forefathers for the coming of the Messiah, "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'' But He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore, some of the multitude, when they heard these words, were saying, 'This is certainly the Prophet.' Others were saying, 'This is the Christ.' Still others were saying, 'Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?' 'Has not the scriptures said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him." (John 7:37-43).

While the Jewish leaders, for the most part, were full of envy and hatred, and looked for a way to destroy Him as Jesus told them, "'Did you never read in the scriptures, 'The Stone which the builders rejected, this became the Chief Corner Stone; This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever It falls, It will scatter him like dust.' And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. And when they sought to seize Him, they feared the multitudes, because they held Him to be a prophet." (Matthew 21:42-46). After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some of the Jewish leaders believed, "Many of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation." (John 11:45-48).

So then, for the answer to our question we turn and read, as Jesus tells the multitudes gathered before Him, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets; I came not to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20). So there we have the answer to our question, as the comparison is made so that the multitudes might know that their righteousness must surpass the very ones they looked up to for religious and spiritual guidance. The students must surpass their teachers for heaven!

We may find ourselves comparing to man's expectations-and find ourselves short of it- when we must set our sight on Gods for a home in heaven, "Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard." (Hebrews 4:1-2).