In Matthew 13, Jesus tells this very brief but revealing parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Christianity inherited a Jewish worldview which divided history into two ages. During the present age, the world was corrupted by evil. But there would be a coming age when God would destroy evil and establish his kingdom over all creation. His reign would usher in a time of eternal joy, peace and abundance.
But who would be found worthy to share in the life of this coming age? Jesus’ story makes it very clear. At the last judgment, God will condemn the wicked and vindicate the righteous.
This little parable is wholly consistent with other Biblical texts which describe the last judgment, including Jesus’ well-known story about the sheep & the goats in Matthew 25. The Lord explicitly identified the sheep as “the righteous” who will be granted eternal life. The goats are the wicked, those who callously refused to care for their fellow man. These are consigned to eternal punishment.
Many scriptures confirm that all people will ultimately be judged based upon their deeds. This is true of the great white throne vision in Revelation 20:11-15 and Paul’s extended discussion of the final judgment in Romans 2:5-11. These key NT passages directly quote Proverbs 24:12 & Psalm 62:12 which both state, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”
Numerous additional examples could be cited. Here are just a few:
John 5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”
Matthew 12:48-50 “[Jesus] replied to him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'”
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
These passages make it abundantly clear that at the last judgment, those who have done what is right in God’s eyes (the righteous) will be vindicated & welcomed into his eternal kingdom. Given the sheer amount of scripture which affirms this reality, you wouldn’t think it would be very controversial, especially among Christians who proudly proclaim their commitment to authority of the Bible.
Yet the sad truth is that most evangelical teaching and preaching utterly rejects this principle. Evangelicals frequently claim that no human being can possibly be righteous. We must instead cast ourselves upon the mercy of God. Through faith, we can be credited with the righteousness of God/Jesus. Many Christians use the term imputation to describe this transaction. Imputation simply means to attribute or ascribe a quality to someone.
Most evangelicals embrace the doctrine of double imputation: the idea that, for those who place their faith in Jesus, a wonderous exchange takes place. The first imputation involves Jesus taking our sin upon himself. When our Lord went to the cross, he bore the sins of the world. The cross was the ultimate display of God’s justice – his righteous condemnation of human wickedness & rebellion. God’s wrath was poured out upon Jesus so that we might not be condemned. We are forgiven because Jesus took the punishment that we deserved.
This understanding indeed finds strong scriptural support. Consider the famous words about the suffering servant in Isaiah 53: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53 obviously made a huge contribution to the early Christian understanding of Jesus’ identity and task. This magnificent passage was frequently quoted by the authors of the New Testament. For example, the Apostle Peter wrote, “”He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (I Peter 2:24-25)
The second imputation involves Christians being credited with Jesus’ righteousness. But what exactly is “the righteousness of Christ”? This notion is often misunderstood and mischaracterized.
It’s often stated that Jesus perfectly obeyed the law. By doing so, he acquired a righteous status which is then bestowed upon those who have “faith” in him. It must be said that this particular formulation is deeply mistaken. It cements the Torah as the ultimate and enduring standard of right & wrong. According to this view, Jesus submits himself to the authority of the law, and because of his obedience, is judged by the Torah as righteous.
This theory gets things exactly backwards. The Torah is not the standard to which Jesus must strive to attain. The scriptures insist that Jesus himself is the ultimate standard. He is the true Israelite, the genuine human being who perfectly reflects the image of God. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “[Jesus] is the image of God, the invisible one…For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” King Jesus embodies all that is good & right in our world. The Torah was merely a temporary signpost pointing forward to the Messiah.
We can, therefore, set aside the notion that Jesus was righteous by virtue of keeping Torah. However, Jesus is certainly righteous in the sense that he fully reveals the character of God himself. God’s love, justice, wisdom, compassion – even God’s anger & wrath: all these qualities came to perfect expression in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The theme of the righteous Messiah stretches back deep into the Old Testament. From the prophet Jeremiah: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.'” (Jeremiah 23:5) Of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, it is foretold, “The righteous one, my servant, will make many righteous, and he will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11b)
This language carries into the New Testament. In Acts 22, Paul tells the story of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road. God sent Ananias to restore Paul’s sight. Ananias announced to Paul: “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One (Greek Dikaion) and to hear words from his mouth.”
The book of Acts also describes how Stephen (the first Christian martyr) stood in judgment before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. Stephen boldly confronted the Jews, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One (Greek Dikaiou). And now you have betrayed and murdered him.”
Thus, it’s thoroughly Biblical to regard Jesus as the truly righteous one. And indeed, his righteousness does become ours. But this leaves key questions. Exactly how does the righteousness of the Messiah come to his people? And how does that result in our salvation?
