Pharisaical righteousness not enough for the kingdom of heaven

In this sermon on the mount the Lord Jesus warns against merely having the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees.

The Pharisees as we noted last Lord's day evening were that company who kept themselves separate from the general populace of the people. This they did by professing to observe the oral law which they believed was handed down to them from Moses alongside the written law. Both to them were of equal importance.
The scribes would place value upon and regularly consult the oral law to explain the written law. Hence the scribes were more often than not among the Pharisees.

These scribes and Pharisees passionately believed themselves to be the children of the kingdom of God. After all they were the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and also the disciples of Moses.

They were convinced that with this pedigree and their own self righteousness they did not need any other entitlement to the kingdom of God. In their minds they had a better and more legitimate claim than anyone else.

However, the Lord Jesus set about dispelling this notion from their minds. The Saviour announces to all who were listening to him that day on the mountain side: except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. What an eye opener and a challenge this must have proved. As they are, He told them, they were shut out of the kingdom of heaven.

Last time we dwelt upon the nature of the kingdom of heaven. Its spiritual nature, its present now in the earth and its future dimension.

This evening we want to dwell upon the worthless righteousness of the Pharisee. What