How did the Jews refuse to submit to God’s righteousness?

Throughout all four of the Gospels an intense struggle of Jesus with the people of Israel is described in great detail. During the course of that struggle, the people positioned themselves against him on the issue of the sabbath law, the authority of Moses, the right of the fathers, etc. That which was originally good actually now became their justification to withdraw themselves from Jesus. Thereby, in the light of their denial of Jesus, the righteousness of the law became their own righteousness as opposed to the righteousness of Jesus. When they condemned him in the name of the law in this fashion, the law became the justification for their choice against Jesus. The righteousness of the law was thereby employed as opposition to the righteousness of God in Jesus and thereby this righteousness of the law was distorted from being a path to the Messiah and transformed into a bulwark for their own righteousness over against that of the Messiah.

The Jews opposed God’s righteousness as revealed in Jesus. In the Greek original this is articulated particularly strongly, and can be translated as follows: They refused to subject themselves to God’s righteousness. This concerned much more than merely a want of trust and surrender; it was about a complete rejection of God’s gift of grace as such. The Jews crucified Jesus and they cast out his apostles!¹