NOTES for Mat 18:11
Traditional messianic ideas of the Gospel era presupposed fairly strict requirements placed on those seeking the messianic Kingdom. It was supposed that only the righteous would receive the right to enter there. And the Messiah Himself, of course, would choose for His closest circle only the righteous. There could be no place for sinners around Him. At the same time it was taken for granted that such righteous people existed. This is not surprising: righteousness in this case was understood in an exclusively religious context, as conformity to the norms and requirements accepted in the religious community, above all the requirements of ritual purity. Ritual purity, of course, also presupposed abstaining from sin. But everyone understood that there are no perfect people in the world.
Abstaining from sin presupposed observing the commandments given by God as far as this is possible for fallen man. But here too the measure of righteousness was different: some tried to fulfill everything scrupulously, not missing a single small thing in the numerous moral and ritual prescriptions, while others limited themselves to the minimum. Those who fulfilled, as it appeared to them, everything exactly, looked down on the rest, being sure that to them, the righteous, the Kingdom was guaranteed.
But God, and the Messiah sent by Him, see the situation completely differently. For God there is no difference between "great" and "small," "full" and "incomplete" righteousness. Righteousness is not a property of a person, but his state. And this state is determined by God, not by man. It is God's action that makes a righteous person righteous, not his own efforts. Of course, much is required from a person in this case too, but righteousness is still possible for a person only as God's gift. Therefore the Messiah comes into the world first of all as Savior, not as Judge. Of course, His very appearance in the world is already judgment.
Some accept Him, others reject Him. This acceptance or rejection determines a person's destiny in eternity. But God does not want anyone's destruction. He sends His Son into the world not in order to condemn as many sinners as possible, but so that as many people as possible may be saved from the evil in which the world lies and enter the Kingdom. There are no sinless people, and it makes no sense for fallen people to measure themselves against one another by a righteousness that does not belong to them.
All the more since neither God nor the Savior sent by Him is impressed by this righteousness anyway. Just as the Messiah is not shocked by the sinfulness of fallen man: He knows what kind of world He has come into and with what kind of people He will have to deal. But He came not to judge these people, but to save them. The Kingdom is for all who seek, not for the righteous alone. For the sake of the Kingdom even the most notorious sinner can set out on the path of righteousness. But righteousness that does not have the Kingdom in view is a spiritual dead end. A path leading nowhere.