[Salvation]

The “righteous” were pious Jews who carefully followed a body of law, some 613 precepts, which regulated not only moral life, but also a great deal of daily life.

[TBP]

http://www.spiritualworld.org/science/sin.htm

“Dr. Holmes always believed that a sin was a missing of the mark, which was the actual Anglo-Saxon meaning, used in archery when an arrow missed its target. Dr. Holmes stated, ‘There is no sin, but there is a mistake; and there is no punishment, but a consequence.’”

“And these consequences are given from out of this one universal love, which guides and teaches us through our mistakes?” I questioned.

“Dr. Holmes said, ‘God neither punishes nor rewards. Life is a blessing or a curse according to the use we make of it. We believe in a law that governs all things and all people. If we make mistakes, we suffer.”’

[Salvation]

Ping to Msgr. Pope’s OSV column!

[annalex]

There are two more explanations, in addition to the two Msgr. Pope proposes.

3. The terms are used in a relative sense, not in absolute sense. “To the extent that someone is righteous, I am not calling him to repentance; but to the extent that someone is sinful, I do”.

4. Jesus points out logical inconsistency in the question He is answering. “I call people for repentance, therefore I am with those who need repentance”. The “righteous” here is a hypothetical category of people, not an actual one.