Jesus does not ask for a slightly improved version of external religion. He says entry into the kingdom requires a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, and the verses that follow show him pressing to the heart.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 presents trust as a posture that always has an object, and the object determines what a life becomes. Hope is real when it rests on the God who speaks and acts, not on the strength of flesh.