It could have been you on that cross. It should have been you. But like Barabbas released instead of Jesus, you were set free because the righteous one died in the place of the guilty.

Hidden pride rarely announces itself. It disguises itself as ambition, devotion, or simply having the better idea, quietly taking root in the soul until an honest moment brings it to light.

Jesus said your righteousness must exceed the Pharisees or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Reading this hard verse backwards reveals the grace hidden inside it.