Matthew 23
Reading for February 6

Jesus is standing up against the religious leaders and basically telling them they have it all wrong. Not the message of the scriptures – that was right, but how to go about using God’s word in their everyday lives. The rules had become more important than the Ruler. They used God’s Word for their own benefit.

So Jesus unleashes seven “woes” on the religious leaders.

1.    (13) shutting people out of the kingdom of heaven

2.    (15) converting people away from God to be like them or worse

3.    (16-22) blindly leading people down the wrong path by encouraging them to follow man-made traditions instead of God’s word

4.    (23, 24) paying too much attention to what is trivial, while ignoring the real issues, like justice, mercy, and faithfulness

5.    (25, 26) looking good on the outside, while rotting on the inside

6.    (27, 28) acting holy while actually covering up sin

7.    (29-36) pretending to remember their history in order to not repeat it (for example, killing the prophets) yet Jesus knows they are no different, for soon they will be killing him and his followers

Jesus concludes this chapter with such a heartfelt cry for the people of Jerusalem. If only they would understand, if only they would turn to Him and the truth. Even after all they have done to prevent Him from spreading His message, and even knowing they are plotting to kill Him, Jesus still loves and wants them to come to Him. Such love. It’s hard to imagine, but this love is still available today, no matter what we have done in the past, no matter how far we have wandered away, Jesus is still longing to gather us in His arms.

Side Note:

So you may be wondering what in the world are phylacteries. They are little leather boxes that contain Scripture verses that were worn on the forehead and the arm, making them look very religious. They did this in keeping with Deuteronomy 6:6-9 which say: ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” The problem was, they began to look more at the symbol and the status then at the messages contained in them. They didn’t care about being holy only looking holy.

Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who lived during his time on earth, but what about “Pharisees” who live today? Are they still here? Do we see them in leadership in the church? Looking good on the outside, but leading a life that is far from the holiness Jesus calls us to? My prayer for today is that when God looks upon us, He sees Jesus living in us.

 

Blessings

Pastor Kathy