PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 23:1-7
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Everything they do is done for people to see.” (Matthew 23:5)
Jesus loves all people, including religious people.
But Jesus also seems to ESPECIALLY challenge religious people.
I need to see myself in this group, as a long time ‘religious’ person.
To be religious is to be strongly committed to God and serving God.
We do things that religious people do: pray, attend church, live morally, etc.
And we do things for God, at least that is what we want people to think.
Here Jesus challenges the religious leaders on this.
They are not doing it for God, but for the adulation of people.
They are putting on a religious show, but God is not the audience.
Jesus is challenging me: why do I do the religious things I do?
What is my motivation, am I really committed to God and serving God?
Jesus is not condemning me, but He is gently challenging me.
Am I the same when I am alone, as when I am with others?
Am I more concerned about what others think, than about what God thinks?
Lord Jesus, You have set me free from my religious identity. Help me now to grow in my personal relationship with You and with God. I want a relationship, not a religion.