April 29, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 23:29-36
OBSERVATIONS
Jesus continues His rant against the religious leaders. Assuming that Jesus is good and fair, I accept His assessment of the religious leaders as good and fair; in others words, they must have been pretty bad.
“We wouldn’t have done what they did.” (v.30) Jesus refers to how God’s messengers were treated in the past; He suggests that these religious leaders who claim to honour God’s messengers are no different, they also refuse to listen to God’s messengers, and will oppose and even kill anyone who says things they do not want to hear.
Jesus knows that this is what they will do to Him, and to His followers.
He is exposing their selfish hearts, their religious pride, using their religious performance to look and feel better than others, though their hearts are far from God.
Jesus knows their hearts, their hypocrisy, and He warns them that they will be judged for it, unless they repent.
Jesus is using harsh language against religious leaders; interesting that He does not speak this way to tax collectors and prostitutes and other ‘sinners’. If Jesus were here today, who would He be the most harsh with?
APPLICATION
To be a good religious leader, our hearts must be open to God, humble enough to admit our weakness, not pompous or judgmental, a servant of all… these guys did not reflect this. Do I?
I am a religious leader, but what kind of religious leader am I?
Do I think of myself as better than the people around me who are not religious, who live ‘sinful’ lives, who do not measure up to (what I think are) God’s standards?
Think of someone who does bad things, or is guilty of something morally wrong, do you look at them and think to yourself, “I wouldn’t have done what they did”? Am I really different from other people? If I were in their place, if I had their experiences, if I faced what they faced, would I have acted differently?
But I go to church, I live my life for good causes, I try hard to be good…
If Jesus were here today, what would He say to me?
What do you notice in this passage?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, You know my heart, You know where I am sincere and where I am a pretender. Help me to be the kind of religious leader that You were. And help me to repent where I am not.
Observations:
The religious leaders were concerned with the outward appearance but their hearts were in the wrong place. Even if they had lived in the times of their ancestors, they would not have been different because of their inwardness, they would not have opposed the sins of former days but do the very acts of pomp and ceremony as of today – whitewashed graves.
Application:r
Sometimes I might think that if I lived during the time of Christ or during the time of the prophets, I would have listened and acted as God’s champion. What my true character is will be revealed no matter the time in which I live. Whatever are the issues of life – they come from the heart. And He must be the wind beneath my wings so that I can soar for Him, pleasing Him in all I do – at least striving to please Him. That is my prayer.
Prayer:
Help me this day Lord to live for You = Today God Is First – as He is every day.
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.