March 29, 2010

You Talkin' to me?

Matthew 23:13-36

Ann Piper
Monday's Devo

March 29, 2010

Monday's Devo

March 29, 2010

Central Truth

Faith in Christ is not about performance and behavior modification. Full devotion to our Savior and true application of Scripture must transform us—inside and out.

Key Verse | Matthew 23:23, 25

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. . . . For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence." (Matthew 23:23, 25b)

Matthew 23:13-36

13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 1 23:13 Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell 2 23:15 Greek Gehenna; also verse 33 as yourselves.

16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, 3 23:35 Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Footnotes

[1] 23:13 Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation
[2] 23:15 Greek Gehenna; also verse 33
[3] 23:35 Some manuscripts omit the son of Barachiah

Dive Deeper | Matthew 23:13-36

It's easy to read this passage and think Jesus is talking to someone else. Throughout the book of Matthew Jesus speaks boldly against the Pharisees, legalistic religious leaders who rigorously kept a set of man-made rules (Matthew 15:8-16) to gain God's favor. The Pharisees had such a close eye on "the law" (23:24), they missed the truth of God's Word and the Messiah standing right in front of them. They observed their religious traditions while breaking God's commandments (Matthew 15:1-6). Although they took confidence in their religious acts, they were "full of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (23:28), and their hearts were far from God (Matthew 15:8). They were blind to "the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness" (23:23), and their hypocrisy misled others (23:15).

I thought this passage was about someone else until God used a dramatic turn in my life to point out the Pharisee in me. When our youngest son was diagnosed with autism, I had a crisis of faith—questioning why God would allow this challenge in my life when I'd tried to serve Him faithfully. Now, I see that I'd embraced the prosperity gospel that's prevalent in our culture today. I was so busy doing things "for God" that I couldn't see that I had cherry-picked Scripture that was easy to embrace (Jeremiah 29:11) and failed to apply truths that were uncomfortable (John 16:33, Job 2:9-11). I hadn't thoroughly studied the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15, Colossians 3:16), so I failed to understand God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and was influenced by the "religious" culture around me. Sound familiar?

God used my crisis of faith to demonstrate how empty my performance-oriented, "check-the-box" faith was. He gave me a thirst for Scripture so I could distinguish lies (i.e., faith will yield financial blessing) from the truth (Mark 8:34-38 and James 1:5-8). I finally gave up control so God could search my heart (Psalm 139:23-24) and align my life with His priorities (Micah 6:6-8) rather than mine. Have you ever asked God to point out the Pharisee in you?

Discussion Questions

1. How have man-made rules and the traditions of our culture influenced your faith?

2. Are you taking confidence in your own performance and "following the rules" rather than in the free gift of God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)?

3. Where in your life are you neglecting "the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23)?

4. Ask the Lord to show you where you're "honoring God with your lips" rather than your actions (Matthew 15:8-9).

5. How long has it been since you asked God to examine you and see if there is an "idolatrous tendency" in you (Psalm 139:24, NET)?

FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 

1. Why was Jesus angry with the Pharisees (verses 25, 27, 28)? 

2. What were the Pharisees more concerned about (verse 28)? 

3. What is Jesus most concerned about? How can you learn more about what Jesus is concerned about?