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Jesus condemned the religious leaders of His day. Matthew 23.1-39

Matthew 23: Warnings and Woes (7)

Pray Psalm 52.8, 9.
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Sing Psalm 52.8, 9.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
“But as for me may I be seen in God an olive ever green!
Ever in God, most kind and just, shall I with joy and gladness trust!”

Thanks evermore to our Savior be raised! His faithfulness be ever praised!
Here with Your people, loving God, I wait upon Your Name, so good!

Read and meditate on Matthew 23.1-39.

Prepare.
1. How did Jesus classify the religious leaders in this chapter?

2. Where did that leave the nation and people of God?

Meditate.
In Matthew 23, Jesus publicly and unflinchingly declared what all the people already knew but would not dare to speak: Their leaders were frauds – hypocrites, blind teachers, unreliable priests. Jesus waited throughout the entire course of His earthly ministry to unleash this torrent of criticism in the last days of His earthly sojourn. Why?

In just a few short days, the leaders would prove the truth of what Jesus declared in this chapter. True to their heritage, they would condemn and murder the Lord’s Messenger, His Son, the King of David’s kingdom. We cannot know what the impact of that treachery, combined with this teaching, might have been on the crowds who heard Jesus and witnessed His crucifixion. But we can certainly know what the impact of this teaching ought to be on us.

True faith begins on the inside, where we keep our souls clean through confession and repentance, and where the Word and Spirit of God work for our sanctification. Christian faith is not a patch-on religion. It is a religion of the whole person, beginning from within, where in heart, mind, and conscience we are devoted to Jesus; then issuing in good works of love for God and our neighbors.

The scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and lawyers of Israel knew nothing of such faith. Everything was about outward appearances, to effect outward deference, respect, and obedience on the part of the people. Did the crucifixion of Jesus serve to prove His assessment? And did seeing the way these leaders conspired to murder Jesus provoke and prepare the hearts of the multitude who came to faith in Him on the first Christian Pentecost (Acts 2)?

We can’t know. But the lesson for us is clear: Guard against merely outward appearances! Love, serve, and follow Jesus from the inside-out, and we will know the reality of full and abundant life in Him.

Reflect.
1. Why is hypocrisy so abhorrent to Jesus?

2. What are the keys to keeping from a life of mere outward appearances?

3. How should believers help one another to keep from hypocrisy?

Tell me, hypocrite, if it is so good to be good, why do you not strive to be truly what you only appear to be? And if it is so bad to be evil, then why do you allow yourself to be in truth what you would never want to appear to be? What appears to be ugly is even uglier in truth, but what is beautiful in appearance is much more beautiful in reality. Therefore either be what you appear to be or appear to be what you are. Anonymous, Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 45

Keep me from all hypocrisy, Lord, and help me always to…

Pray Psalm 52.1-7.
Pray that the Lord will be your strength throughout this day. Wait on Him to show you any sin in your life, then confess and repent accordingly.

Sing Psalm 52.1-7.
Psalm 52.1-7 (Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Why do the mighty boast in sin? God’s love endures, it knows no end!
They with their tongues vain boasts repeat, and like a razor, work deceit.

Men more than good in evil delight, and lies prefer to what is right.
They utter words, both harsh and strong, with their devouring, deceitful tongue.

God will forever break them down, uproot, and cast them to the ground!
He from their safety tears them away, no more to know the light of day.

The righteous see and laugh and fear, and say, “Behold, what have we here?
Such are all who at God conspire, and wealth and evil ways desire.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from
The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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