Matthew 23:13–17 (ESV) — 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. 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 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?
NOTE: Matthew lists seven woes that Jesus pronounces against the religious leaders of the day. The religious leaders were supposed to carrying the good news of the one true God to the world, but they themselves did not understand their own message nor did they help those searching for the truth. They were slaves to the wrong things, and they only added people to the hell they were living. Their teaching was hypocritical and focused on things that mattered to them (gold) as opposed to things that mattered to God (the temple because it represented his name).
PONDER:
- What are the things that are important to me?
- Are my important things, the things of God or the things for my enjoyment of life?
PRAYER: Father, help me to see where I live for myself and where I need to give up things to live for you. Yes, life can be enjoyed, but we don't worship this life.
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