Matthew 23:29–32 (ESV) — 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.
NOTE: This is a difficult passage to understand since they admit to being the sons of those who murdered the prophets but also say that they would have done differently -- what is wrong with that? Well, for one, someone much greater than the prophets was standing before them. They have already called him Beelzebub / Satan, and they were planning to murder him as well. Verse 32 seems to suggest that Jesus is saying, go ahead and do it, and by so doing add to your family's tree, the sin of rejecting the Messiah. Paul's letter echoes a similar thought (Blomberg, 1992):
1 Thessalonians 2:16 (ESV) — 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
There is a coming judgment on a world of religious people for not recognizing the time of Jesus' calling. For those in America, there is no excuse, the gospel has been clearly shared. They have chosen to remain blinded by Satan, and accept a worldview that defies logic. They think they are being scientific, but they are believing in a system that has no proof.
PONDER:
- There is no playing games anymore -- do I believe God and his word or not? What false truths am I hiding behind? What is holding me back?
PRAYER: Father, open the minds of those in the world who have chosen to believe in a lie (atheism, spirituality without God, science without God, religion based on activities, etc). Help them to see before it is too late.
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