Day 302 – Jesus’ Message on Religion

• Wow! I wonder if today’s passage in Matthew 23 floored you like it did to me. What a contrast to yesterday’s patient answers to the answers of the religious leaders. Today, Jesus gave them both barrels. They must have been wondering what hit them!
• Why do you think Matthew chose to include Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees in his book?
• In the first three verses, Jesus initially promoted the position of “teacher” (or “rabbi”) as one that should command respect. Why did He do this before going on to attack them?
• In what ways did Jesus criticise the Pharisees? Consider verses 4, 5-7, 12, 13-14, 16, 23, 25-27 and 35. This will take time, so take that time. Make sure you think about the different ways in which Jesus dismantled the proud hypocrisy of the religious leaders. Write down some of your thoughts in your journal.
• The Pharisees were in a position of high power, and therefore were capable, whether they realised it or not, of doing great damage with their actions. They knew the scriptures, but were blind to their hard-heartedness toward God, and were leading other people along the same dangerous path. To the people, the religious leaders appeared devoted to God and worthy of respect, but they were motivated by position, power and greed. Their hypocrisy disgusted Jesus.
• A good example to focus on would be Matthew 23:23, and the hyperbole in verse 24. How did the Pharisees observe the specifics of the Law (not a bad thing in itself) whilst acting in an unloving and hypocritical manner?
• James, in the wonderfully practical words of his book, built on these thought. What is his point?
• We can all be hypocrites, like the Pharisees, and today’s passage in Matthew might be unsettling. It should challenge you, but not worry you. Instead, challenge yourself to act like the character presented in today’s verse in Micah. How did he/she act?

Don’t make the mistake of cheering Jesus’ words against the Pharisees without considering whether they need to be said to you. Imagine Jesus was speaking these words in church to you. Look through the list of things Jesus charged the Pharisses with in Matthew 23. Do some apply to you?

Have you heard the phrase “practise what you preach”? It’s so important. We claim to know and love Christ – so we should do it, with out whole hearts.

Today’s passage warns us about being a sham Christian! Don’t think you’re alone if you felt challenged today – we all will, every single person reading these notes. The message is clear – don’t do all the “stuff” of Christianity without having Christ at the centre of it. Spend some time in prayer today about this if you need to.