Something to think about as you start a new week

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. Matthew 23:27

What does this mean?
Dead bodies were unclean.
If a Jew came in contact with a dead body
He was unclean for seven days.

This was a big deal.
God required purity from His people.
Moral and ceremonial.

This set them apart.
It reminded them that sin causes separation.
It underscored their need for God’s grace.

Every spring, houses and walls were whitewashed.
But especially tombs
This was to make them easy to see.

That way someone didn’t accidentally
Come in contact with them
And become unclean through carelessness.

Jesus says the Pharisees are whitewashed tombs
They should be warning people to stay away.
Everyone they came in contact with was defiled.

Do we influence those around us to godliness or compromise?
Do we challenge those we come in contact with to be more like Christ or culture?
Do we model Christ or our own standard in the situations we face?

God is holy and calls us to be holy.
What difference would it have made if the Pharisees,
The whitewashed tombs,
Spent as much effort
Cultivating genuine holiness as they did
Covering their unholiness?

Are we cultivating or covering?

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. Matthew 23:25

This is the very definition of hypocrite.
When your outward person
Doesn’t match your inner character.

The Pharisees meticulously cultivated and maintained
Their image of piety, devotion, and righteousness.
They were the standard of saintliness.

Jesus said
Being correct is not the same thing as being clean.
Clean begins on the inside.
The appearance of clean matters far less that being clean.

None of us would drink from a filthy cup
Even if the outside was so clean it shined.

We wouldn’t want a pastor or teacher
Who was a secret reprobate
No matter how good the Sunday teaching was.

Do we ever ignore our own inner filth?
Do we protect our image our reputation at all costs?
Do we use others to promote our own interests?

For the religious leaders
Appearance was reality.

For followers of Christ
Reality in revealed by His word.

Are we a dirty cup or a vessel of honor (2 Timothy 2:21)?

“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. Matthew 23:23

What was the problem?
The Law required a tithe of agricultural produce.
The Pharisees counted the leaves of their herbs
And took a tenth of them to the Temple.

Faithfulness to the Law
Had been replaced by obsession.
Obsession leaves little time for important things.

Jesus said,
The weightier matter of the Law
Justice, mercy, faithfulness
Should not be neglected.

Proper relationships with each other
Proper reverence toward God
These are the foundational purposes of the Law

Keep these first.
Keep these most faithfully.
Keep these most fervently.

Do we ever focus on things that don’t have much eternal weight?
Do we believe God is most pleased with our attention to detail?
Have we missed the big picture?

Justice is distributed based on need.
Mercy is freely exercised to those in need.
Faithfulness to God includes being trustworthy, dependable, steadfast and dedicated.

The bottom line, the Pharisees dedicated their herbs to God but not themselves.
What about us?
These are the weightier matters.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ Matthew 23:16

What is a blind guide?
Someone whose directions and counsel can’t be trusted.
Someone who cannot be counted on to get you to your destination.
Someone who is unaware of their deficiencies.

The Pharisees loved to debate minutiae of the Law.
This is allowed. This is not.
They thrived on technicalities that only they could rule on.

People made promises then swore by something to strengthen their promise.
The blind guides ruled if you swear by the temple, you were not obligated to fulfill your vow.
But if you swear by the GOLD in the temple, that was binding.

Jesus says,
The distinctions make no sense.
Mean what you say.
Keep your word.

Easy enough.

Do we ever pride ourselves on our knowledge of (and obedience to) minutiae?
Do we ever overpromise and then try to weasel our way out of an obligation?
Are we known as people whose word is their bond?

Can we be good examples or are we blind guides?