Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 8

It is a blessing to work in a congregation where there is always something good going on. There is a sense of purpose and excitement in the air when God’s people work together for the greater good, but it can wreak havoc on your writing schedule. I once again apologize for my delay in writing this article looking at the seven woes in Matthew 23. I hope that those of you who were on this journey with me are still along for the ride, let’s dive in!

Matthew 23:29-32

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

Jesus is continuing to speak to the Pharisees and teachers of the law regarding their conduct and their lack of consistency. In verse 29 where Jesus speaks to them about building and decorating tombs and his meaning is probably different than you might think. The idea being conveyed here is the fact that they had refurbished or rebuilt the tombs of the prophets because they had fallen into some disrepair. These actions would not have been wrong, except, the actions of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were inconsistent with this considerate action.

The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law took great joy in measuring their actions against those of their forefathers and took even greater joy in pointing out the mistakes made in the past. At this point you have probably come to the realization that these men were not any better than their forefathers and, that in some cases, they were probably worse. This is a trap that we fall into every day. We measure our actions against the actions of people who are not even followers of Christ and we think that our lives look good in that comparison. I submit to you that if this is how you are measuring your life then you are measuring apples to oranges. I would also say that by pointing out the sin in another’s life while doing nothing about the sin in your life is in direct violation of what God wants for his people. This morning I’d like to share two additional scriptures with you that help demonstrate God’s will for us in these matters.

John 12:48

48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

These are the words of Christ and he is clearly telling us that the word will be our judge. Consider that the word being spoken of here is not just the written word of God rather it is the Word in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 7:3-5

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Jesus is very clear in telling us that we must take care of the sin in our own lives before we are able to help someone else with their sin.

Questions For Thought

1. Why is it so easy to tear down others when we are the ones who need to be torn down and rebuilt in the image of God?

2. How can we keep from being judgmental of those who have come before us?

3. Are we being consistent in our daily walk with God?

It looks like there will be one more article in this series, hopefully it will get written a little quicker than this one. Enjoy the journey through God’s Word!

Be strong and Courageous,

Paul

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 7

Good Morning,

It is good to be able to sit at my desk and write this morning. I’m sorry for the delay in our journey but it seems that while I wasn’t looking that life picked up and kept on moving. I wanted to share with everyone who reads these articles some very good news we received last week. As many of you know our little Emma had surgery a little over a year ago to help correct a minor heart condition. This past Friday we had our checkup with the cardiologist and he was very pleased with her results and told us to not come back for five years. Thank you all so much for your prayers, concerns and questions about Emma; we are glad to say that she continues to be perfect. Let’s continue looking the seven woes in Matthew 23.

Matthew 23:27-28

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Jesus is once again striking at the heart of the matter. The fact of the matter is that you can’t be pleasing to God with only an outwardly clean appearance for all to see. In order to be pleasing to God both the inside and outside must to be clean. This is a concept that I believe must be reinforced daily in the lives of Christian people especially in the society in which we are living. Far too often you hear of deals brokered behind closed doors, CEOs with two sets of books and people telling “little white lies” on their tax returns. As Christians our attitude should be, “what you see is what you get”, meaning that we are not ashamed of anything we are doing and that we should have nothing to hide because we are living the kind of life that is pleasing to God.

Another thought to consider is this. Many of you know that my Father’s side of the family is from the Nashville, Tennessee area, which I think of as the buckle of the Bible belt. In East Nashville where my Dad grew up you are rarely, if ever, not within walking distance of a congregation of the Lord’s Church. This was due to the effort of the Christians living in the area in the 1950’s and 19060’s. This was a noble effort and at one time these buildings were full of people and of life. The sad reality is that now many of these building sit all but empty most Sundays; where once there was vibrancy and life there are only memories. It is interesting that even though these congregations have dwindled to nearly nothing in some cases that their buildings are immaculate. The architecture of the time period in which they were built and the lawns that surround them are in pristine condition and yet the inside these buildings aren’t even a tenth as full as they were so many years ago. This isn’t a situation that is unique to East Nashville, this is an epidemic plaguing our congregations all over the country and it is my belief that this has happened, in part, because the seven woes Jesus shared in Matthew 23 have been ignored.

While the buildings look beautiful and the lawns receive their weekly manicure, people still fight about things that are not of consequence. While painstaking effort is given to the colors of the walls, people still ignore the problems they are facing spiritually. The examples can go on and on but the fact of the matter is that we have become much more concerned with our outward appearance individually and as a group of believers.

There is hope for us though. The words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 23 and in the pages of scripture are just as true today as they were when they were spoken so long ago. Let’s start putting those words into practice in our lives and focus on making sure that we present ourselves to God clean on the inside and the outside.

Questions For Thought

1. What helps you be consistent in you Christian life?

2. Is your concern centered on Biblical/Spiritual issues or the things of the world that distract us?

3. What is it going to take to help bring God’s people back to a place where the Bible is the governing principle of their life?

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 6

Good Morning,

It has been very busy around here recently. This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to fill in for our pulpit minister as well teach my Bible class and have the teens over for a devotional. This week I’ve gotten to have lunch with our senior citizens, meet with my youth ministry buddies and spent a great deal of quality time with Emma. It has been so busy that I realized last night that I have yet to finish our journey through Matthew 23. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I hope that you are still enjoying the journey as much as I am.

Matthew 23:25-26

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

This has always been one of my favorite passages to use as an example when teaching or preaching. The reason for that is that, almost without exception, everyone you speak to has washed the dishes from time to time. Anyone who has ever washed dishes has had that experience of opening a covered dish that doesn’t look used on the outside but on the inside has a science experiment growing in it. This happens quite often in our household as we have a child that is drinking whole milk. Just this week I went to fix Emma a glass of milk and I found a thick, curdled mess waiting for me in a beautiful Disney Princess cup. I would never allow my little girl to drink out of a cup that had something inside that was not good for her. We wash her cups and then put them in the dishwasher to make sure that they are as clean as they possibly can be on the inside and on the outside.

Jesus is talking to a group of men who have allowed the inside of their cup (their minds, hearts and souls) to become filthy. On the outside they have on the finest clothes and the best accessories but the inside of their cup is something that nobody would want anything to do with. We still do the same thing today in our lives here on Earth. When we come to worship we wear our finest clothes and put our best foot forward while the whole time we are allowing bad things to live inside of our cup. As we think about cleaning out the inside of the cup let’s consider the dishwashing analogy once again.

When you wash cups in dishwater you don’t just wash the outside of the cup. When you wash cups you submerge them into warm, soapy water and with a sponge or rag you wash the inside and outside of the cup. When you go to rinse a cup after washing it you don’t just rinse out the inside of the cup, you rinse the whole cup inside and out.

If we are living the kind of lives we should be as Christians then the inside and outside of our cups must be clean. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend money on a new wardrobe; but it does mean that you need to reflect the image of Christ. This doesn’t mean that you act pious for all to see; but it does mean you are as concerned with keeping the inside and outside of yourself as thoroughly clean as those cups you just washed. Let’s remember that every cup has an inside that must be kept clean just like our physical and spiritual bodies do.

Questions For Thought:

1. How are you making sure that the inside of your cup is clean?

2. Where is a good place to examine the cleanliness of your cup?

3. If your cup is not clean on the inside where can you go for help?

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 5

Good Morning,

Today is a very special day. Two years ago today, very early in the morning, I became a father for the first time and life hasn’t been the same since. It was such a blessing to welcome our sweet Emma into the world and she has brightened every day of my life since she was born. It may seem strange but a big reason that I am writing this series of articles is because of my sweet little Emma. Today we are looking at our fourth woe, I hope you will continue on this journey with me.

Matthew 23:23-24

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Under the law the Jewish people were commanded to give a tenth of the produce of their fields. It is interesting to note is that the spices that are mentioned here are all from relatively small plants in the world of agriculture. Jesus is calling these men on the carpet for keeping the letter of the law but ignoring the spirit of the law, for majoring in minors.

The life of a Christian doesn’t allow us to pick and choose what parts of God’s commands to follow or not to follow. When we reduce God’s word down to a checklist instead of a way of life then we are trying to live our lives much like these men in the time of Christ did. It is unfortunate that I see this happening all the time. People will come to worship and say all of the right things, shake hands and even write a check to drop in the collection plate. The problem is that they are repeating the mistakes made by the very people that Jesus is calling on the carpet in this passage because what they do at worship does not shine through in their lives outside of the church building. The saddest part of all is that sometimes the person I see doing this the most looks back at me in the mirror in the morning.

As I began this morning I told you that I am writing these articles because of my little girl. I won’t bore you with the details of my little one’s life but I will say that she means the world to me. My prayer for her is to grow up loving her God and that one day she will find a man to marry and start a family with that loves God as much as she does. Jesus said all of these things to show the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law the error of their ways, but he might as well have been talking to me. I want my little girl to understand that God loves her and that he wants his Word to be the standard for her life and not just a checklist. Happy Birthday sweet Emma, Mommy and Daddy love you and God loves too!

Questions For Thought

1. What are some of the minors you allow to be majors in your life?

2. How can we keep God’s word from becoming a checklist in your life?

3. Are you leaving a legacy of faith for your children?

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 4

Good Morning,

I hope that all of you had a wonderful and restful Labor Day holiday. We are so blessed to live in a country that respects the men and women who serve in the Armed Services to insure that we are able to enjoy the quality of life that we do. As Christians we are blessed to have a God that sent his son to live and die on this Earth so that we will be able to enjoy an eternal way of life someday. Today we are continuing in our study of the seven woes in Matthew 23, specifically the fourth woe today, thank you for joining me on this journey.

Matthew 23:16-22

16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

Once again Jesus is commenting on the inconsistent lives that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law are living, and the example that they were setting for the people of their day. When I read this passage it reminds of my first full-time ministry job in the small town of Pocahontas Arkansas. The teens in my youth group were fond of using the phrase “don’t lie in church” anytime one of them said something unbelievable in the church building. At first I thought this was just a cute colloquialism, but I soon found out that they really placed some importance on the building in which we met to worship and have Bible class. In their minds this building was set apart as holy and as such their actions should be holy while inside this building while outside of the building they could live however they wished.

This isn’t a new phenomenon in the lives of Christians. The denominational world would have you believe that the building in which you worship is a “sanctuary” where the Lord dwells. In reality the Lord does not dwell in the physical building but rather in the hearts of his followers (Acts 17:24). If we follow this line of reasoning then we will come to the inescapable conclusion that it doesn’t matter where we are or whom we are with when it comes to obeying God and keeping his commandments. This cannot be an occasional decision, it must be a daily choice to love God and keep his commandments consistently. Let’s help each other make and keep that decision everyday no matter where we are or whom we are with.

Questions For Thought

1. Why do we live inconsistent lives when we know God sees all and knows all?

2. What are some ways to insure consistency in our lives?

3. Is there a Christian person in your life that demonstrates consistency?

Be Strong and Courageous
Paul

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 3

Good Morning,

I bring you greetings from the great State of Minnesota. I am very bad at taking vacations and time away from my work. I love my job and I love the privilege of serving the saints at the Pearland Church of Christ, but from time to time a vacation is needed. I spent a week in Minnesota visiting my wife’s family and encouraging the brethren at the Roseville Church of Christ. I considered doing some writing while on my trip but I decided that I should take full advantage of my time away. After a restful visit I am back in the saddle here at Pearland and ready to continue my reflections on the seven woes found in Matthew 23.

Matthew 23:15

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

To understand this particular woe some background must be given. The Jewish people (sometimes referred to as the “Children of Israel) were God’s chosen people and there were two ways that one could become part of this chosen nation. The first, and simplest way was to be born into a Jewish family. The second way was to convert to Judaism as a convert or proselyte. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law took great pride when a Gentile would choose to convert to Judaism and the Jewish way of life. The woe that Jesus is talking about here is that after these people were converted the Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t feed them the way they should spiritually. Rather the Pharisees and teachers of the law chose to give them a steady diet of legalism and manmade tradition. This is still an easy trap for us to fall into as Christians.

There is no greater joy than when a person gives their life to Christ in baptism. Before I left on my trip I was blessed to witness one of my teenagers, whom I have been working with for the past four years, to become a Christian. This young man made this decision with the full confidence and assurance that he was living a life that separated him from God and that the only way to live eternally was to give his life to Jesus Christ. I received the call to come up to the building to witness this blessed event and to say that I was joyful would have been an understatement. As overjoyed as I am that this young man is now a Christian I am also fearful that his young faith could be damaged by the same kinds of legalism and manmade traditions that hindered those Jewish converts of old.

We must guard our personal lives as Christians against legalism and manmade traditions as well the life of our individual congregations. When faced with a question about life or about how to move forward we must hold our decisions up to the standard of scripture. The old phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is not a sufficient answer for important decisions in the life of a Christian or for the Lord’s Church. Let’s be careful and hold one another accountable to measure our lives against Word of God and not to manmade traditions.

Questions For Thought

1. What manmade traditions do you see in your life?

2. How can we make sure that we are training new converts in the Word of God and not legalism?

3. How are you going to be consistent in being free from legalism?

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Reflections on Matthew 23 Part 2

Good Morning,

I hope you enjoyed my last article on the introduction of Matthew 23. For the remainder of this series we will be looking at the seven woes found in this chapter one at a time. This may seem as if we are moving at a snail’s pace but I fear that to do otherwise might keep us from seeing some of the truths that God wants us to see.

Matthew 23:13

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

As we discussed yesterday the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were considered the upper crust in Jewish society; the ruling class if you will, and they were extremely proud of this fact. They were so proud of this fact that they were willing to fight to protect their way of life so much so that they would not even listen to John, who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, or Jesus himself (John 1:23). Worse than the fact that they didn’t want to believe in what Jesus was doing is that they were keeping others from believing in the Kingdom as well through their actions.

The world we live in today is in desperate need of Jesus Christ. The world we live in is plagued with people and things that are shutting the door to the Kingdom and unfortunately sometimes these people and things are Christians. Un-churched people look at Christians and see us fighting amongst each other, gossiping and backstabbing all while proclaiming to be followers of Christ. This is not a new phenomenon and the answer to this problem is not new either, it is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31-33.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33

³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ³² Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God — ³³ even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

As God’s people we need to consider our actions. If we are faced with the decision to do something that glorifies God or something that is sinful then we need to choose the former and not the latter. When we have the opportunity to be in the company of un-churched individuals then we need to do our best to live out a Christian example, not by putting on a fake façade, but by living the kind of life that makes God proud. We can do it but it will take a great deal of work.

As we close I would like to leave you with a quote.

“Eight times in this chapter Jesus pronounces woe upon the scribes and Pharisees. The word is an interjection and means a term of grief or dismay, and when spoken by an inspired man means that great calamity is in store for those referred to.”-E.M. Zerr

Don’t live a life that is a life of woe, rather live a life that reflects Jesus.

Questions For Thought

1. What closes the door to the Kingdom?

2. How can you help change preconceived notions about Christianity to un-churched people?

3. How are you helping to keep the door to the Kingdom open?

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul