Matthew Chapter 23

Matthew chapter 23

Scripture:

Today I will summarize Matthew chapter 23 where Jesus warns against the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.  Jesus condemns their Hypocrisy.  Jesus predicts their punishment and Jesus’s love for Jerusalem. Jesus was furious.   He told the crowds the scribes and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses.  So, you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do: do not however initiate their actions because they don’t practice what they preach. 

They won’t even try to help anyone obey the laws of God.  They do everything to be noticed by men but God is not impressed. They love places of honour.  They love the respectful greetings in the marketplaces.  They loved to be called teacher and Rabbi while I am making new rules.  I say do not be called Rabbi by anyone because god is your teacher and you are all brothers.  Do not be called masters by anyone because you only have one master.  I am your master and do not call anyone father on earth because there is only one father and he is in heaven.

The greatest among you shall be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.  Jesus then turned and looked at the scribes and the Pharisees and began to shred them with his words.  Jesus said woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites you’ve shut off the kingdom of heaven from people.  You will not go to heaven yourselves and you are preventing those who want to o from getting there.

You travel around the world just to make one proselyte and when you do you make twice as much of a son of hell as you yourselves are.  You teach people to make promises swearing on the gold in the temple but not the temple itself.  You tell them to swear by the dead animal being sacrificed instead of the altar in the temple.  You are fools!  You make sure you obey the tidings rules regarding your spices, but you totally ignore or disobey the more important things of the law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should not neglect to tithe; more importantly, you must not neglect justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  Woe to you, you hypocrites.  You clean the outside of your bodies but inside you are full of sin.  If you clean the inside you will be clean on the outside too.

Jesus continued woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You are more like whitewashed tombs.  You look pretty on the outside but inside you are filled with bones and decaying corpses on the inside.  You say if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not take part with them in the killing of the prophets.  You admit your fathers were the ones who killed the prophets.  I am going to send you prophets wise men and scribes and you will whip them in your synagogues.  You will crucify and kill others or just like your fathers.  You serpents.  You brood of vipers.  You will not escape the sentence of hell.  Or Jerusalem you who killed the prophets.  I wish I could gather you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you are unwilling.  You will be desolate.  You will not see me until the end.  When you say blessed is, he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Observation:

The thing I think the lord wants us to understand after reading this chapter is that Jesus was not kind to the religious leaders and others who were self-righteous and proud.  He was always kind to the humble repentant sinner; however, he is the same way today.  God wants us to see that we should not call anyone a rabbi, master, or father, most religions in the world today violate these commands that came directly from Jesus’s mouth.  Perhaps on purpose.  God wants us to see that he will humble everyone proud and he will exalt everyone and make them humble. 

Have you been consistently calling anyone rabbi, master, or father? Did you even realize that Jesus commanded us not to do that?  Have you been doing anything to gain acceptance from people?  There is still time to repent and change our behavior.  Come and let us turn away from our sins right now while there is still time.  The harsh truth of life is that the world is going to come to an end. Tell me what will you gain by enchanting the people of this world and losing your life.  Will they be able to save you on the day of Judgment?  Today you see celebrities, important leaders, etc. 

Have your family members who have expired have they taken anything with them when they died?  Wake up! Look around at what is happening in the world.  Observe everywhere Satan plans.  How he is trying to keep us from the truth and the protection of the father.   Everywhere there is lust, abortion, extra marital affairs, the devil is making you believe that this is okay because he doesn’t want us to know the truth and be set free.  I told you he hates us and he wants to take as many souls as possible into the lake of fire.  During summer we can’t bear the heat. We drink water.  We use fans /Air conditioners to cool ourselves.  Just imagine when you get burnt accidentally with the flame or catch a hot pan.  How much does it hurt? But in hell, there is no air, only flames, no water. 

My brothers and sisters, you may think I am exaggerating.  I am not trying to terrify you.  Prayer to Jesus to show you in a dream what hell is like.  He will surely do.  Why did Jesus suffer so much on the cross and died for us?  He had already seen hell and he doesn’t want anyone of us to go there.  You as parents when seeing danger ahead of your kids.  Do you allow them to go into it? Or you will do everything possible to prevent them. The same is our father in heaven.  But what happens when your kids don’t listen?   They fall into danger and weep but by the time they realized it.  It’s already too late.  Jesus is stretching out his hands and saying my child take hold of my hands and come out of the dark hole.  Take hold of his hands.  Hold on to the bible instead of cell phones and video games etc. cling to him and trust him.  You will not regret your decision.  When we want to achieve our goals, we follow discipline.  If you want to achieve everlasting life follow the teachings of Jesus.  The decision is yours whether you chose everlasting life or Hell. 

Prayer:

Give us clear sight and reveal the truth to us, O lord.  Please show us what we need to know in the tide of Falsehood so that we may see what you see and know the truth.   We wish to know your will heavenly father that we may follow it till the end of our days, ever praising you and glorifying your name.  Teach us, for we are but children, sheep of your flock, who stray, and you show your ways again and again. Our loving father, we give thanks for all you have given and done for us.  Guide our hearts and bless our sight.  We ask this in the name of your beloved son our lord Jesus Christ Amen.