Thoughts From the Bible

Read Matthew 23: 16-28-   In this section of scripture, Jesus calls out the religious leaders for their hypocr isy. Verses 23 and 24 says this,  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you  tithe  mint and dill and cumin and hav e  neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These  you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.!”  When in leadership, it is important to not get into a situation where you are saying to those you are leading to do as I say, not as I do. The religious leaders have an eve n greater responsibility than other leaders because their leadership can  impact  the eternal lives of others.  I need to be careful about the decisions I make, the things I do and the things I say so all those things stay in alignment with God’s principles, so I am not guilty of what the scribes and Pharisees were guilty of...

Matthew 23: 15-   There are many things we can do that honors God. Many Christians do acts of service or even dedicate their lives to working for Christ.  What are their motivations? Are they focused singularly on what they feel the Holy Spirit is directing them  to   do ? Are they working to follo w in someone else’s footsteps? Are they working to draw attention to themselves? What are their motivations?  The Pharisees would work  very hard  to have others accept the trad itional Jewish religion. For many of these Pharisees, the motivation for the Pharisees proselytizing was  to gain a higher standing for themselves, not to bring others into a closer relationship with God. Jesus knew this. This is what Jesus said in verse 15,  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”  The...

Read Matthew 23: 13- 14-   Jesus begins to call out the religious leaders through a series of "woes". Why be confrontational? Jesus is  wanting the religious leaders to truly be spiritual leaders for the people and to focus on God and God’s principles. Verse 13 says, “ But woe to you, scribes an d Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”  The thought that strikes me today is that I nee d to be responsible to myself to allow Jesus to be my spiritual leader. I need to be disciplined enough spiritually to know I need to take what Jesus has said and follow what He has said. I do not need to  focus on another person and what they do to know what I should do. I need to be focused on how Jesus lived and what the priorities were while He walked the earth and follow Him. The Bible is full of  examples of how to live a Godly life and examples of what is not acce...

Read Matthew 23: 9- 12 - This principle is being found multiple times in Jesus’ teachings. Repetition  is often  found as a sign of something someone thinks is  very important . Jesus is still teaching the religious leaders about humility. Not only does Jesus want them  to realize God should be the center of their universe and they should place themselves in their proper place ; one of  humility .  Jesus said this  in  verses 11 and 12,  “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”   Many years ago, the idea of servant leadership took root and began to be something some leaders aspired to. Not everyone understands servant leadership because it does require a leader to do exactly what Jesus  was saying. A true servant leader must be humble and think of others in the span of their authority as greater than they .  It is a mindset Jesus wants ...

Read Matthew 23:  5- 8-   Jesus told the crowd there should be one Teacher for them spiritually. Verse 8 says,  “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one  T eacher, and you are all brothers.”    This is a short verse I think we should pay attention to  regarding  where we get our spiritual information. One  reason I started reading  very short  passages in the Bible was to be able to better concentrate on one Christian principle and getting it directly from the Bible and not relying solely on being  spoon fed from a pulpit once a week. I need to know I need to consider the Bible my  primary teacher and continue to work to incorporate Jesus’ principles into my daily life.  I write these notes to better remind myself  of what I need to focus on and how I need to improve my life.

M atthew 23: 1- 4 -   Jesus spends  all  but the last few verses of this chapter  calling out the scribes and Pharisees. He is looking at their behavior and the intent of their hearts.  In verses  1 through  4 ,  Jesus does not mince any words, ‘ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’s seat, so do and  observe  whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie  up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.’   For  me  the key sentence says,  “For they preach, but do not practice.”  As we grow and learn God’s principles, we learn  what to say and how to live those principles.  Actually  practicing those principles in our daily lives, consistently over time, is what really shows the intent of our hearts...

Read Matthew 22: 41- 46-   Jesus asked the religious leaders a question.  Jesus had been answering their questions and now He asked one of His own. Jesus asked them who He was.   In verses 44 and 45, Jesus says,  ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet ?” if then David calls Him Lord, how is  He  his son?”   I need to be better than the Pharisees. I need to be prepared to tell anyone who asks, who Jesus Christ is. Unlike the Pharisees who wanted to protect their status, I need to unashamedly  be prepared to tell others who I know Jesus Christ to be. I need to be prepared to tell them with joy and confidence  about the comfort that comes from knowing Jesus Christ is Lord.   

Read Matthew 22: 34- 40-   Within the realm of Christianity, one of the first verses people learn and what all of Christianity is built is on is John 3: 16.  “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son that wh osoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”   As Jesus is talking to the religious leaders, He gives them the next big cornerstone of Chris tianity when He answered their question about commandments,  ‘And He said to him, “You shall love the  Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This   is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments  depend  all the Law and the Prophets.”’   Jesus is teaching everyone who was listening how to look at their spiritual laws and how they apply to everyday life.  This was a group of people who  definitely considered  themselves bett...

Read Matthew 22: 22- 33-   Even though the  Sadducees  were working to trap Jesus, Jesus used the situation  as a teaching moment. When they asked the theoretical question about marriage in heaven, Jesus answered them in verses 30 through 32,  ‘F or in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in  marriage but  are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?  He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”’   Jesus is  wanting people to look at their spiritual lives, not the religious rules that were in place. He was working to make people spiritually alive and to see their lives through a spiritual lens. I need to do  that  too .  There is much talk about a Biblical worldview. This is simply applying God’s spiritual principle s to every aspect of our lives and how our lives ...

Read Matthew 22: 15- 21-   Again, the religious leaders were looking to trick Jesus into saying something that was  blasphemous in their opinion . They  still did not understand or  want  to understand who they were trying to trick. Jesus plainly let them know what He thought,  ‘Tell  us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? ”’  Sometimes it is important to be  very clear  about what we are saying. We also need to pray the Holy S pirit will be with us when we are talking to others so we will know the correct words to say that will strengthen our testimony for Christ. Jesus came back to those attempting to trick Him and said  in verse 21 ,  ‘ . ..Then He said to them, “Therefore render to  Caesar  the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”’   There are laws in this world we should a...

Read Matthew 22: 1- 14-  Jesus wanted the people to understand the importance of accepting Him and  realizing that is how an eternal life in heaven would be lived. Jesus pointed out there are those in the world who will fight aga inst His kingdom and His principles.  We need to be prepared for those types of attacks because we believe in Christ. We also need to know p eople will not be interested in hearing what we have to say about Jesus. Our focus needs to be on the message and the person we are sharing with  and not necessarily their response. We can continue to talk with them and pray for  them,  but the Holy Spirit will take the  message to their hearts. They must decide.  There are many who will accept Jesus and there are many who will not accept Him. Our job is to share. As  Jesus said at the end of this passage in verse 14,  “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  

Read Matthew 21: 33- 46-   Jesus continued to talk to the religious leaders and used the story in this passage to show them how this conflict between  them and Him would end. Jesus knew it was important for them to hear this from Him, and it was important for the people to see how the religious leaders responded.  Jesus was also showing them how their situation at that time fit with prophecy.  Verses 42 and 43 says,  ‘Have you never re ad in the Scriptures: “The stone  that  the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the  Lord’s  doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?  Therefore,  I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.’   I never thought I would want to be grouped with tax collectors and prosti tutes but in this context, that is the place I would prefer to be. Jesus saw those “undesirables” who accepted Him and were bearing fruit as better than th...

Read Matthew 21: 28- 32-  Jesus used parables or stories to show people the way of God. The religious leaders were  continuing to press Jesus  in an attempt to  get Him to say something that would convict Him  in their eyes. This is one time Jesus spoke very frankly to the religious leaders.  In verse 30, Jesus says this,  “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”   For me, this is not a lesson to focus on the actions of religious leaders but it a lesson for me  to listen to God’s voice in wherever I may hear it. Jesus was referring to John the Baptist message of following God’s laws and being part of God’s kingdom.  We need to listen to hear God’s voice in our lives also. Mostly, we should be hearing God’s voice through the scriptures in the Bible but there are...