In verses one through 36, Jesus criticized the religious leaders. You remember the ones who were attempting to trap Him with their questions? Yeah…them. I would like to point out a few of the verses. In verses one through five, Jesus told the crowds that they should practice and obey the teachings of the religious leaders and Pharisees; but they should not follow their examples as they do not practice what they teach. He also told them that everything they did was for show and called them hypocrites. I am not sure about you, but when I was growing up, I heard a certain phrase many times. That phrase was, “Do as I say and not as I do”. This is basically what Jesus was telling the crowd regarding the religious leaders. It’s a shame that the leaders of that time taught right and enforced what they taught, but they decided against living what they taught. Unfortunately, we have the same issue within the body of Christ now. Friend, be the example. Don’t just know the word of God; abide by it. Don’t be a hypocrite as the religious leaders and Pharisees were.
In verses 11 and 12, Jesus mentions the greatest in the kingdom is a servant. He also said that those who are humbled will be exalted while those who exalt themselves will be humbled. SERVE! We are called to serve! Servitude does not require a title or a platform. It requires love and compassion for God’s people. Make those prayer points every single day of your life. I don’t know about you, but God has had to humble me a few times when I climbed up on my high horse. We are nothing without Him, and we should keep that in mind anytime we even think about exalting ourselves.
I have always searched the New Testament for verses on tithing. Well, I found one. Verse 23 in the NLT version says, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from the herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things”. You should tithe AND exhibit righteousness, mercy, and faith.
In verses 25 and 26, Jesus calls the religious leaders out for attempting to clean their outer appearances but leaving their internal states unclean. He told them that if they cleaned their internal states first, their outer appearances would be cleaned too. Outwardly, they looked righteous but inwardly, their hearts were filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. I know you’ve heard the phrase “Come as you are”. Well my friend, these verses remind me of that phrase. We are filthy, but God can clean us up from the inside out. We need His power and presence to be cleaned and transformed. It is not something that we ourselves can do.
In verse 37, Jesus expressed grief for Jerusalem calling it the city that killed prophets and stoned God’s messengers. Even after saying that, Jesus said He desired to save them by gathering them under His wings; but they wouldn’t let Him. And that is exactly how He is with us. Although we have been hypocrites, lawless, and sinful, He still desires to forgive us and save us. Allow Him to take you under His wings.
Real Talk with Keve 