Daily Blast - The Book of Matthew: Chapter 23
Scripture
“12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Reflection
In chapter 23, Jesus describes to the multitude of people in verse 1 that the scribes and the Pharisees “sit in Moses’ seat”, which essentially means that they were the people who interpreted and taught the law. Jesus instructed the multitude to keep the law taught by the scribes and Pharisees, but also warned them that these scribes and Pharisees may not necessarily abide by the law. In other words, their works, unfortunately, did not necessarily display righteousness. Jesus goes on to describe how there are scribes and Pharisees who are very prideful, as He goes on to say “all their works they do [are] to be seen by men” and they make a show out of doing “greetings in the marketplaces” and they seek to be called “Rabbi” (verses 5-7).
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
You see, the scribes and Pharisees boasted in their position – they did not walk humbly before the LORD. In James chapter 4 verse 6 we learn that God ‘opposes the proud’ and following in verse 10 we learn that when we humble ourselves, that is when God will lift us up. Have a look at Matthew 23:12 and see the similarities with the verses. Ultimately, we must have in mind that God wants to use such people of humility for His glory. If God blesses you with something, for example, think about how you can use that thing to bring glory to Him rather than boasting in the possession of that thing.
Throughout verses 13 to 29, Jesus describes the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites, in other words, the very people who should be teaching and abiding by the law are acting in ways that go against the law of the LORD. They were found to be “[devouring] widows’ houses, and for pretense [making] long prayers” (verse 14) and “[paying] tithe of mint and anise and cummin” but yet they had “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith” (verse 23).
We must always remember that God sees our hearts (Jeremiah 17:10). Isaiah 29:13 talks about how such people of the law may “draw near [to Him] with their mouths, and honour [Him] with their lips” but they have “removed their hearts far from [Him]”. We were instructed in Matthew 22 that we must “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”. When we choose to love Him with our whole heart and diligently seek Him, it should reflect in our actions. Have a ‘look’ at your heart. Think about a time when you gave something, whether it was to a family member or friend. Were you giving out of the genuine goodness of your heart? Have a look at 2 Corinthians 9:7 and think about how you can honour God with your heart when giving.
Verses 25 to 27 specifically refer to hypocrisy in the context of ‘looking good on the outside but bad on the inside’, using cups and tombs as examples. Again, we are reminded of the message that God looks at the heart.
You can really see in this chapter how unhappy and generally frustrated Jesus was with the scribes’ and Pharisees’ behaviour. Jesus certainly gave them a piece of His mind! He was unhappy that they were not practicing in ways that really and truly honoured God, especially with the fact that their behaviour was even driving people away from God (verse 15).
Challenge
Complete the 2 challenges that I’ve mentioned above. I also want you to do some more reflecting, and to set aside some time to pray. Have a think about how your heart is and whether you feel you are honouring God with it. After your time of reflecting, pray this prayer from Psalm 19:14:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”