February 6
Exodus 17-18
Psalm 18:37-42
Proverbs 4:10-13
Matthew 23:23-39
Inside Out
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. In this way, you also appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:25-28 LSB
Jesus saved his harshest rebukes for the Pharisees. He was gentle, loving and kind with the crowds who were seeking after Him. He gently led sinners to truth and repentance. He never compromised the truth, but He delivered His message in a way that was loving and caring. His interactions with the Pharisees and scribes were very different. He frequently rebuked them and called them hypocrites. He did not mince words when He spoke to them. He knew that they were not seeking after Him. Their hearts were hardened and they were leading people astray. The passage today is one of the boldest confrontations He had with them. In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces seven woes over the scribes and Pharisees. A woe is an exclamation of affliction, judgment, calamity or impending trouble. John MacArthur explained Jesus’ use of woe in the Bible, “In His castigation of the false Jewish leaders, Jesus repeatedly used two words, “woe” and “hypocrites.” Jesus used “woe” against the scribes and Pharisees not as an exclamation but as a declaration, a divine pronouncement of judgment from God. It was not His desire that they be condemned but rather that they repent and come to salvation. But He knew that if they did not repent and believe they were doomed to hell under God’s righteous and just wrath.”1
The scribes and Pharisees knew how to look good on the outside. They had cleaned up their lives and “appeared” righteous. They followed the rules and looked very spiritual, but Jesus knew the condition of their hearts. He knew that there was no inner change as a result of a commitment to God. They had it backward. They had cleaned up the outside and had changed their behavior at least enough to “appear” holy, but it did not result in a change in their hearts so they still harbored evil thoughts, intentions, and selfishness. That is not how it is supposed to work. We do not have to clean ourselves up to come to Him. We cannot possibly “clean ourselves up” enough to be acceptable. Romans 5:8 explains that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He knows exactly how bad we are, and yet He loves us enough to save us just as we are. When we believe in Him and accept Him into our hearts, He comes in and begins to clean us from the inside out. Slowly and surely He begins the process of sanctification. He begins to work in our hearts to get rid of our sinful behaviors and attitudes and to replace them with His righteousness. This results in lasting change that is pleasing and acceptable to God.
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