13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14]
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
Jed Matschke
First Lutheran – Concord CA
Observation: Sometimes when I have to choose between different choices in my life, I have a hard time looking beyond the downsides of each choice and what I’d be giving up with each option instead of seeing them as blessings and recognizing the gifts that come with each one.
Action: Today, I will stop this negative thinking and praise God for being the giver of all blessings. No matter what I decide, He will be with me. Having Him is enough, because He is greater than any temporal or material gift I will ever receive.
Father, thank You for choices, for decisions, and for all that you provide for us in this earthly life, and for your protection as we make our way toward the world that is to come. Give us your peace through Your spirit as we go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Amen
Observation: The parsing of what one was swearing by and whether or not it was binding reminds me of some of the parsing we do in the church, dissecting things to see if they are wrong or at what point they are wrong. I see Jesus calling me to a genuine walk with God, a genuine righteousness or focus on what is right, that is above and beyond such parsing, a knowing of God’s will that makes such parsing look ridiculous.
Action: God, I want to genuinely walk with You. I don’t want to try to push the boundaries, see how much I can get away with. I just want to walk as Jesus did in simple, beautiful, obvious righteousness. Help me do so, I pray.
The challenge I see is in Jesus’ words “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in peoples’ faces”. How many people do I know that are wary of approaching that door because of times that the door has been shut in their faces by people whose lives and beliefs portray God as (I think this was a CS Lewis phrase) a “Cosmic killjoy” rather than someone who knows and loves them dearly, has their best interests at heart, and whose discipline of us is rooted in love and the desire for us to live in a way that brings life and healing to us and those around us rather than grief and dysfunction?
Scripture
You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. My 23:13
Observation
How sad that the Pharisees would shut people out of the kingdom. The Pharisees are about religion, rules, judgment and strict observance of the law.
Application
I don’t want to be like the Pharisees. My obedience is separate from the obedience of others. I am obedient because I love God. It’s a natural flow out of his love for me. I do not need to be about getting others to obey. I need to be about invitation. Inviting others to follow me as I follow God.
Prayer
God please help me to love. Help me to know my identity better so that you will be glorified through my obedience and love for others.
observation: as i hear you speak Jesus i am aware that you are aware of hidden pride and motive. There were wonderful proselytes like Cornelius and yet the Pharisees considered them only as prey to exploit and a shame for their inability to expertly follow the Law. Those You speak of here are the ones the few the Pharisees converted not so much to Judaism but to Phariseeism, bound to the performance of the Law over the Heart of God. So the Pharisees are blind guides whose “successes” lead only to bondage, self adulation and profit, hence hypocrites and sons of hell.
action: as i share your life from my life i want to remind myself of what matters. its less about performance and getting people to see things my way and more about connecting to the heart of the Father. I need to consciously open my eyes to see what matters and practice it in my life and lead others to what matters too – Your heart.
Jesus is saying “I’m bold, follow me in boldness “.
I will put aside my fear. I will live and speak like my Savior.
Are my words, actions, attitudes making it “impossible” for others to come to God?