Scripture Reading:

Matthew 23

Please comment below with your conversation with God and/or insights from today’s Scriptures.

You can answer the following:

1. What are your overall thoughts about the chapter?

2. Which verse or passage impacted you the most?

3. What is your prayer to God brought on by this chapter?

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Chapter Notables:

1. Warning against hypocrisy - verses 1-12

2. 7 woes for teachers and law and Pharisees - verses 13-37

Be Real | Lemuel Ayudtud

To say that most of us would avoid looking like we are weak and need help is obvious. We want to avoid appearing vulnerable and helpless. So we pretend that everything is okay even when it’s not, and we act strong even if we’re weak. Why is that? The answer will probably be different for everybody, but Jesus warns about some signs about this issue.

In this chapter Jesus warns us about hypocrisy,
warns about the actions and inactions of the Pharisees. What were they? They were outwardly one way but on the inside they believed another. Hypocrisy, basically, is saying one thing and doing another.

Jesus tells us that the Pharisees had an outward appearance of righteousness, but on the inside they didn’t follow the thing they taught. They told people to carry certain weights that they themselves didn’t want to carry.

Hypocrisy is not just doing something different than what you really believe, it’s about telling somebody what to do and you yourself are not doing it. When we consider it, there is a nuance in the scripture that expresses to us that God would rather have us weak and confess that for us to act like we’re strong and deny your weakness. God wants us to show who we really are so that He can help us, don’t act like we don’t need help when we really do.

We have to acknowledge that we’re not perfect, that we are weak vessels in need of God. God wants is about hypocrisy because it breeds a lie. And we know that liars are displeasing to God. It also reflects our fear of not being excepted or not being celebrated, so we say something even though we ourselves are not able to do it. I believe the best thing to do is to be yourself, know about your weaknesses, and submit those to the hands of God. It’s OK to be weak, what’s not OK is to act like you’re not weak.

Let’s watch out for:

1. Wanting for people to celebrate you unworthily. Being afraid of being dismissed or belittled by people, you begin to say lies for people to see you one way when in reality you’re not that way.

2. Wanting to be honored and respected when you should rather have a desire to serve and become a help to others.

3. Creating rules and regulations that sound righteous, but you yourself have a hard time walking in it. Watch out in considering yourself better than others, even though it’s all just in words.

4. Using God or Christianity to make merchandise of people. We are called to lead people to Christ not to make them followers of ourselves.

5. Missing the major thing because you want to champion the minor issues. Remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Be about the core rather than the corner.

6. Being shallow, celebrating the outward appearances, rather than the inner spirit. Be careful of doing things for other people to see you rather than for God to celebrate you when it’s done without anybody knowing.

7. The careful that you are not constantly focused on how others see you rather than what God is doing inside of me. Since people do not know exactly what’s going on by outward appearances, don’t think that you’re getting away with that same thing before God. God knows exactly what’s inside your heart and what you were doing in private times, so make sure when you were praying you’re not praying about things that are outward you are seeking God for the inward healing, restoration, redirection, repentance.

8. Considering others less than yourself. When God uses somebody to speak to you directly, even like a sword, sharply, learn to accept it, celebrate it and thank them for the word. Watch those emotions that turn against the men and women of God when they preach directly to you. Make sure that you receive the word with humility and not hurt or anger or offense. You want to make sure that you’re celebrating God for them, and accepting the fact that it is God who speaking to you through someone else.

These are some warning signs written in scripture. Remember that Matthew took the teaching of Jesus about a hypocrisy and expounded on it. He could’ve just pointed it out, instead rather than just mentioning it once, there are 39 versus that explores it. The emphasis of the last verse, verse 39, directs us: we will not see Jesus unless we are fully trusting in Him rather than hypocritically ourselves. Don’t be afraid to be real. God is not impressed by our fraudulence even if others are; and He’s not disturbed by our realness especially when we admit that we are weak.

Lord, help me to be real. Help me to really be who I am on the outside as I am on the inside. Father, give me the strength to walk in your direction, obeying you even when it’s difficult. Help me not be just a person of words without action. Teach me to always be forward moving even as a stand against the attacks of darkness. Give me the grace to help other people that need you. Use me as Your vessel. In Your Name, Jesus, I pray, amen