“You whitewashed tombs! You look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”
Woah Jesus!
Jesus seems to let it fly in Matthew 23. He really gives it to those teachers of the law and Pharisees. I would really hate to be one of those people. That’s often how I read this chapter. Jesus letting those people, those people who have made faith a list of rules to follow, those people who have heaped heavy burdens on people, those hypocritical people who say one thing and do another, all of those people get what they deserved.
This week, I read Jesus’s words as if they were to me. I can read it and say to some of the things, these are not necessarily true of me; but some things I have to pause and acknowledge that Jesus may have something to say to me.
In this chapter, Jesus is emphasizing that what takes place on the inside, behind closed doors, the things that are not the performance we give when we see people at church, how much our heart and desires, are really what matter most. Jesus’ words teach me to self-examine myself and they call me to once again re-center my affections towards Christ.