The Heart of the Matter

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Opening Prayer

Lord, to You I turn in joy, sorrow and need. You are my source of blessing, comfort, and wholeness.

Read MATTHEW 23:25-36

^[25] “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ^[26] Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. ^[27] “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ^[28] In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. ^[29] “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. ^[30] And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ^[31] So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ^[32] Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! ^[33] “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ^[34] Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ^[35] And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ^[36] Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

Meditate

“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Do you spend as much time (or more) on interior health as you do on exterior appearances?

Think Further

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4:23). True religion is a religion of the heart and, however tidy the exterior, God is concerned about what is happening inside. In today’s passage the funeral lament continues as Jesus declares judgment on those who distort true religion.

The unusual washing-up habits of the religious teachers betrayed their concern for ritual cleanliness, while remaining indifferent to true inner righteousness (25,26). The fundamental purpose of the law was distorted, since the religious leaders were more concerned for outward show than inner integrity. A whitewashed tomb was an even more graphic illustration (27,28). It was not unusual to whitewash tombs so that travelers could avoid the contamination of unintended contact (Num. 19:16). Jesus’ point is clear: distorted religion is an attempt to beautify externally what is corrupt internally, a veneer to cover wickedness (or “lawlessness,” which would have been a direct hit for these teachers of the law). The fierce irony continues, as Jesus highlights their concern to honor the prophets by carefully tending their tombs (29) while at the same time rejecting God’s messengers (34) and soon murdering the Prophet, Jesus himself. They thought they were the heirs to the prophets, but they were simply following an established pattern–Jesus explains the A to Z of such rejection, from Abel’s murder through to Zechariah (Gen. 4:2-10; 2 Chron. 24:20-22). They carefully decorated the graves of the prophets while harboring hatred and wickedness in their hearts. No wonder Jesus didn’t hold back: “You snakes! You brood of vipers!” (33).

Is it possible that Christians could effectively be among the walking dead? Our first concern must be for inner transformation, for true godly righteousness. Everything else follows.

Apply

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa. 139:23-24). Jesus calls us to an interior check-up.

Closing prayer

Yes, Lord, convict me of any heart issues that need attention, and cleanse me of my sin.

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