Matthew 23: 1 - 22 - Pushing God Off His Throne
Watch out for the lawmakers because they are the biggest lawbreakers. What is it about the ruling class? They get a taste of the throne and decide that they are now God. If one law is good, how about ten? And then why not twenty? Or a hundred? Or a thousand? Wow, this is fun – except for the little people bearing the burdens.
These religious leaders (like today’s politicians) sit in their holy huddles and take pen to paper and make impossible lists to try and keep the unwashed masses from spilling over into their sacred territory. But they are blind to the fetid and putrid condition they themselves live in. They think they are free from contamination, but are really rotten on the inside. Their god is their rulebook. They pretend to be religious . . . but wait – they ARE religious! That’s what religion is: rules, regulations, lists of dos and dont's.
They forgot about faith, love, and mercy. They pushed the God of the universe off His throne and now ask that people look at them up there in His place. They flash their religious clothing and want people to be impressed. Only Jesus isn’t impressed. He voices what the people already know – they are imposters, all dressed up but dead on the inside. Jesus calls them what they are and I think the people were dancing in the streets!
How did things get this way? Somehow they bypassed a heart change. They ignored what God had modeled for them. They thought that their way of burdens of laws was cleaner and neater. That’s why Jesus calls them blind. He asks the little people to turn their attention to the One who will liberate them from such burdens, and you can be sure they were excited to do it!
The Jesus Pages is my journey through the New Testament in one year. I invite you to come along, read the Bible passage and leave comments. (If it's nasty or unrelated, I reserve the right to delete it.)
©2021 Debby Kratovil (kratovil@his.com)
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