Tag: Pharisees

34.b. “Woe to you!”

 

Matthew 23:16  “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 

The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckoned double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that they might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests. They were very strict and precise in smaller matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. It is not the scrupling a little sin that Christ here reproves; if it be a sin, though but a gnat, it must be strained out; but the doing that, and then swallowing a camel, or, committing a greater sin. While they would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. We are really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. The deceitfulness of sinners’ hearts appears in that they go down the streams of the sins of their own day, while they fancy that they should have opposed the sins of former days. We sometimes think, if we had lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised and rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word, in his ministers, is still no better treated. And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts’ lusts, who obstinately persist in gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters. (Henry)

 They were blind, and so very unfit to be guides of others; they were as they were born, ignorant of divine things, of God in Christ, of the true Messiah, of the true meaning of the Scriptures, of the spirituality of the law, and of the Gospel of Christ; and the way of salvation by him; and their minds were blinded by the god of this world (satan), and with a greedy, and insatiable covetousness after the things of it. (Gill)

We should never fall into the trap of being satisfied with a superficial cleansing and the appearance of righteousness. How foolish is it to be greatly concerned with our outward appearance of righteousness (doing and saying things for the praise of others), and be unconcerned with what is inside of our hearts and minds. (sin, greed, pride, self-worth, self-reliance, anger, hate, etc…)

God is never fooled by what we show on the outside. He sees what we actually are, not what we appear to be to other men. (Guzik)

Woe to you, blind guides. You blind fools! You blind men! “Woe to you hypocrites! You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

35.a. “For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

 

Matthew 23:13  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

 Luke 11:52   Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

 Isaiah 56:10-11   His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.  The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.

 John 9:39-41  Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”  Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

 The religious leaders kept people from the kingdom of heaven by making human traditions and human religious rules more important than God’s Word. This was clearly seen in the way that they opposed and rejected Jesus; if they had opened the kingdom of heaven to men, they would have welcomed and received Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.  It is bad for someone not to enter into heaven themselves, but it is far worse to prevent another person from entering in.

Their zeal in evangelism did not prove they were right with God. These religious leaders went to great lengths to win others, but they brought people to darkness, not light. They may have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. Having a zeal for a false message does not make the message true. Leading a person down a path to hell with a false message has consequences for both the message giver and hearer. The blind proclaiming they can see and are able to lead other blind people to light does not make it true. Zeal, no matter how great it is, plus false doctrine, no matter how great the persuasion in their message, will never give rest for the blind soul seeking lasting light with purpose, hope, rest, joy, peace, and courage. 

Anything apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ, or apart from bringing Him all the glory and honor, or adding to, or taking away from His complete atonement for sin, or by some means of self-reliance, will always lead to blindness to things of God and lead a person to become a tool for satan and his lies. 

We do well to desire God to expose us to whatever is in our heart, mind, and soul that does not honor and glorify Jesus Christ and also be ever desiring to hear those quiet whispers for leading.

34.y. “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility.”

 

Matthew 23:1  Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

 Luke 11:46    And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

 Acts 15:10   Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

 Philippians 2:3     Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

 John 12:43    for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

 Luke 16:15    And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

 Proverbs 3:3    Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

 Proverbs 6:21-23    Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Then spake Jesus to the multitude,…. To the common people that were about him in the temple; the high priests and elders, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, having left him, being all nonplussed and silenced by him: and now, lest on the one hand, the people seeing the ignorance and errors of these men detected by Christ, should be tempted to conclude there was nothing in religion, and to neglect the word and worship of God, on account of the concern these men had in it; and on the other hand, because of their great authority and influence, being in Moses’s chair, lest the people should be led into bad principles and practices by them, he directs them in what they should observe them, and in what not: that they were not altogether to be rejected, nor in everything to be attended to; and warns them against their ostentation, pride, hypocrisy, covetousness, and cruelty; and, at the same time, removes an objection against himself, proving that he was no enemy to Moses, and the law, rightly explained and practiced. (Gill)

Legalism in any form of justifying ourselves before God is a lie continually proclaimed by satan, always wrong, and temps those that seek redemption apart from complete reliance on Jesus Christ. It does not take much tempting by satan to get a person to wear good deeds in pride. As good of deeds as they may be, they are wasted in that person’s heart for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ alone. Do we think that counting and keeping track of our good deeds in some way puts God in our debt?  Likewise, do we do good deeds out of fear of God or because we love God? Do we expect more of others than we do of ourselves? 

There are many who proclaim many do’s and don’t’s for a Christian to follow. Let these be summed up in a few. Love God with your whole heart, mind, and soul. Do that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all you say, think, and do. Do not be conformed to this world and what it has to offer. Do love others above yourself. Do read scripture with an expectant heart and mind for the purpose of gaining more understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how you might honor and glorify Him more and more each day. 

33.r. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump”

 

Matthew 16:5  When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 Luke 12:1   In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

 1 Corinthians 5:6-8   Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

 Galatians 5:9   A little leaven leavens the whole lump

 2 Timothy 2:16-17   But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene.

 Matthew 16:12    Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 “It was the Jewish metaphorical expression for an evil influence. To the Jewish mind leaven was always symbolic of evil…leaven stood for an evil influence liable to spread through life and to corrupt it.” (Barclay) 

 “False doctrine; which is fitly called leaven, because it soureth, swelleth, spreadeth, corrupteth the whole lump, and all this secretly.” (Trapp)

Then Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees — That is, of their false doctrine; elegantly called leaven, for it spreads in the soul, or the church, as leaven does in bread. (Benson)

It passes secretly, silently, but certainly through the mass of dough. None can see its progress.” So it was with the doctrines of the Pharisees. They were insinuating, artful, plausible. They concealed the real tendency of their doctrines; they instilled them secretly into the mind, until they pervaded all the faculties like leaven.   It is secret, silent, steady; pervading all the faculties of the soul and all the kingdoms of the world, as leaven, or yeast, though hidden in the flour, and though deposited only in one place, works silently until all the mass is brought under its influence. (Barnes)

When God’s Word is neglected or when we become complacent with its influence in our daily lives, it is then we will begin to tolerate (by intentional choice) worldly or fleshly thoughts or actions that had no room in our heart, mind, and soul previously. By His Word and through the Holy Spirit we are given discernment into what is right, pure, good, and holy.  By its neglect, we allow leaven in and day by day it silently and surely influences what we say, think, and do. How sad it is that through neglect and complacency we intentionally choose to become blind and deaf to things of God and the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives.  None are immune to the effects of “leaven”. The key is to be ever seeking and desiring the Holy Spirit’s leading through God’s Word so that in all things we think, say, and do, they honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

33.o. “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

 

Matthew 16:1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

 Luke 20:23    But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them,

Luke 12:54-56    You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

 Acts 2:40    And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

“It is an extraordinary phenomenon to find a combination of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They stood for both beliefs and policies which were diametrically opposed.” (Barclay) Yet for all these differences, Jesus brought them together. Not in a good way – they came together in opposition to Jesus, but they came together nonetheless. 

Show us a sign was their request. They had heard of and seen the lame, deaf, mute, blind, and sick healed right before their eyes and still said, “show us a sign”.   Asking for a sign indicates they knew who Jesus claimed himself to be and they rejected not only what He said but what they had witnessed Him doing.  

Think about how God had done 8 wonders/signs in Egypt that rescued them from slavery. Think about how He had water come from a rock, manna from the sky, and birds for meat every day. The Israelites had witnessed God’s power, love, grace, and provision and yet they still did not trust Him to continue. The Bible gives repeated examples of those who saw remarkable signs, yet did not believe.

In Romans, it is also clear men reject God and have no excuse for their rejection. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts

No person can claim ignorance. Faith does not require a sign, though many may be given. Faith – believes, trusts, obeys, follows, and relies on Jesus Christ.  

33.k. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

 

Matthew 15:10  And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

 Isaiah 55:3    Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;

 Titus 1:15    To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

 Isaiah 60:21   Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

 Isaiah 56:10   His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.

 Isaiah 28:9-10   “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast?  For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”

 Proverbs 10:32   The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse

 Jeremiah 17:9   The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

 Revelation 21:27   But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

In the heart and mind of every person resides the root of their intents. Lust, anger, hate, envy, lies, gossiping, selfishness, self-worthiness, and self-reliance seeds are planted, rooted, watered, cultivated, and harvested within the heart and mind and manifest in thoughts, words, and actions that reveal a person’s path in this life. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is rejected the fertile ground within our hearts and minds will raise and harvest crops that do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. When the Word of God is rejected and neglected the harvest is surely not God-honoring or glorifying.  

We don’t have to be around people very long to see what is planted and being harvested within their hearts and mind.  Their words and actions reveal their intended harvest. How is a person to know what it is that is planted, growing, and being harvested from within their hearts and minds? The Word of God will lay wide open a person’s heart and mind, exposing the thoughts, intents, and actions stemming from within. Without the Word of God it is clear – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  Human discernment apart from God’s Word will never understand the thoughts and intents of the heart. Their understanding is blind and deaf because there is nothing planted from which good crops can be harvested in either thoughts, words, or actions. Oh, they can do good things according to cultural and social norms, but the intent is self-serving, not God-honoring and glorifying. People will blindly accept their life without God in it and give no thought to their eternal destination. As they age and approach the time in their life where death is closer than their birth, they may give some thought to death and eternity.  They may ask themselves; where is my eternal destination? Are heaven and hell real? Have I been good enough to be allowed into heaven?  These questions all reveal a heart and mind that has never humbly repented, surrendered, believed in, and trust Jesus Christ for their forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. The good news is that it is never too late, nor is a person too old, nor is a person too unforgivable. Jesus Christ came into the world to save the sinners.  He died on the cross, bearing all their sins so that they might have eternal life if they would just humbly repent, surrender, believe, trust, and rely on His sacrifice alone and apart from any good works they may have done. It is in this humble repentance, surrender, belief, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ that a person is born again and eternal life promised.  These lost souls will find rest for their souls and peace of mind for their hearts. 

I have seen the intents of the hearts and minds of “Christians” revealed in their words and actions. We are not immune to the seeds of destruction being planted, rooted, and harvested in our lives. These seed thoughts are being planted all the time by what we read, what we watch, what we are exposed to, and what we allow to reside in our hearts and minds. Paul addressed this very clearly when he said; “take every thought captive”. We are to be able to discern what is right, holy, good, pure, and acceptable. How can this be if we neglect and become complacent with the Word of God? God’s Word is the seed, fertilizer, and water for all that is right, true, holy, good, and acceptable. Discernment is a result of desiring and seeking God’s Word with the intentional choice to know what is right, true, good, pure, holy, and acceptable for the single purpose of being able to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do.

Do you want to discern what is in your heart, continually expose it to God’s Word with an expectant mind that God will reveal it. David had such a heart – “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

33.i. “hey profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

 

Matthew 15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, Honor your father and your mother,’ and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

 Matthew 7:3-5    Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

 Mark 7:13    thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

  Colossians 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

 Colossians 2:22  These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

 Titus 1:10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers

 Titus 1:16  They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

 Acts 28:25-27    And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:  “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

 We can appear to draw near to God, all the while having our hearts far from Him. It is easy to want and be impressed by the image of being near to God without really doing it with our hearts. It is very bad to have a heart and mind that has convinced you of doing right when what you are doing is very wrong. What can lead to such actions in a person’s life? What can deceive a person to live like this? The truth is each and every one of us is born with a sinful nature that wants to be self-important, self-worthy, and self-reliant. When “self” is allowed any root in our hearts and minds nothing good can come from it, for it will twist God’s Word to convince us that what we are doing and thinking is right and true.  This certainly can happen very fast when our eyes and ears become deaf to God’s Word. Becoming neglectful and complacent will blind and deafen hearts and minds so fast that the recipient will not even know it has happened. 

It is time spent in God’s Word with a humbly expectant, surrendered, obedient, and reliant heart that we are renewed, daily, in our commitment to live in such a way that in all we say, think, and do Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. There are those who are so gifted in what they say and how they say it, so much so, that people are easily snatched from the right and true path to following after the wisdom and ideas of man. Doing what is right in our own eyes with our own wisdom as guidance brings no honor or glory to Jesus Christ no matter how brilliant what we are doing may seem. And so it is, neglect and complacency yield worthlessness to the very things we think are doing to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. There is no renewing of our hearts and minds. There is no room for the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds so as to guide us in ways that honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Even with God’s Word before us, we are blind and deaf to it because our hearts and soul are not humbly expectant, surrendered, obedient, and reliant on it.
We do well to examine our hearts and minds and cultivate soil that is saturated with seeking and desiring true and pure things of God for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Be mindful it is not just spending time in God’s Word and knowing it that guides the souls of man.  Look at the Pharisees and Scribes, they knew God’s Word, but their hearts and minds were blind and deaf to it.  Why? Because their hearts were not humbly expectant, surrendered, obedient, and reliant on it. They were bound in self-worth, self-reliance, and self-importance. It is only when self is surrendered to Jesus Christ that seeds of honor and glory for Him alone will yield works that honor and glorify Him.

32.u. “So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace”

 

Matthew 12:38  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

 James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

 Ezekiel 16:51-52   Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.  Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Jesus condemned them for seeking after a sign, especially when countless signs had already happened before their eyes. It is easy to overestimate the power of miraculous signs to change the heart of doubters and skeptics. (Guzik)

Every believer displays a miraculous sign. They are born again. They are a new creation. They are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This miracle certainly ought to be seen and witnessed in the lives of every believer. Why else would Paul say “to be ready to give an answer to anyone who, when they see the hope in you ask where is it from.”

Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish – certainly, he died but after 3 days he was spit up onto shore alive. Jonah was a sign to Nineveh and they recognized it. The Queen of Sheba recognized the wisdom God gave Solomon. The central point to be sure in this is; “you are asking for a sign – I am God’s sign – and you have failed to recognize Me”.  because of this they will, as an example, rise up in judgment against you. Simply put, Nineveh had lesser signs shining in their presence (it was the Word of God spoken by Jonah) and repented. Greater will be the judgment on those who have been given greater signs – the presence of the Son of God doing signs and wonders daily in your presence. This rejection by the religious leaders is indefensible. 

Think about this; Jonah preached for 40 days – Jesus preached for several years. Jonah preached but displayed no miracles – Jesus preached and did miracles, signs, and wonders often. The people of Nineveh repented – the religious leaders rejected a much great witness.

The Word of God has never been so available as it is right now. There is no excuse for not knowing how to find it. There is no excuse for being too busy to find the time to go get your bible – it is in your pocket via your phone. There are hundreds of apps available to help study the bible and hundreds of thousands of resources available with just a click on your screen.  There is no excuse for neglecting it. I wonder if it could be said that these religious leaders efforts will stand in judgment against those who are too busy to take time in God’s Word, too busy to meditate on it, too busy to have little to no application in their lives, too busy to hear what quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading, too busy to pray, too busy in worship, too busy to help others, too busy to give, too busy to be kind, too busy to praise Jesus, too busy to ……

We should be very mindful of how we spend our time in light of the abundance and availability of God’s Word in our lives. Anytime idleness and busyness are allowed into our lives, Jesus Christ will never be honored and glorified.

32.r. “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God”

 

Matthew 12:22  Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

 Mark 3:11    And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

 Acts 26:18   to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

 Matthew 9:34     But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

 Mark 3:22   And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

 Luke 11:15    But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

 The crowds reacted with Messianic expectation, but the religious leaders responded by attributing Jesus’ power to the prince of demons. Both have seen the same thing, the demon cast out and the person healed. How can it be seen so differently by those who witnessed it? Even at times, the unclean spirits cried out, “you are the Son of God”.  

We will normally see what our hearts and minds want to see. When we see everything in creation both on earth and in the universe we are in awe of God. Yet others, spend lifetimes building theories about how a big bang happened billions of years ago that somehow formed all things through time, chance, and evolution. Both of these beliefs must be taken on faith. When seeing Jesus heal this demon-possessed man many displayed their faith by saying can this be the one promised “The Son of David?”  In their faith, they were aware and looking for the Messiah to come. Others displayed their blindness and hardness of heart by shrugging off this healing by saying it was not in the power of God but by Satan. When we were lost and without hope and there was no searching and no desire for things of God, it is only by the grace of God we see and understand things of God. And yet, there are those to whom these revelations are rejected. To the lost soul, it is a time when clarity to the things of God is revealed much like the clouds being rolled back and the bright sun is seen. When we are searching and desiring to serve and honor and glorify Jesus more and more, things of God are shown more and more, the Son keeps getting brighter.