Matt. 23:1-12 – No group of people received more condemnation from our Lord than the religious leaders of His day. The hypocrisy of their lifestyle was abhorrent to Jesus. Jesus openly exposes even their ‘good deeds’ as those only done “to be noticed by men.” True discipleship is never about how many people compliment you, never about being noticed by others as pious, never about the position or the title you hold in people’s minds; it is about humble service to the King. Pray that your motivation in all things is pure; pray that your deeds glorify your Father in Heaven, not yourself.
Matt. 23:13-39 – Jesus now continues His justified discourse sounding like a prophet of Old Testament times and ending with a chilling pronouncement that “your house is being left to you desolate!” When I read vs. 34, I think of Stephen in Acts 7 who boldly stated the Jewish leadership was obstinate and murderous. However, neither Jesus nor Stephen as prophets delighted in ‘seeing’ the future destruction of Jerusalem and its disobedient people. Jesus wanted to gather His people under the protection of His wings. Stephen’s last words were, “Lord, do not hold this sin (their stoning of him) against them.” The disciple’s heart is always one that desires all men, no matter how evil and debased, to be saved. Even if we have to announce to a lost world that the judgment of hell is coming upon them unless they repent, we should never delight in the destruction of the enemies of the Cross.