Jesus throwing some strikes...Matthew 23:13-24


Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.  Sometimes blessings come in all colors.  Here is a red one.  The talents of one of the men of the church was put to use to bring us up to code in our boiler room.  I am so thankful for others.  I have had to do a lot of different things but many times I do them enough to get by and not to the level of expertise.  I remember in the church plant of putting together slides for the projection but when a certain person in the church offered, the end product was so much better.  Maybe I am what they call "a jack of all trades but a master of none."  That is okay because then others can participate in the ministries offered by the church in many different ways.  This red shutoff in the grand scheme of SCC is part of offering a safe place to gather to worship our Lord.

Jesus has finished His windup and is starting to throw some pitches at the scribes and Pharisees.  5 last Sunday and 3 more to come this Sunday.  Jesus is very upset with the shepherds of the day.  It mirrors the words of God given to the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 34.  They are no shepherds at all.  The previous instructions to Jesus' disciples prior to these strikes shows the contrast to how He wants His shepherds to operate.

Strike #1 - Jesus + message.  

They were acting as "the" gatekeepers to the kingdom of heaven.  They were setting the rules to their liking of who could even sit in the synagogue to hear the person who sat in Moses' seat to hear the words of God.  It would be like someone today saying, "If you really want to be saved then you need Jesus and also this other thing over here."

Strike #2 - Fleecing the flock.  

The ones they were to care for, the widows, were being taken to the cleaners by the scribes and Pharisees and then a cover-up was portrayed through their long prayers.  Instead of giving, they were getting to the point that the widows now owed them all they had.  Today much of what is given to those who operate under these practices goes into their pockets or toward what they plushly sit in.

Strike #3 - Conversions of self.  

The false shepherd has become the face and brand of the ministry.  The object of success is not Jesus but rather to look like them.  Jesus says that this type of conversion leads to hell and not heaven.  Today we see a huge emphasis on this showing up sometimes as the "mega" or "celebrity" pastor. 

Strike #4 - The creating of loopholes.  

Jesus plays along with their game but sets them straight that there are no loopholes with God.  Every swear or oath, no matter who it is made before or upon, is before God.  He instructed His disciples not to swear by heaven or earth or city or self but to have our speech be "yes" and "no" in relationship to our actions.  These shepherds were not keeping their word and never intending to keep their words.  Today when a false shepherd is exposed they go for the loopholes and "lawyer up" or hired a PR firm to clean up the mess rather than confess and face the God given consequences.

Strike #5 - Majoring on the minors while ignoring the majors.  

The scribes and Pharisees where great at paying the tithe even down to a tenth of their herbs but they were ignoring the requirements of Micah 6:8.  Their action to the minute of a tenth of their herbs was the gnat but their non action to the weightier matters of the law was the camel.  Today, a false shepherd will lead you to focus on one issue as supreme while the "elephant in the room" goes unaddressed.  They are "silo" shepherds.  Jesus says this is a both/and issue.  We are to support the work of God materially and physically.  We support with our material resources and we support with our physical abilities.

3 more strikes come and then a little more teaching before exiting the temple and taking us into chapter 24.  This is the most verbally harsh we have seen Jesus.  He is trying to get the scribes and Pharisee's attention and also warn His disciples and the gathered crowd to what He is say "woe" to and what they are to say "whoa" to.  "Woe" that a judgment is coming and "whoa" to following those who are doing these things so that we distance and give discernment to Jesus' words.  

Link below to the whole service on this passage.

Adam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRj4ownijw4&t=1549s

A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 39th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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