Jesus Loves

Jesus Loves

If you were to name a single character trait that epitomized what Jesus was all about, you’d probably end up at love. It was the defining characteristic of His entire ministry. It would be hard to say He hated anything … but not impossible.

That leads us to our next series of devotions. Jesus loved people and life. He knew who He was and why He had came to dwell among His creation, but there were moments of anger and intense dislike for some things. Remember the temple incident where He overturned the tables and chased the moneychangers out? Let’s not forget that He made a whip for that.

Keep in mind that there was evil all around Him. The Roman Empire was brutal and vicious. The Jewish government was oppressive and corrupt and the religious leaders were mired in greedy and self-serving. It wasn’t good.

If we were to identify the one thing He despised most in all of that, it would probably be the hypocrisy. He specifically - and publicly - called out the hypocrites. Here’s why.

The Jews were the people of God. They were commanded to be holy, by God, to be a light to the rest of the world. They were supposed to show the world the pathway to God. The corrupt religious leaders were utter failures in that mission. Jesus called them “blind guides” and “whitewashed tombs”. They were bogged down in legalism; in bondage to a law that they had twisted and contorted so badly that it was impossible to follow. They were so driven by wealth, political ambition and power that they were more worried about funding their lavish lifestyles than they were about God, truth and justice.

The fallout of all that was a lost people looking for the Light of God but finding nothing but obstacles and pitfalls.

Enter Jesus and Matthew 23.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to look at the very words of Jesus as He takes on these fake leaders and exposes them for what they were.

Matthew 23:3

“Therefore … do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”