WOEFUL BEHAVIOR (PART 4)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.”

Matthew 23:16-22

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you spiritually blind?

Many people are today. They can see plainly when it comes to physical, tangible things but when it comes to the matters of wisdom and discernment grounded in the Lord, they are sightless.

This is where Satan would like all people to be and it was evident he was doing a great job in Jesus’ day, even adversely impacting the Pharisees and scribes Jesus was addressing in the temple courts of Jerusalem. Jesus hurled strong words of reprimand to the Jewish religious leaders, calling them “blind guides”, blind fools, and blind men” as He calls woe down upon them for a fourth successive time. Of interest, the prior woes regarded the negative impact the Pharisees, scribes, and other Jewish authorities were having on other people. But as we see in this woe, Jesus begins to address the attitude and behavior of the leaders themselves. Look again at His words here:

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.”  Matthew 23:16-22

So what was at the heart of this specific condemnation?

It was the matter of swearing oaths and whether those sworn oaths were treated by the Jewish authorities as binding or not. Here were the examples Jesus used in making His point:

“If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.”

“If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.”

This is the way things were. An oath sworn on a mere offering was more significant than an oath sworn in a sacred place where God dwelled and that was not appropriate. Even further, it was sinful.

How would Jesus get the Pharisees and scribes to understand that their behavior was woeful?

As we see, He used two questions:

Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

Anyone who was truly grounded in God would see the obvious here, that the temple and altar were far greater than any offerings brought to it. In fact, none of the gold or gifts would be holy in and of themselves but as soon as they were presented to the Lord, they gained their consecration.

The problem with the Pharisees, scribes, and other Jewish leaders is that they were placing more of an emphasis on material items than they were the Lord who provided them. And what made it worse was that they were impressing the same attitude on their followers.

So what was the solution?

Jesus gave it to them. Look at His closing words:

“Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.”

The way forward was easy. Place your full emphasis on God and you will never go wrong when you are swearing on a promise. Not only does God sit on His throne in heaven but He dwelled in the temple as well. Further, swearing on the altar and the temple would include everything within it. Anything dedicated to the Lord gained an elevation in significance, not because of what it was but because God Himself.

What is our takeaway from all this?

Jesus is reminding us that our fullest focus needs to be on the Lord and His righteousness. Period. If we are committing ourselves with a promise, we need to make that promise in the Lord’s name and in His name alone.

This does two things.

First, it places the Lord in the place of importance, above any person or anything.  

Second, it holds the person making the vow ultimately accountable because they will have to answer to the Lord if they go back on their word. And no one should want to promise in the Lord’s name and then renege on that promise.

For that would be as much as a woeful behavior then swearing an oath on anything material instead of the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark