For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 15
What was Jesus’ response to religionists who were concerned about outward ceremonies? What matters to Jesus? To you? In the first half of this chapter, Jesus confronts the Pharisees and teachers of the law in their hypocrisy. I need to look at that confrontation from a few different angles to really learn from it.
First, I need to look at the religious leaders’ actions. Jesus said of them, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” (Matt. 15:8-9). I need to make sure that my efforts to serve God are not simply religious posturing. God comes before everything, yes. But if I am doing my so-called acts of worship at the expense of others, I am doing something wrong. My ‘service’ to God has become service to self or to some other human value.
When Jesus pointed this truth out to the leaders, their pride flared up and they took offense. So the second thing I need to look at is my response to truth. Everybody takes offense at everything these days, it seems, and the trend is not a good one. Being offended is a choice. And, as with the Jewish leaders, it stems from pride. The truth will always tempt a person to take offense when they are on the wrong side of it. This is why humility is so important. We cannot subject ourselves to God’s truth without it.
The last thing I need to see is Jesus’ response to those who took offense to Him. Jesus was well aware of the stumbling block nature of truth, so He was not surprised. He also knew that He was and is truth. Therefore, His response was to leave them alone. He did not trip all over Himself apologizing and trying to sooth their frayed feelings. Nor did He pick any kind of fight with them. Jesus didn’t worry Himself with them at all because He knew that those who choose to take offense at God will meet their own end. Instead, He simply continued to speak the truth for those who were willing to receive it. Fight evil with good; fight lies with truth; stay focused on God.
Deut. 11-12
Moses called them to love and obey God. How are these two things related? (See John 14:15, 1 John 5:3) Why did God direct them to a single centralized place of worship? What was He trying to help them avoid and why was that important? It is impossible to love God and NOT keep His commands because His commands are all about how to love Him. Jesus said in Matthew 22 that the first and greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love others. Then He stated, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:40). All of God’s requirements, which His people were to obey, were to teach them how to love.
God’s requirement to worship Him in one single place of His choosing was no different. God very intentionally gave His people a very different way of worshipping than that of any other nation. This was to help them love and serve Him alone as the One True God. It was to ensure that they were humbling themselves to His way rather than doing whatever they pleased. And it was to ensure that there was no mistake about who they were worshipping.
We still learn much from all these requirements today, even though we are not subject to them. As we just saw in Matthew, it was never about the external adherence to tradition that mattered. What matters is a heart that is wholly devoted to God influencing every aspect of our lives.
Prov. 7
What will keep you from the snare of adultery? “Keep my commands and you will live” (Prov. 7:2a). That pretty much says it all. And this isn’t just for adultery, but for anything that tries to lure us away from God. From the rest of what we have read and thought on this morning, we know that “keep my commands” is equivalent to “Love God”. When we keep our hearts and minds on God and focus our efforts toward genuinely serving Him alone, we avoid that “highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” (Prov. 7:27).