What I Don't Want for Christmas. Matthew 23.

Read Matthew 23 online here.

For days we have seen presents sitting under the Christmas tree, all wrapped up in festive paper. Some of the gifts may even have fancy ribbons and bows, which only add to the anticipation. The more elegant the wrapping, the more we hope for a wonderful present. How disappointing it would be to untie the ribbon, tear off the paper and open the box only to find a handful of packing peanuts and no gift at all. It would be even worse to admiringly remove the shiny, decorative paper and discover the remains of someone’s fried chicken dinner. You would remember that gift for a long time, but not in a good way.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were a group of well-wrapped Christmas presents. It’s easy for us to see them as the bad guys in the Gospels because Jesus frequently called them out. However, most people in Jesus’ day saw them as the spiritual superstars. When it came to obeying God’s law, they were the varsity team. They looked really spiritual and holy, even down to their accessorizing¹, but Jesus saw their hearts. They were like beautiful wrapping paper covering up nasty chicken bones. Six times in this chapter, Jesus calls the Pharisees “hypocrites.” In Jesus’ words, a hypocrite is someone who does not practice what they preach (v. 23:3). They are quick to tell other people what to do, but are not willing to give them any help (v. 23:4). They do good things only to get noticed (v. 23:5). Basically, a hypocrite is someone who thinks the answer to sin is more rules and learning how to keep them. A hypocrite is someone who thinks that they can change their heart by changing stuff on the outside.

Trying to save yourself by following the rules will only turn you into a hypocrite. It doesn’t even matter what your rules are. The only real cure for hypocrisy is the Gospel. Jesus is very harsh in his words to the Pharisees, but he ends his words to them with an invitation to come to him. Jesus doesn’t deny that the people had sinned. In fact he said that they had murdered God’s truth-tellers — the prophets. But this did not mean that there was no hope for them. He said that he wanted to gather these sinful people of Jerusalem to himself like a mother hen protecting her baby chicks. The problem was not that they were too awful for Jesus to forgive or that they weren’t working hard enough to please God. The only thing that kept the people of Jerusalem from knowing God’s love and forgiveness was their own unwillingness to receive it on Jesus’ terms.

The Pharisees had their lists of rules and said, “Do these.” In his death on the cross, Jesus said, “It is done.” What are you counting on to make you “a good Christian”? Are you depending on rules or on Jesus?

¹For an interesting education on “phylacteries” (called “tefillin” by Jews today) check out http://www.chabad.org/generic_cdo/aid/102436/jewish/Tefillin.htm

Today's article written by Scott Gassoway.