 Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, a Greek theater word referring to actors who wore large masks to play parts contrary to their true selves.
The scribes and Pharisees pretended to be super-spiritual to intimidate and rule over the people. These individuals who should have been serving the people were only serving themselves. And they were pretty good at deceiving the people. But Jesus looks at the heart. He sees their motives and hypocrisy and calls out these charlatans in righteous anger mixed with deep sorrow and great grief. But it didn’t have to be this way. Jesus wanted to gather them, but they were not willing to come to Him (see Matthew 23:37-39). There is no value in clinging to a phony piety that attempts to deceive others and rule over others. There is a better way. The Apostle Paul’s life is a testimony to this fact. His legalistic righteousness was off the charts, yet this was the conclusion he made after meeting Jesus: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…” (Philippians 3:7-9) Like Paul, let go of your self-righteousness. Gain Christ and be found in Him.  In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a warning concerning the scribes and the Pharisees with such intensity and specificity that it seems out of character for His usual meek and mild manner throughout the Gospels.
His intensity in calling out these religious rulers should cause us to take note. While He is angry, He is still sinless and maintains a righteous judgment in this word of warning, correction, and rebuke to what these individuals have done and continue to do. Watch our study of Matthew 23 as we consider these harsh yet honest rebukes to the religious leaders and how we might heed Jesus’ warning today.  “So Jesus stood still and commanded [Bartimaeus] to be called.”
–Mark 10:49 It’s interesting that Jesus stood still. How would blind Bartimaeus find Him? Yet through this detail, Jesus teaches us to come to Him. Remember, Jesus didn't say, "I'll come to you when you are weary and heavy laden." He said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden." (Matthew 11:28-30). The choice to come to Him is yours, even though it may involve difficulty, cost, risk, or consequence. The rich young ruler struggled with this invitation (see Matthew 19:16-22), but Bartimaeus took action, threw aside his garment, rose, and came to Jesus (Mark 10:50). His garment would have been everything—bed, blanket, home, security, and means to survive. And yet, Bartimaeus realized it was worthless compared to coming to Christ. Have you chosen to follow Jesus? Are you willing to make that choice? Friend, nothing in this world compares to the worth and value of following Jesus. Hear the same encouragement as Bartimaeus: "Take courage! Rise! Jesus is calling you!" Choose to set aside your personal security and come to Jesus. When Jesus left Jericho, He was followed by many who wanted to hear what He had to say. But there was someone who kept getting in the way—a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who interrupted, crying out loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" He had a genuine, desperate need and was reaching out to Jesus the only way he knew how.
Watch our study of Matthew 20:29-34 (and Mark 10:46-52) as we considered Jesus' response to this interruption.  Why do we grumble and complain when we see God give others what we don’t think they deserve, or opportunities He hasn’t given us? After all, we deserve those things!
But do we really? Do we really want what we deserve? Everything we have is God’s mercy. Every opportunity is His grace. Every chance we have to serve in ministry is more than we justly deserve. When we lobby leadership for perceived positions of power and think we have a right to fight for what we really deserve, we forget about what we actually deserve. None of us can truly and genuinely serve apart from Jesus. Our resume, pedigree, or experience is never the reason we receive any opportunity to serve. Only with humility can we realize that ministry isn’t about us. Ministry looks like coming after Jesus, denying ourselves, taking up His cross, and following Him in humble, self-sacrificial, others-centered service. People often have a “what’s in it for me” motivation for ministry rather than simply a desire to serve. We’re not the only ones who struggle with motivation in ministry. Jesus’ closest and most devoted followers struggled with the proper motivation for ministry.
Jesus really meant what He said when He taught, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). When we ask what we’ll get out of serving Jesus, we’re asking the wrong question and have the wrong motivation. Watch our study from Sunday as we reflect on our own motivations for ministry and look to Jesus as the best model for serving with genuine motives.  Two verses prior to His interaction with the rich young ruler, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” So, how would a little child receive the kingdom of God?
Have you ever watched a little child playing with their favorite toy when someone brings a gift far more wonderful than what they have? The child looks at the toy in their hands, then tosses it aside to receive what’s been given, saying, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” This is quite the contrast to how the rich young ruler responded. He wanted to serve something other than God and was unwilling to repent and renounce his old ‘toy’ in favor of something far better. It was never about the money; it was about repenting of idolatry and making God number one on a list of one. The rich young ruler was unwilling to do this. What about you? You can’t do anything to inherit eternal life. The only thing you can do is throw down your sin, run to Jesus, and receive the free gift of salvation He wants to give you. When the Holy Spirit puts His finger on the sin He is dealing with in your life, you have a choice. You can say ‘Yes’ and yield to Him and repent. Or you can say ‘No’ and walk away, unwilling to let go of whatever you loved more than the Lord.
Make no mistake, whatever you love more than the Lord is your god. But no one can serve two masters. That’s why repenting is so important—it is renouncing all other masters. Watch our study of Matthew 19:16-22 as we observed a rich young ruler who was willing to come to Jesus, but unwilling to follow Him.  Throughout the Scriptures, God uses human relationships to convey His emotions and provide an analogy for reconciliation. The book of Hosea contains one of the most powerful examples of the Lord’s love for His people, even when they didn’t love Him back. It explores a human relationship to illustrate His pain and anguish over Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness.
This book has many gut-wrenching verses concerning the sin and impending captivity of Israel. It also contains many verses of the Lord’s love for His people, even when Israel was bent on sin, rebellion, and rejection. Maybe your sin is destroying you. If so, consider the amazing grace and love of the Lord who calls out to us even in the midst of our mess and while we are at our worst: “Israel, return to the Lord your God. Your sins have destroyed you! Tell the Lord you are turning away from your sins. Return to him. Say to him, ‘Forgive us for all our sins. Please be kind to us. Welcome us back to you. Then our lips will offer you our praise.’” (Hosea 14:1-2) |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
January 2026
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