Tuesday: God Will Punish Those Who Persecute His Messengers
M ATTHEW 23: 23 – 24:8
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of
everything you earn -- even your mint, dill, and cumin. But you don't obey the really important teachings of
the law -- justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things.
24 You guide the people, but you are blind! You are like a person who picks a fly out of a drink and then
swallows a camel! 25 "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash
the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside they are full of things you got by cheating others and by
pleasing only yourselves. 26 Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean, and then the
outside of the cup can be truly clean. 27 "How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are
hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full
of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. 28 It is the same with you. People look at you and
think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil. 29 "How terrible for you, teachers of the
law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and you show honor to the graves of
those who lived good lives. 30 You say, 'If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have
helped them kill the prophets.' 31 But you give proof that you are children of those who murdered the
prophets. 32 And you will complete the sin that your ancestors started. 33 "You are snakes! A family of
poisonous snakes! How are you going to escape God's judgment? 34 So I tell you this: I am sending to you
prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will beat in
your synagogues and chase from town to town. 35 So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people
who have been killed on earth -- from the murder of that good man Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of
Berakiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all of these things will
happen to you people who are living now.
Jesus Feels Sorry for Jerusalem
23:23
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone to death those who are sent to you. Many times I
wanted to gather your people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you did not let me. 38 Now your
house will be left completely empty. 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say,
'God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
37
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
24:1 As
Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his followers came up to show him the Temple's buildings.
2 Jesus asked, "Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. Every
stone will be thrown down to the ground." 3 Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers
came to be alone with him. They said, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that
it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?" 4 Jesus answered, "Be careful that no one fools you.
5 Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will fool many people. 6 You will hear about
wars and stories of wars that are coming, but don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end
comes. 7 Nations will fight against other nations; kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be
times when there is no food for people to eat, and there will be earthquakes in different places. 8 These things
are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
Old Testament Readings
"I punished your people, but it did not help. They didn't come back when they were punished. With your
swords you killed your prophets like a hungry lion. 34 Even on your clothes you have the blood of poor and
innocent people, but they weren't thieves you caught breaking in. You do all these things, 35 but you say, 'I am
innocent. God is not angry with me.' But I will judge you guilty of lying, because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
30
Jeremiah 2:30, 34-35
Crooked leaders cannot be your friends.
They use the law to cause suffering.
21 They join forces against people who do right
and sentence to death the innocent.
22 But the Lord is my defender;
my God is the rock of my protection.
23 God will pay them back for their sins
and will destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.
Psalm 94:20-23
20
Pashhur son of Immer was a priest and the highest officer in the Temple of the Lord. When he heard
Jeremiah prophesying in the Temple courtyard, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten. And he locked
Jeremiah's hands and feet between large blocks of wood at the Upper Gate of Benjamin of the Lord's Temple.
3 The next day when Pashhur took Jeremiah out of the blocks of wood, Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord's name
for you is not Pashhur. Now his name for you is Terror on Every Side. 4 This is what the Lord says: 'I will soon
make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. You will watch enemies killing your friends with swords.
And I will give all the people of Judah to the king of Babylon, who will take them away as captives to Babylon
and then will kill them with swords. 5 I will give all the wealth of this city to its enemies -- its goods, its
valuables, and the treasures of the kings of Judah. The enemies will carry all those valuables off to Babylon.
6 And Pashhur, you and everyone in your house will be taken captive. You will be forced to go to Babylon,
where you will die and be buried, you and your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'"
1
"Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved."
Insights
The Pharisees thought a lot of themselves. They were flashy in their appearance and arrogant in their
actions to the detriment of those who faithfully followed them. They punished and killed prophets sent by
God to guide them. Jesus called them clean looking cups filled with evil, filthy things. When questioned by
Jesus, they refused to answer because of their fear of how they would be perceived by the public.
Jesus taught his followers to not follow the popular societal ways but to humbly walk in His way to bring
others into the Kingdom of God. Worldly respect should mean nothing to us. What others think of us should
be the last thing on our minds as we serve God.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.” (C.S. Lewis)
Vicki Darring