Season 5 Podcast 6 The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 23 “Hypocrisy.” Pt 2

Season 5 Podcast 6 The Stories of the New Testament, Matthew Ch 23 “Hypocrisy.” Pt 2In last week’s Podcast we covered the first half of Matthew Chapter 23 verses 1-15. In this podcast we shall conclude Chapter 23 as we continue Christ’s commandments against hypocrisy. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.Simply convert the image. To the Jews the Temple was the center of everything. It is, of course, based on the temple of Solomon which has a long history of destruction and rebuilding. The history of the temple is the history of the Jews. The idea of a temple is thousands of years old. The Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Israelites, the Mayans, the Hindus, the Greeks, the Romans—all civilizations had temples. Have you visited Las Vegas? Some sarcastically refer to billion-dollar casinos as ‘Temples of Chance.” A temple is where you worship. Unlike a mere meeting house, a temple is the center of your life. It is where your soul resides.In America the government is become our house of worship, the Capital our temple. From Washington we are told what to think, what to believe, how to worship, how to speak, what to drive, how to cook our food, how to vote, how to treat others, how to teach our children, how to treat our neighbor, how to interpret events, how to use pronouns, how to determine sex, how to view the family, how to respect the rights of others, what is good and what is evil. Now apply that to the to the scripture in Matthew above. Think of the politicization of the Justice Department, The FBI, the IRS, and all other powers of government. Think of the two-tiered justice system, one for liberals another for conservatives. Think of the witch hunts that are going on as we speak. Can you not hear the Savior say, “Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater the power of office or the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater the entitlements or the rights guaranteed in our founding documents?  But the analogy doesn’t end.23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.To make comment on the above is to weaken it. However, just substitute taxes for tithes and are we not so caught up in rights that our government has omitted the weightier matters of the laws, judgment, mercy, and faith. In fact, our government is attempting to censor Christianity to enforce political correctness. They hide documents that reveal truth and exaggerate flaws to enforce their agenda. They call peaceful demonstrations acts of terrorism and terrorist acts peaceful demonstration. Indeed they “Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”