May 25, 2014

“Brood of Vipers”

Blessings folk!

Jesus’ encounter with the religious rulers intensified.

Note the Words used by the Lord.
Note the example.
Note the conclusion.

Matthew 23:29-33
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Jesus declared woe to them.
The religious rulers.
Hypocrites.
Sons of murderers.
Serpents.
Brood of vipers.

The religious rulers were building tombs and monuments in honor of the prophets and the righteous who had come before.

Yet, it had been the forefathers of the religious rulers who had rejected and killed the prophets.

The current batch of rulers declared that they would have never had done such - the shedding of the blood of the prophets.

They totally missed that they were testifying against themselves.

Rather than repenting…
Rather than calling for forgiveness from God…

They rejoiced in the beautiful outward appearances of the pomp, the circumstance, the regalia, the clothing, the housing, the power, the buildings, the prestige.

Yet Jesus called them what they were.
White-washed tombs.
Brood of vipers.
Unclean.

The Kingdom is not religious activity...