1/20/10 Matthew 23
Exalting Oneself
(Mt 23:12)12“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
In this chapter eight woes are spoken against the scribes and Pharisees. The woes in this section are used as strong condemnation. The scribes and Pharisees are some of the most religious people of the day, yet Jesus condemns them for exalting themselves and one another. They desire that their good deeds be noticed by men, not so that God would receive glory, but that they would be honored and respected (glorified). They sought honor and respect, because of their religious positions or titles and their knowledge and teaching of the scripture.
But Jesus condemns their desire to be exalted, because they have failed at the most fundamental levels. They have failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, even hindering people from coming to the kingdom. They have failed in their good deeds, because the deeds have produced more harm than good. They failed by wrongly interpreting the Scriptures and have majored on the minors.
A lesson that we can take from this is that true humility is one of those majors that God desires for His people. True humility takes us to the very character of God. Coming to the poor and needy, identifying with them, and assisting them. It was just back a few chapters in Mt 11:29, that Jesus says “I am gentle and humble in heart.” As we focus on Jesus and follow Him, our lives should increasingly be marked by humility, not just in the public arena of life or worship, but with our family and friends who know us best.
Prayer: Father I ask that you would increase the humility in my life. Lead me to be less and less impressed with the praise of men, and more and more impressed with Jesus. Cause my heart to be humble as Jesus heart is. I ask that my deeds might not cause others to look at me, but they would look past me to You. May my deeds and life help people to enter the kingdom, and focus on and follow Jesus, and that their lives would reflect Your character and not my tainted character. Amen