Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27
There have been many "Yes!" moments for me over the past few days; various people from different walks of life speaking words regarding the people of God having a need to be about our purpose because the kingdom of God is at hand. How we are in need of getting back to the call of God and back to the commission of God. There are far too many giving the appearance of godliness, all clean on the outside but unclean and lifeless on the inside.
When this dropped in my spirit, my first reaction was “wow” and even at that point, I didn’t have clarity on what direction this would go however, my mind immediately thought of the events in the movie the Sixth Sense and what was happening in the life of Malcolm Crowe. Malcolm had no indication that he was dead; he got up every morning, got dressed, and continued on in his daily activities as though he was still alive. He went the through the motions of his life as he knew it, yet, he was still dead. Not a good place to be ... dead, yet going through your every day as if you're alive and well.
This passage in Matthew is telling of Jesus’ anger at the Pharisees about their works, their practices, their conduct and their pretense among the people. He clearly lets them know exactly what they were doing wrong before he even moved into the “Woes unto you.” He let them know how they spent time cleaning the outside, but was not concerned about what was on the inside. He also let them know how they treated the people with their unfair practices and unacceptable methods because of the power they possessed as the religious leaders. He told them that if they could just see that they needed to clean what was on the inside that the outside would automatically take care of itself. The scripture today describes it brilliantly, as He tells them they are like the whited tombs, which were beautifully kept and washed clean on the outside but inside those tombs it was full of dead men’s bones.
The Pharisees thought they were doing all the right things, the outside was presentable and in place while their hearts were not, apparently they were not really looking at their own reflection in the mirror. To themselves, they appeared to be just fine, but their hearts were full of pride, stature, greed, and power. They were hypocrites, pretending and going through the motions of religiosity; but having their own agendas. They thought they were perfect and righteous in their own sight, when they were actually self-righteous and self-serving.
It’s unfortunate that the same can still be said of the church today (I’m not speaking of the physical building). Too many of us are looking beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside. Like the Pharisees, pious and walking through this journey pretending to have admirable principles, beliefs, and stance but behaving otherwise; there’s no mission, no purpose and no movement ... having a form of godliness, but just dead (2 Tim 3:5); continuing on daily as if we are being effective and of actual service to the Lord. Trust me, God is never fooled by what we show on the outside. He sees what and who we really are, not what we appear to be to other men... for God knows the heart.
It is my prayer that we would come alive, let the Lord breathe on us (Ezek 37:5), arise and be effective for the Kingdom. Search us Oh God; help us not to be as the Pharisees, help us to be not as the well kept tomb ... where we're beautifully clean and kept on the outside but full of dead men’s bones and unclean on the inside.
I've heard, "He can make you clean inside!"
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
There have been many "Yes!" moments for me over the past few days; various people from different walks of life speaking words regarding the people of God having a need to be about our purpose because the kingdom of God is at hand. How we are in need of getting back to the call of God and back to the commission of God. There are far too many giving the appearance of godliness, all clean on the outside but unclean and lifeless on the inside.
When this dropped in my spirit, my first reaction was “wow” and even at that point, I didn’t have clarity on what direction this would go however, my mind immediately thought of the events in the movie the Sixth Sense and what was happening in the life of Malcolm Crowe. Malcolm had no indication that he was dead; he got up every morning, got dressed, and continued on in his daily activities as though he was still alive. He went the through the motions of his life as he knew it, yet, he was still dead. Not a good place to be ... dead, yet going through your every day as if you're alive and well.
This passage in Matthew is telling of Jesus’ anger at the Pharisees about their works, their practices, their conduct and their pretense among the people. He clearly lets them know exactly what they were doing wrong before he even moved into the “Woes unto you.” He let them know how they spent time cleaning the outside, but was not concerned about what was on the inside. He also let them know how they treated the people with their unfair practices and unacceptable methods because of the power they possessed as the religious leaders. He told them that if they could just see that they needed to clean what was on the inside that the outside would automatically take care of itself. The scripture today describes it brilliantly, as He tells them they are like the whited tombs, which were beautifully kept and washed clean on the outside but inside those tombs it was full of dead men’s bones.
The Pharisees thought they were doing all the right things, the outside was presentable and in place while their hearts were not, apparently they were not really looking at their own reflection in the mirror. To themselves, they appeared to be just fine, but their hearts were full of pride, stature, greed, and power. They were hypocrites, pretending and going through the motions of religiosity; but having their own agendas. They thought they were perfect and righteous in their own sight, when they were actually self-righteous and self-serving.
It’s unfortunate that the same can still be said of the church today (I’m not speaking of the physical building). Too many of us are looking beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside. Like the Pharisees, pious and walking through this journey pretending to have admirable principles, beliefs, and stance but behaving otherwise; there’s no mission, no purpose and no movement ... having a form of godliness, but just dead (2 Tim 3:5); continuing on daily as if we are being effective and of actual service to the Lord. Trust me, God is never fooled by what we show on the outside. He sees what and who we really are, not what we appear to be to other men... for God knows the heart.
It is my prayer that we would come alive, let the Lord breathe on us (Ezek 37:5), arise and be effective for the Kingdom. Search us Oh God; help us not to be as the Pharisees, help us to be not as the well kept tomb ... where we're beautifully clean and kept on the outside but full of dead men’s bones and unclean on the inside.
I've heard, "He can make you clean inside!"
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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