Psalm: 81 Meditation Matthew: Matthew tells us here that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus asking Him for a sign from heaven (or God). Well, we know it could not have been a Sabbath day this time – that would constitute what we call entrapment. Jesus then thwarts their attempts by telling them …
Tag: Pharisees
Sunday, October 11
Psalm: 147 Meditation Luke: How easily our eyes are closed to ourselves as Jesus said in the “Sermon on the Mount”: clear out your own eye before judging someone else. While the Pharisee is judging Jesus, Jesus, is about to judge him. Like Jonah, the Pharisee hates the idea of God showing forgiveness and mercy …
Friday, September 11
Psalms: 54 Meditation Matthew: John the Baptist made no attempt at popularity. Like any prophet worth his salt, John was no fashion-plate either, proclaiming “Repent” – the only thing missing from this caricature was the sandwich board reading: “The end is near.” He was fearless confronting king, Pharisee and priest alike warning even them that …
Wednesday, September 9
Psalms: 49 Meditation Philippians: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” (v. 3) Jesus spoke of Pharisees as being like that – to be made much of in the world. Our motivation for doing anything shall spring from a heart of gratitude. Thanksgiving for an opportunity to serve. We also have here a …
Sunday, August 30
Psalm: 115 Meditation John: Jesus was nothing of not provocative. At times, like this one, Jesus seemed to be wielding a needle headed straight for an eye. Here Jesus was telling Jews (perhaps Pharisees, though the text does not specify) just who He is. In order to drive home the point, Jesus made this statement: …
Sunday, August 23
Psalm: 146 Meditation John: Here Jesus is accused of bearing witness to Himself where the Law (Deut. 19:15) clearly states that effective witness in two or more but not just one. The ninth Commandment warns against giving false testimony. True, Jesus is His own witness, but He has another: His Father. These Pharisees are having …
Thursday, July 30
Psalm: 72 Meditation Mark: What is clean and what is unclean? We tend to be no better than the Pharisees – actors all of us. The debate here is what does “clean” mean? Jesus is rather clear the “nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him.” (v. 15) We see the …
Sunday, July 12
Psalm: 44 Meditation Matthew: This is one of Jesus’ tirades against the teachers of the law (the scribes) and Pharisees (and to us too!). In it, Jesus reminds them that their fathers oversaw the murder of many prophets. Alas, these teachers and Pharisees decry that they would not have done such a thing if they …
Friday, June 5
Psalm: 51:1-17 Meditation Luke: The Pharisee and the tax collector. This is a very familiar parable of Jesus. Paul, himself a Pharisee, tells us “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4), and he would know. Pharisees were, by and large, good people whose heart was to adhere to the Law. They were …
Thursday, February 20
Psalms: 98, 99 Meditation Mark: Time and again Jesus has to contend with the myopic (near-sighted) leaders of the people “who can’t see the forest for the trees”. The truth is many Christian can become rather myopic as well when their own beliefs are brought into question. These often become the “hills to die on” …
