HRT: Mattthew 23:1-36

Part of your job as a parent is to warn your kids about the possible dangers that they may face in the world. For example, I am constantly warning my toddler against placing his fingers in electrical sockets. It is my desire to protect him from something I know to be harmful to his wellbeing.

In our passages, Jesus gives his disciples a warning, but it’s not one that they would have expected. Because, Jesus warns his disciples about the scribes and Pharisees. This was a deeply respected group of religious leaders, who were experts in the law that governed the lives of God’s chosen people. If anyone knew how to walk with God in righteousness, it was supposedly these people.

And yet, Jesus warns his disciples to beware the scribes and Pharisees, going even as far as to say that they are woeful in their faith. Why would Jesus urge his disciples to be wary of this highly respected group? Because their righteousness was only skin deep. It was a facade, and while their showmanship may have fooled the public, it did not fool Jesus. What Jesus saw in these scribes can be summed up in this way: underneath the long prayers and the long robes, they were spiritually poor. Let me explain.

The scribes did not know that they had innate value in the eyes of God as his children - that they were deeply loved by the God of the Universe - so they needed the praise and adoration of others. That’s spiritual poverty.

The scribes did not feel content in the ways that God was providing for them, nor did they feel like they could trust Him for their daily needs, so they had to scheme how they could take what they needed from others. That’s spiritual poverty.

And because the scribes were so empty on the inside, because they had no firm foundation upon which they could stand, when they prayed, they had to make it a show and a pretense, because there was no authentic connection with God to engage in prayer. That’s spiritual poverty. All of this came from a deep spiritual poverty.

And while we may not do the exact things that Jesus observes in the scribes, there are certainly ways in which that same spiritual poverty can surface in our own lives.

So what can we do? We lay before the Lord the entirety of our lives - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and we say, “Lord, more than anything right now, I need you.” The worst thing that we could do is hide our inner struggles from God and the world, covering them up through the pretense of outward righteousness. That road only leads to greater shame and isolation. No, we are invited by Christ to be honest with him and allow his grace to restore our standing with the Father. As Jesus says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).