“Whatsorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! Foryou are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dishes, but insideyou are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!” Matthew 23:25 (NLT)
What’s on the inside matters most to God.
The Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t get this. Though they outwardly followed religious laws meticulously, Jesus called them hypocrites and frauds. (See Matthew 23.) Why?
It’s because the Pharisees did everything for public show (Matthew 23:5-7). Their focus centred around whatever looked good on the outside—but ignored the inside. Jesus said, “They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behaviour. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer” (Matthew 23:3, MSG).
God knows we can outwardly follow a bunch of rules while our hearts stay cold and unchanged. We can modify our behaviour to stop doing whatever is on our “naughty” list, but inwardly we can remain unmoved. That’s why God’s focus is on our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).
You see, the purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection was to pave the way for believers to experience heartfelt relationships with God again. By freeing us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), Christ rescued us from the burden of externally-focused religion.
Actually, He came to end every religion—not just the Old Covenant system—so we could have a personal relationship with God instead.
The truth is, the Pharisees had it backwards. Following God is not about perfecting our outward appearances. It is about allowing Him into our hearts to change and ultimately transform our lives.
Meditate on God’s Word. Let Him work in you where it counts most!
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