Daily Walk Through the New Testament

May 6

Read Matthew 22:41-23:22

Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, Jewish leaders hounded Him, monitoring His every move. They were threatened by His message and His authority, and they were furious with envy as great crowds followed Him. The scribes and Pharisees plotted how they might destroy Jesus, and their first scheme was to try to trap Hi. In a series of loaded questions (Matthew 22:15). In His infinite wisdom, Jesus answered all of them perfectly and then asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”  (Vs. 42).
These Jewish leaders recognized the humanity of the Messiah and that He descended from David, but they certainly didn’t acknowledge His divinity. Answering correctly would have validated Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, and they didn’t want to do that. Jesus explained that He Himself was David’s Lord. He existed before David and gave David life!
Jesus exposed His antagonists’ evil intentions and warned them they were only asking for judgment. His rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 describes how false religion parades itself under the mask of truth. Our society promotes tolerance at any cost, but Jesus was unwilling to compromise the truth of the gospel. Are you willing to compromise? Be sure your are not believing in a false and self-serving version of the gospel. Stay committed to the truth of God’s Word.