Daily Devotional For Monday, February 2, 2026
Good morning Southside. Well, the predicted snow came and for some, the inches varied in our county from 3-10 inches. With the gale force winds, the wind chill dropped significantly. Praise the Lord that we have His Holy Word to go to warm our hearts and souls. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. In Matthew 23, Jesus discusses the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, especially the Pharisees. Therefore, we are going to break this chapter down into individual parts to look at for our devotionals. Today we come to Matthew 23:1-7:
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, (2) saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; (3) therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. (4) They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.(5) But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. (6) They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, (7) and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men” (NASB).
The Scribes were those religious leaders who copied the Old Testament Scriptures. When a scroll became unusable, they made sure there was a copy to replace it. Most Scribes were Pharisees. Hypocrisy among the religious leaders, especially the Pharisees is what has Jesus’ angry here. They never practice what they teach others to do. They say one thing and then go and do just the opposite. If these are to be the guys the Jewish people are to follow and emulate, it is no wonder that Jesus told the people – “Don’t follow their example” (vs. 3). The Pharisees were the strict adherents to the Old Testament law. They made it their lifetime goal to keep every aspect of the law, both written and oral – the laws, not God’s.
They had taken their own interpretation of the law, added additional rules and regulations to it, and elevated these to the same level of authority as God’s Word. And sometimes, they elevated above the authority of God’s Word. I will say that some of these added rules and regulations were beneficial, but most were not. What got Jesus mad was this:
- The Pharisees took their man-made rules and elevated them to or above God’s law.
- They insisted the people follow these man-made rules when they did not themselves.
- What rules they did obey, they did not do it to honor God. They did it to draw attention to themselves so that they would receive the praises of the people.
“The chair of Moses?” What is Jesus referencing here? In each synagogue there was a chair a Rabbi would sit in to teach the people from the Mosaic Law and other Scriptures. This seat was called the “the chair or seat of Moses.” This chair or seat had a symbolic and metaphorical meaning – what the Rabbi taught was coming directly from Moses and that the Rabbi should be viewed as Moses himself in that chair or seat. Jesus uses sarcasm against these religious leaders because they had assumed more authority for themselves than God had given.
Jesus does not toss aside the value of all Pharisees, but was pointing out how worthless they are when they depart from God’s will for their role and purpose. These religious leaders had added so many rules, regulations and rituals apart from the Mosaic law, that the average Jew could not keep all of these – something the Pharisees themselves failed to do. These had become a “heavy burden” to the Jews (vs. 4).
In other words, the Pharisees lived in their lofty towers of power dictating obedience to God without ever telling the people how to do this. They were all teachers without application. They would not lower themselves to show the people how to do this in a practical way. This would be no different than a child who has a bicycle where the chain has either come off or broken. That child goes to tell his father and that father says, “Well, if you want to ride your bike, go fix it.” The father knows how to fix this but the child does not. Without showing his child how to fix his or her bike, the father has added a heavy burden to that child. The same is true with Bible teaching. Telling people what to do without showing them how to live out their faith in obedience to the Lord adds a heavy burden to them. Teaching without application is burdensome.
Anyone who has the idea that Jesus was “meek and mild” has not read these passages. Faith is to be freeing and liberating, not burdensome. In this section Jesus is not primarily dealing with the corruption of Pharisees but justification by faith alone through grace. The Pharisees taught a theology and salvation of honoring the Law through works. They believed because they were Jewish, part of “God’s chosen people,” they were safe and saved. Jesus refutes this here. For atheist and a now apologist for the Christian faith, C.S. Lewis talks about this in his book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He illustrates this with a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, a name he seemed to deserve:
“This boy deserved such an awful name because he was an awful boy. At the heart of his overall awfulness was his pride, a pride that led to perpetual complaining and persistent disbelief. He refused to believe in Narnia even though he was sailing upon its rough seas and holding conservations with its talking animals.While on an unexplored island, Eustace wanders away from the group and finds a dragon’s hoard. Soon after, he is transformed into a dragon by the “greedy, dragonish thoughts” in his heart (Source: C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, p. 91) . . . It is then that Eustace begins to see himself for who he really is. He has been selfish, greedy, and proud because he is selfish, greedy, and proud. His dragonish actions have come from his dragonish heart. He also recognizes his inability to remove all of his dragon’s skin, and thus he must and does call upon the lion Aslan (represents Christ) to dedragon him—to return him to human form, the same outside now with a new inside. On the final page of the book, the narrator says of Eustace, “You’d never know him for the same boy” ((Source: C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, p. 248).
Jesus is also dealing with a lack of humility among the Pharisees. We can’t be de-dragoned by Christ until we see ourselves as a dragon. That requires humility, a death to pride and self-centeredness. We can’t save ourselves. We can’t. Follow only the pure teachings of Scripture, not all the man-made rules others have made up. The Pharisees had a “know-it-all” attitude and this sickened Jesus. So, he vomited His criticism and His sarcasm at them. Ever been around such people? They’re cocky. They are arrogant. They are prideful. Makes you sick, doesn’t it? The question we all have asked is: Where and when are we like that?
Reflective Assignment: And if you are a dragon, ask the Lord today to de-dragon you. If you hold a position in the church, ask the Lord if it has gone to your head. Do you think you are better and if you do, then do you model for others what you expect from them from Scripture. Do you sit back and judge others without showing them how to live for Christ when they are weak? Anyone can criticize; it takes a caring person to show compassion.
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 3:5, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, in the areas I am a “dragon,” please “de-dragon” me. Lord, help me to humble myself, to swallow my pride and to not think I am really a “know-it-all.” Give me a heart to help people, not humiliate them publicly and privately with burgers they cannot carry. Give me wisdom to see how my words and actions are burdening people and not lifting them up to go follow Your Word. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly