Daily Devotional For Thursday, February 5, 2026
Good morning Southside. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 23 and because Jesus has much to say in this chapter that is the whole chapter, we are going to break it down into parts. Today, we are entering into the section that is called the “7 woes” because Jesus begins each one with the word “woe.” We are going to take each of these “woes” individually. Today, we come to the 3rd “woe” in Matthew 23:15: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (NASB). This 3rd “woe” focuses on the religious leaders perverting their own converts. There were two steps for someone to convert to Judaism:
- The first step was to accept the basic tenet of Judaism that there is only one God and to accept all the tenets of Judaism. Many Gentile converts were coming from religions that were polytheistic (they believed there many gods). We see this in the Mosaic Law in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3-6 and in Deuteronomy 6:4.
- The second step was for any male to become circumcised. Jews were the only ones who did this. This went all the way back to when God called Abraham to be His servant and commanded Abraham and his descendants to circumcise all their sons as a visible sign of being people of the covenant. We see this in Genesis 17.
The Pharisees limited and restricted their evangelistic zeal to God-fearing pagan Gentiles only. “God-fearing” refers to those pagan Gentiles who were attracted to Judaism. They did not want to mix or mingle with pagan Gentiles who had no attraction to Judaism. Now, do not misunderstand me here. The zeal of the Pharisees to do this was real. They would travel to Jews living in other countries in the Roman Empire and teach those Jews and attempt to convince these pagan Gentiles to complete their conversion through circumcision.
Unfortunately, many of these pagan Gentiles were more attracted to the rules, rituals and regulations of Judaism because it gave them a sense of stability and clear right and wrong. This means they were not attracted to having a relationship with the God of Judaism and this is how the Pharisees perverted their converts. This is why Jesus said they made such converts “twice as much a son of hell” than they were before conversion.
The word Jesus uses here for convert is the Greek New Testament word [προσήλυτος; prosēlutos]. It is where we get our English word proselyte. People like visible signs that their faith is genuine and to some of these, the physical sign of circumcision gives them this false hope. To the Pharisees, the Jewish faith was one in which you walked by sight not by faith. The Bible says just the opposite (see 2 Cor. 5:7). This means that the numbers would increase who would be led astray all in the name of God and God’s word. This is why Jesus pronounces judgment on the Pharisees. Many times new converts to any religion or movement are encouraged to have more zeal and passion for it than those who have been a part of it for a long time and who have lost some of their zeal and passion for it. Former atheist and now Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis writes this in The Chronicles of Narnia:
“In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell the four children that Aslan (who represents Christ) is a lion, Susan replies, “Ooh!… Is He—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there is anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.” “Then He isn’t safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mrs. Beaver … “Who said anything about safe? ’Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you” (Source: C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, p. 79).
Jesus in these woes is stressing a point. I think for most Christians, they see Jesus as safe and good. We believe that Jesus is King of kings in our hearts, but when was the last time in prayer you came to Jesus with your knees knocking? The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord brings wisdom and understanding (see Pr. 9:10). I do not see many Christians today having a healthy and respectful fear of the Lord.
Like the Jews in Jesus’ day, since they “walked an aisle, prayed a prayer to receive Christ and joined the church,” they live their lives in intentional sin and disobedience as the religious leaders and Jews of Jesus’ day did assuming they are safe. They believe the doctrine “once saved, always saved” gives them a license to live as they choose without any lifestyle of holiness, godliness, righteousness and fearful respect of the Lord. The Apostle Paul condemns such a “license to sin” attitude in Romans 6:1-2.
Have you ever been in an intense thunderstorm with lightning and thunder everywhere? You need to see these 7 “woes” from Jesus as 7 thunderstorms that just keep coming. New Testament scholar Alfred Plummer writes this: “These 7 woes are like thunder in their unanswerable severity, and like lightning in their unsparing exposure.… They illuminate while they strike” (Source: quoted by William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, “The Gospel of Matthew,” Vol. 2, p. 288). Each clap of thunder and flash of lightning is a reminder that judgment is coming to anyone who perverts the truth of the Gospel.
In the 1940s, Adult Hitler did this with his insane perversion of the person and life of Jesus so that he could turn the world against the Jews. Hitler wrote these words:
“My feelings as a Christian point me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them.… In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the courage to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and of adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison!” (Source: Norman H. Baynes, The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922–August 1939, vol. 1, pp. 19- 20.
Reflection Assignment: You may think, “Well, I know I am a sinner but I am no Hitler.” Really? Do your attitudes, actions, and attributes turn people against Jesus and the Christian faith? You may say, “Oh, I believe the Scriptures,” but do you intentionally live them out in consistent obedience, holiness and godliness that honors the Lord? Do you have a healthy fear of the Lord as the Lion of Judah? When was the last time your “knees knocked” before the Lord? When you come to worship, do you really come to worship or do you find yourself simply going through the motions? Do you listen to the Word with the intent of applying it to your life or is it just an outline to fill in for that day? If the Lord were to compare your life to the lives of the Pharisees, what would be your evaluation?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please forgive me when I come before You with no fearful respect. I treat You like we are on the same level at times. I am so sorry for this. I never want to live a life that distorts or perverts the truth of the Gospel before others. Help me to live my life for Your glory, the salvation and discipleship of others. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly