Daily Devotional For Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Good day Southside. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 23. 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 “8 woes” because Jesus begins each one with the word “woe.”
Some do not include the “woe” in Matthew 23:14 because it is not in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew. It was added later because this verse is found in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47. At some time it was incorporated into Matthew 23. We are going to take each of these “woes” individually. Today, we come to the 7th/8th "woe"depending on if you count the “woe” in Matthew 23:14 or not. Today, we come to Matthew 23:29-33:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, (30) and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ (31) So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. (32) Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. (33) You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” (NASB).
When we started, the first “woe” Jesus condemned the religious leaders for murdering the prophets. To the Jewish people, prophets were esteemed and honored. The Jews would visit the graves of prophets and keep their graves clean such as whitewashing them and removing weeds and grass around them. King Herod built a marble monument to Solomon and to David’s tombs. The sad irony is that the honoring of these prophets later in life because they had been murdered by the religious leaders of their day.
For example, the prophet Zechariah was murdered (see 2 Chronicles 24:20-22). The prophet Uriah (also spelled Urijah) was murdered (see Jeremiah 26:20-23). While the contemporary religious leaders of Jesus’ day said they would have never participated in the murder of one of God’s prophets, Jesus said they were no different. Why? Murder starts in the heart before it ever gets to the hands (see Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:21-22). As God’s Messiah to the people, the religious leaders had already murdered Jesus in their hearts. Thus, they were guilty of breaking one of the treasured 10 Commandments of the Mosaic Law, something they claimed they revered and respected.
Therefore, as in verse 31 they were no different than their ancestors. In verse 32, “fill up the measure” was Jesus’ way of saying, “Go ahead and follow the example of your ancestors and kill Me too.” These words by Jesus also reflect the coming judgment of God on these religious leaders that will come in AD 70 with the total destruction of the Temple by Rome and all Temple rituals and sacrifices.
All of these 7 or 8 woes come on the heels of Passover Week where Jesus will ride a donkey into Jerusalem under the palm waving people shouting, “Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel.” Five days later the same people will be shouting, “Crucify Him, crucify Him. We have no king but Caesar.” By their own admission to be related to the religious leaders of the past, they share in their spiritual DNA.
Calling the religious leaders a brood of vipers is a reference all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Jesus would have struck a nerve here. Instead of serving the people, the religious leaders forced the people to serve man-made rituals, regulations and rules as if these would save them. Instead of focusing the people on God, they forced the people to focus on them – to applaud them, to honor them and to serve them.
They had made themselves gods to the people and they were using extortion in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to do it. Has anything changed today with televangelists and those who advocate wealth and health theology? “Buy my books” they say so they can buy an additional Lear Jet or mansion. They damn people to hell with their lying theology. Yet, just like with the religious leaders, these religious con artists today will have their day in court one day. They will stand before the Judge of this universe and give an account of their lies, deceptions and extortions in the name of God.
Reflection Assignment: Christians today are not Pharisees, but we can act like them. Is there anything in your attitudes, attributes and actions that may be keeping people from Jesus? If you say, “NO!” Are you sure? So, I “triple-dog dare you” to ask your lost friends to be brutally honest with you as to why they are not a Christian. Ask them if there is anything in your life that is part of that reason? If you are not making disciples for Jesus, then you are making disciples for the devil and sending people to hell. Which one describes you?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, honoring and bringing glory to You with my life is the goal of my life. I never want to be like the Pharisees and by bringing dishonor to You. I never want to be like that old serpent and deceive people into any false or lying theology. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly