Matthew 23:29-36 Self-righteousness

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 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.’ “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." [Matthew 23:29-36 NASB]

The self righteous don't see their own sin. They said, "we would never have persecuted the prophets." But they persecuted John the Baptist. They persecuted Jesus, and had Him crucified. They continued to persecute the apostles, disciples and followers of Jesus, going from town to town all over the world.

Notice Jesus said, "I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes." In speaking to the Jewish leaders, He is using familiar terms to refer to His disciples.

Jesus worded it in the form of a question, but the meaning was emphatically clear. "You are going to hell, and you will not escape. Their sentence has already been passed.

It's easy for us to look back and say, "I would never have done that." I think about Peter on the night Jesus was betrayed. Peter had said, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away." [Matthew 26:33 NASB] But just a few hours later, Peter denied Him. Could I have denied Jesus if I were in Peter's place? Yes. It is within my nature to give in to fear, and to deny Jesus. My only hope is that, if faced with that choice, the Holy Spirit would empower and embolden me to stand up and confess my Lord. Without the Holy Spirit, I would surely fail. I cannot judge Peter.

I think it's that way whenever we are judgmental. In our self-righteousness, we can see sin in others, but overlook the sin in ourselves. Paul said, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." [Romans 2:1 NASB]

We need to examine our hearts, and ask the Lord to reveal them to us.

Ask yourself, "Is there anything in which I judge others?" Do you make snide, sarcastic remarks about others? Do you think or say "What an idiot" (or something similar)? Do you shake your head in annoyance?

The poor man who says of the rich, "What a snob" is actually acting as a snob in reverse by rejecting a rich person on account of his money. The rich man who looks down on the poor as "low class" is projecting a "low class" attitude, condemning him for has lack of opportunity instead of being gracious.

I get annoyed when people step in front of me in a line, or when a driver pulls out in front of me. I want to be first. I want preferred treatment. And that's the problem. Instead of wanting to be preferred, I should prefer others before myself - not grudgingly, but gladly. We have been taught, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" [Philippians 2:3 NASB]

The thing that annoys us the most in others may well be the thing that we have hidden in our own hearts. Ask God to reveal it to you. Seek His forgiveness for whatever it is that you have been holding back, and for the hypocrisy. And trust God to take it away.