Day 3 – Matthew 23:29-38

As King, Jesus’ harshest words are always given to those who have taken over His Kingdom. Their kingdom stands in direct opposition to His yet masquerades as the Kingdom of God. Their poisonous hypocrisy infuriates Him – they have received so much from God (rescue from Egypt, establishment in the Promised Land, the wake-up call of exile, the gift of restoration after exile) and yet they have repeatedly defiled God’s good gifts by twisting them, ignoring them and using them to oppress people. Yet you can see Jesus’ heart bleeding through His anger – He knows that the Pharisees will be crushed and He is grieved. They have missed what was plainly before them and though the Father longs to save them, they are not willing. Friends, this is Jesus’ heart for you: grief and anger – especially you good church people who are relying on your own good works to earn you a place in heaven and make you seem better than people who don’t conform to your standards. The grief has led Jesus to die so that we might be saved (he did all the work, we do none so we are rescued from our stupid inclination to boast), and the anger will persist if we do not take shelter by Jesus’ side.