The Road Less Traveled. Matthew 23: 1-7 NLT

I spent the weekend attending the memorial service for Sandy in Chicago. It was a great time of remembering, sharing and grieving. We were able to visit with Ken and their sons and support each other. Now we can all move forward in the grieving process. 

There is a route to town David and I like to take. It's a nice drive and although it adds a few minutes to our drive time, the road is in better shape and there is less traffic. It's more drive time because the speed limit is lower. Most of the route is a straight shot with only a few curves closer to town. Why the lower speed limit? Maybe it's the number of homes along the way, maybe it's because of less traffic, I don't know for sure but when we drive that route, we watch our speed. We make sure we go slower, we follow the law. 

Laws are in place for a reason. Even when we don't agree with the law, we still need to obey it. Jesus is telling the crowds and His disciples to follow the law the scribes and Pharisees teach because it is the law of God. The Pharisees added to the law what they believed to be right but only created more burden for the people and didn't follow their own teachings. Jesus is simply telling them to do what they teach but not to imitate their actions and they will be right with God. 

Matthew 23:1-7  NLT 

Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders 

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. 

5“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ 

Blessings, Cecilia