Making the Most of Time

“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do ye not after their works: for they say, and do not.”  Matthew 23:1-3

I can’t help but believe that his passage is where we get the hypocrite’s motto: “do as I say, not as I do”.  The Pharisees were intent upon destroying Jesus, and this week in Jerusalem they doubled down on their persecution of Him.  Jesus used this time to warn the people of the dangers of hypocrisy and hate.  He described the scribes and Pharisees as blind guides that strain at a gnat, a little insignificant matter, and swallow a camel, ignoring things that really matter, like truth, honesty, mercy and love (Matthew 23:24).

Jesus taught many truths in parables, and many of them were directed at the self-righteous Pharisees.  But they weren’t stupid.  Matthew 21:45 tells us that “when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spoke of them”.  Of course, His speech made them even angrier.  I have observed from watching others and from personal experience that we get angry when we are falsely accused of something, but we get even angrier when we are guilty because the truth sometimes hurts.  We do not like to have our sins pointed out to us.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were no different, and they desired to retaliate.

The religious leaders tried various times to trap Jesus into violating the law.  Just days before His crucifixion, He was asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to the Roman government.  He replied that men should give to God what is God’s and to Caesar what is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:17-21).  They couldn’t get Him with that one.  The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the afterlife, asked Jesus if a woman died who had been married seven times, whose husband would be hers in heaven?  By asking this, they were displaying their hypocrisy.  Jesus answered that none of them would be her husband because there is no marriage in heaven between people (Matthew 22:24-33).  Foiled again, but they wouldn’t give up.  A lawyer then stood and asked Jesus to quote the greatest commandment.  No matter which one Jesus answered, the lawyer would likely argue.  However, once again Jesus outsmarted them by summing up the entire law as follows:  “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and mind, and thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:34-40).

Seeing that they were getting nowhere with their attempts to prove that Jesus was not who He said He was, they had to come up with a more dire plan.  During this last week of Jesus’ life on earth, He made the most of the time that He had left in teaching the people, instructing His disciples how that they were to carry on when He was no longer with them, and doing miracles.  Jesus never wasted a moment of time.  He was always busy going about His Father’s business as He had declared when He was only twelve years old (Luke 2:42-49).  We should all be that intentional.  More tomorrow as we continue in the Passion Week.