Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 333

November 29;      Matthew 23:37;      23/260;      ‘Divine Love’

Matthew 23:37  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

The Lord Jesus in this chapter gives a scathing rebuke of the Pharisees for being the hypocrites that they were. Religion is cruel, jealous and deadly. ‘Religion’ is a counterfeit and because it is so mean spirited, many people get the wrong impression of the Lord.  They think religion and Jesus Christ are the same. One of the devil’s greatest weapons to hinder people from becoming Born Again is ‘religion’. As you read the gospels and see the character of the Lord Jesus as He ministered and dealt with people, His love and kindness is so apparent. He did not judge people, but forgave them and encouraged them not to sin. Religion is quick to punish, Jesus is quick to forgive. In this verse, we see the incredible love and patience of the Lord. Jesus sternly rebukes the religious leaders’ hard heartedness and hypocrisy. Right after the rebuke, the love and longing for the religious leaders themselves flows out of Jesus. They may have rejected Him, been jealous of Him and hated Him, but in spite of their hatred, He loved them and longed for their salvation. It is so vital for us to remember that the Lord Jesus did not just come to redeem us from our sins. Thank the Lord that He did.  But Jesus’ love for His ‘enemies’ is an example to us. God’s love is freedom. Jesus knows that returning ‘hatred for hatred’ causes untold misery. Look at Jesus’ Example to do the same.