Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 73

March 14, 2018;      Matthew 23:11;       23/260(IV);        ‘Backwards’

Matthew 23:11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.    NKJV

The Lord Jesus unleashes scathing ‘woes’ against the Pharisees as He addresses the multitude and His disciples.  He reveals to those listening the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.  Religion is all about you and how wonderful you are and what you have done to impress the Lord.  This has nothing to do with the Word of God nor is it true.  Salvation, has nothing to do with what we have done and everything to do with what the Lord Jesus did for us.  Jesus reveals the Pharisees for who they are in verses 3-10.  These verses pretty much sum up religion.  The religious leaders are quick to tell others what to do, but they will not lift a finger to help.  What they do, they do to be seen by others, so that they can be admired.  They desire the best seats in the feasts and in the synagogue.  They love to be called Rabbi or Teacher.  Jesus tells the multitude that they have one Teacher, Himself.  In this verse the Lord tells us that the greatest among us shall be a servant.  What does He mean?  We are to serve others God’s Word, looking for every opportunity to share the Gospel.  We are to serve others by praying for them, sincerely asking the Lord to bless them and save them if they are not yet born again.  We serve others by looking for ways to help them in whatever they need help doing.  We serve others by inviting them to church.  Our ministry, the privilege we have is to show others the way to Jesus and not ourselves.  We do everything we can to make Jesus great to others and not how great we are.  We know who we are in Christ and our lives are blessed by doing all we can to show how great Jesus is, not us.