DCLM Daily Manna 20 September 2022
KEY VERSE: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them” (Luke 11:44).
TEXT: Luke 11:37-45 (KJV)
37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.
42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
One of the most grievous offenses one can commit against God is to be hypocritical. This is pretending to be what you are not. It is to claim to be a child of God, when you know full well that your life does not measure up to His holy standard. It is to demand from others a level of integrity that is absent from one’s own life. God detests hypocrisy in whatever form it manifests.
Jesus condemned “a certain Pharisee” who was his host for elevating unimportant matters like washing of hands which, in any case, was originally intended for priests only, but now made mandatory for all. He chided the Pharisees for their unwillingness to help the poor while insisting on the payment of tithe. He rebuked them for making high demands from ordinary people while excusing themselves from such rigour. He accused them of making other people unclean through their sullied spiritual lives. He condemned them not just for persecuting prophets of God, but rejecting the Almighty Himself. He chided them for erroneously interpreting the Scriptures and therefore, misleading and preventing the people from coming to Christ. Rather than being contrite and sober, they started seeking means to trap Him into making blasphemous statements.
On no account should we turn ourselves into masters deserving adulation by the people of God, for such is the beginning of hypocrisy. We must watch over our lives to ensure we do not set for others standards far stiffer than that demanded by God. We must also not hold others to the injunctions of Scriptures while disobeying the same command. The best way to influence people positively is to let our lives express practically, what God expects from them.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If your life were a book, what would others read in it?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 31-32
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Shun All Hypocrisy – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 20 September 2022
