“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28).
I found this comment in The NIV Study Bible: “A person who stepped on a grave became ceremonially unclean (Numbers 19:16); so graves were whitewashed to make them easily visible, especially at night.” This helps us further understand that with the Pharisees everything they did was to bring glory to themselves not to God. They looked good on the outside, but, on the inside it was ugly. They might have had their fancy robes and their boastings but God pronounced woes unto them. He called them hypocrites, the word which best described them. They had a form of godliness but their hearts were far from God. They pretended to be so saintly before men, but God knew it was just an act.
There’s a facet of self-righteousness that we don’t always see. We just can’t keep up the pretense. Sooner or later, our true colors show and when they do, shame and regret will be our woes.
God knows everything about us. He especially sees our hearts. Think a self-righteous attitude will fool God? Never.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray compassion tempered with discernment for workers in area food pantries and other local ministries assisting those in need.
