Matthew 21:23-27
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply for a few seconds before you begin. As you breathe in, say the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
In our previous meditations, we saw Jesus cleanse the temple in Jerusalem and curse the fruitless fig tree. Today Jesus returns to Jerusalem for the final days of his earthly ministry. Read Matthew 21:23-27 as if you were there listening to the exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders.
Jesus has been very clear that religious activity is meaningless if our lives fail to produce good in the world around us, and Jesus has shown through his acts of restoration that he is in tune with God and is living the kind of life God intends for all people. The question of the religious leaders in this story is not only wildly ignorant, it’s a warning to all who claim to believe in and serve God.
It is the nature of fallen humans to take the good things of God and distort them, and this goes for the ways we set up systems for worshipping God. The religious leaders in this passage are caught up in an institutional shell of religion that has lost its heart. They love their rules and worship traditions but are blind to the amazing restorative power of the Kingdom of God evidenced all around them through the miracles of Jesus. They have missed the point of God’s law and they are genuinely confused.
Stop to contemplate the words of God spoken through the prophet Amos to the Israelites some 750 years before Jesus’ birth:
“I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.” – Amos 5:21-24
Share your thoughts with Jesus before you go on.
Read Matthew 21:23-27 again with all of this in mind.
John the Baptizer warned people to turn from their distorted ways and turn back to God. In Jesus, God came near to people and brought hope, healing, and restoration to humanity. Both were put to death because of the disturbing and disruptive nature of their ministries.
As you near the end of your reflection, take some time and ask Jesus to reveal any thoughts, habits, or ideologies in you that need to be disrupted. Then get quiet and listen carefully.
What is Jesus saying to you today?
How will you respond?
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