Leading People to God, Not Just Religion
Daily Scripture
Matthew 23:13-22
13 “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter yourselves, and you won’t allow those who want to enter to do so.
[Footnote: Most critical editions of the Greek New Testament omit 23:14. The evidence is positive that it was brought in from the parallels in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47. It does not appear in the best Greek manuscripts, and in the manuscripts in which it does appear its position varies (some place it before verse 13 and some after verse 13).]
15 “How terrible it will be for you, legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to make one convert. But when they’ve been converted, they become twice the child of hell you are.
16 “How terrible it will be for you blind guides who say, ‘If people swear by the temple, it’s nothing. But if people swear by the gold in the temple, they are obligated to do what they swore.’ 17 You foolish and blind people! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? 18 You say, ‘If people swear by the altar, it’s nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they are obligated to do what they swore.’ 19 You blind people! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 Therefore, those who swear by the altar swear by it and by everything that’s on it. 21 Those who swear by the temple swear by it and by everything that’s part of it. 22 Those who swear by heaven swear by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Matthew used a single Greek word (rendered in the Common English Bible with the phrase “How terrible it will be”) to capture Jesus’ most forceful warning message of the final week to those leading Israel astray. “The Greek word ouai often appears in English translations as ‘woe’…. it refers to an unhappy state, the opposite of flourishing, contentment, and well-being (see Matthew 5:3-12).” * It occurred three times today (verses 13, 15 and 16), and four more times in the next two days’ readings.
- Verses 13 and 15 captured Jesus’ alarm. He was the living kingdom of heaven—denying him, the legal experts and Pharisees drove people away from the very God they said they served. “The sin of the Pharisees was that they were not really seeking to lead [people] to God, they were seeking to lead them to Pharisaism [their religious system]. One of the gravest dangers any missionary runs is…. to be more concerned in bringing people to a Church than to Jesus Christ.” ** Is our mission always to draw people to our God, not just to us?
- Barclay noted that Judean legalists said an oath using God’s name was binding—“any other oath might be legitimately broken.” Jesus challenged that, saying we should never make any promise we don’t intend to keep. “The fine art of evasion should be completely foreign to Christian integrity. The technique of evasion may suit the sharp practice of the world; but never the open honesty of the Christian mind.” *** Jesus didn’t build an “escape clause” into his promises. How can you be more like him?
Prayer
Eternal God, in Jesus you said that I can count absolutely on your promise of forgiveness and everlasting love. Help me to grow in my ability to make my word as trustworthy as yours. Amen.
GPS Insights
Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill, who serves as the Director of Operations at Resurrection's West location, wrote today’s Insights. She is a Navy mom and mom of three teen daughters, a wife of 24 years, and an avid fan of nachos.
I recently realized I am no longer the “cool mom.” Maybe I never was. Between the music I don’t understand (K-Pop Demon Hunters?) and fashion choices I can’t quite wrap my head around, my four teenagers and young adults are clearly carving out their own identities. The goal is to raise independent kids, but it can be a little disheartening when they don’t love the same things you love.
I found this was especially true when it came to their faith. Even though we’ve raised them all at Resurrection, their theologies have branched out. Some are more conservative; some are more liberal. Initially, I panicked: Did I fail because their faith doesn’t look like mine?
The passage in Matthew 23:13-15 was a timely reminder. Jesus warns against those who “shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” because they are too busy trying to win converts to their own specific “brand” of religion.
Don’t we already have enough of this in our culture today? In our politics, we have embraced “Us vs. Them” mentalities instead of understanding that we might all care about the same problems but have different ways of addressing them. We are all weary of the toxic landscape of our politics; let’s make sure that same spirit doesn’t infiltrate the way we follow Christ.
I realized that if I demand my kids’ faith be a carbon copy of my own Methodist tradition, I’m acting more like a brand manager than a mother. My own faith has been a long, winding journey; why shouldn’t theirs be? Whether they stay in our denomination or find another that suits them better, the “brand” isn’t the point.
The point is that they know and love Jesus. Our job isn’t to produce clones; it’s to point them to the Source.
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 23:13 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, pp. 50 NT.
** William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew—Volume 2 Chapters 11–28 (Revised Edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 291.
*** William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew—Volume 2 Chapters 11–28 (Revised Edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 293.
