Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

³¹  “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

 ³²  “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

 ³³  “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

 ³⁴  “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes;  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,

 ³⁵  so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

 ³⁶  “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”  Matthew 23:29-36.

Here, Jesus directly confronts and condemns the actions of the scribes and Pharisees, and Jesus proclaims their just punishment.  In Matthew Chapter 21, Jesus used the parable of the Landowner  and the Vinegrowers to describe their actions and the punishment:  ” “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third.  “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.  “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’  “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”  They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”  Matthew 21:35-41.

But again, Jesus here shows His righteous and just anger at the actions of the scribes and Pharisees, and Jesus proclaims their just punishment.  We need to be careful that we form our image of Jesus based on Scripture rather than based on our own preferences for how we want to think of Jesus. 

Many may prefer to think of Jesus as just a mild and kind teacher.  They may over-emphasize Jesus’ interest in and actions of lovingkindness, and they may neglect Jesus’ interest in and actions of justice. 

We need to pay attention and meditate on Scripture such as Isaiah 42:1:  “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;  My chosen one in whom My soul delights I have put My Spirit upon Him;  He will bring forth justice to the nations.”  (Emphasis added.)

Psalm 2 gives us an understanding of the just and sovereign reign of our Lord:

   “¹  Why are the nations in an uproar
         And the peoples devising a vain thing?
    ²  The kings of the earth take their stand
         And the rulers take counsel together
         Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
    ³  “Let us tear their fetters apart
         And cast away their cords from us!”
    ⁴  He who sits in the heavens laughs,
         The Lord scoffs at them.
    ⁵  Then He will speak to them in His anger
         And terrify them in His fury, saying,
    ⁶  “But as for Me, I have installed My King
         Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
    ⁷  “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
         He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
         Today I have begotten You.
    ⁸  ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
         And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
    ⁹  ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
         You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
    ¹⁰  Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
         Take warning, O judges of the earth.
    ¹¹  Worship the LORD with reverence
         And rejoice with trembling.
    ¹²  Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
         For His wrath may soon be kindled
         How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”