Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ¹⁵  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”  Matthew 23:13-15. 

Let us continue to compare the Pharisees with Jesus. 

The Pharisees “shut off the kingdom of heaven from people”.   Whereas, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”  2 Timothy 4:18

The Pharisees “devour widows’ houses”.  Whereas, “… you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  2 Corinthians 8:9

The Pharisees make a proselyte “twice as much a son of hell” as themselves.  Whereas, we “…  are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:26.

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”  Romans 8:14-16. 

^“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;  and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  Romans 8:28-30.

Today’s devotion is Matthew 23:1-12.  

^“1  Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

 2  saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

 3  therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

 4  “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

 5  “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

 6  “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,

 7  and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

 8  “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

 9  “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

 10  “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

 11  “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

 12  “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”  Matthew 23:1-12. 

Notice the contrast between the Pharisees and Christ.  The Pharisees were proud;  Jesus was humble.  The Pharisees enjoyed seeing their followers struggle, so they could look superior in comparison.  Jesus took on our sins on Himself and gave us His righteousness in exchange.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  2 Corinthians 5:21    

The Pharisees “tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger”  Matthew 23:4.  Whereas, Christ tied up the heavy loads of the law and laid them on His own shoulders and gave us His Spirit as a yoke: “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”.  Romans 8:4. 

Jesus said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy, and My load is light”. Matthew 11:28-29.

⁴³  He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
    ⁴⁴  ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
         “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
         UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”‘?

 ⁴⁵  “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

 ⁴⁶  No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

Calvin in his Commentary states in part:

“… Now as the hour of his death was already approaching, the Lord himself intended to attest his divinity, that all the godly might boldly rely on him;  for if he had been only man, we would have had no right either to glory in him, or to expect salvation from him.  …

Yet it must be observed, that the scribes are not reproved for teaching that Christ would be the Son of David, but for imagining that he was a mere man, who would come from heaven, to assume the nature and person of a man.  … 

We must now see how he proves that Christ will hold a higher rank than to be merely descended from the seed of David. It is because David, who was king and head of the people, calls him Lord; from which it follows, that there is something in him greater than man. …

In short, by this title Christ is pronounced to be supreme and sole King, who holds the preeminence among all believers; and no exception ought to be allowed to ranking all in one class, when he is appointed to be the Redeemer of the Church.  …

The Lord said to my Lord.  Here the Holy Spirit puts into the mouth of all the godly a song of triumph, that they may boldly defy Satan and all the ungodly, and mock at their rage, when they endeavor to drive Christ from his throne. …

Whenever this kingdom is violently attacked, let us call to remembrance this revelation from heaven; for undoubtedly this promise was put into the hand of Christ, that every believer may apply it to his own use. …

And God declares that Christ will sit till his enemies be subdued, in order to inform us that his kingdom will remain invincible against every attack; not that, when his enemies have been subdued, he will be deprived of the power which had been granted to him, but that, while the whole multitude of his enemies shall be laid low, his power will remain for ever unimpaired.  In the meantime, it points out that condition of his kingdom which we perceive in the present day, that we may not be uneasy when we see it attacked on all sides.”

³⁶  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

³⁷  And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

³⁸  “This is the great and foremost commandment.

³⁹  “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

⁴⁰  “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 22:34-40.

Here is what the Heidelberg Catechism states in part concerning the Law:

Question 92.  What is the law of God?

Answer. God spake all these words, Exodus 20, Deut. 5, saying: I am the Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor thy father and they mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord they God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Question 93.  How are these commandments divided?

Answer. Into two tables; the first of which teaches us how we must behave towards God; the second, what duties we owe to our neighbor. 

Question 114.  But can those who are converted to God perfectly keep these commandments?

Answer. No: but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of this obedience; yet so, that with a sincere resolution they begin to live, not only according to some, but all of the commandments of God.

Question 115.  Why will God then have the ten commandments so strictly preached, since no man in this life can keep them?

Answer. First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin, and righteousness in Christ; likewise, that we constantly endeavor and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God, till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us, in a life to come.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”  1 Peter 1:3-9.

He appears also to glance at their hypocrisy, because, while they carelessly permitted the service of God to be corrupted in many respects, and even wickedly deprived God of his authority, they displayed such ardent zeal about a matter of no importance; as if he had said, “You are exceedingly afraid, lest, if tribute be paid to the Romans, the honor of God may be infringed; but you ought rather to take care to yield to God that service which he demands from you, and, at the same the to render to men what is their due.  …

But this doctrine extends still farther, that every man, according to his calling, ought to perform the duty which he owes to men; that children ought willingly to submit to their parents, and servants to their masters; that they ought to be courteous and obliging towards each other, according to the law of charity, provided that God always retain the highest authority, to which every thing that can be due to men is, as we say, subordinate.”  

³  “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

 ⁴  “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘

 ⁵  “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,

 ⁶  and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

 ⁷  “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

 ⁸  “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

 ⁹‘  Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’

 ¹⁰  “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

 ¹¹  “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,

 ¹²  and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’  And the man was speechless.

 ¹³  “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 ¹⁴  “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:1-14.  

The parable of the Wedding Feast continues the teaching of Jesus in the last three parables, as stated in the last devotion, that the people of Israel had rejected Christ as their Messiah and would mistreat and kill him as they did the prophets before him.  The people of Israel were the “invited ones” in the sense that they were God’s chosen people and had all the privileges of handling all of the religious services, or to put it in the language of this parable, they would be expected to handle the details and “attend” to the bridegroom.  But, not only did they refuse and neglect to even attend the event of the Wedding Feast, they seized, mistreated, and killed the king’s servants (the prophets). 

Another point of this parable is that “many are called”.  We are commanded to preach the Gospel (“invite to the wedding feast”) broadly and widely throughout the world to “as many as you find there”. 

But few are chosen.  God’s election, which includes providing all that the wedding guests need including clothes, governs who will be able to enjoy the Wedding Feast.  We need to be dressed in Christ’s righteousness to remain in God’s presence. 

There are those, like the man without wedding clothes, in this parable, who think that they can come to God’s presence as they are, on their own terms.  They are quite proud of their own filthy rags of righteousness.  But, we see what happened to this man.

We need to better understand the importance of being chosen.  “… God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”  I Corinthians 1:27-29.  “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”  I Corinthians 1:26.  “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”  James 2:5. 

Realizing that we must be chosen is consistent with humility.  We understand that we bring nothing to the table which motivates God to choose us.  We are like children who look only to their father and who trust only their father’s love, care, and full provisions.

So, we preach and teach “TULIP”, these doctrines of grace.  We fully realize that we are the “totally depraved”, having nothing to bring to the table.  There is no condition in us which motivates God to elect us.  His election must be unconditional in order for us to have any chance of salvation.  Because we truly understand “Total Depravity”, we exult in and embrace “Unconditional Election” and the rest of the elements of “TULIP” (which I call “the Tulips” for the title of this devotion).

^“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.”  Matthew 21:45.  Notice the plurality of the word “parables”, the chief priests and Pharisees also heard other parables which confirmed this same message.  In the prior parable, we read (and they may have heard):  “… but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”  Matthew 21:32.  In the following parable, we read (and they may have heard) the parable of the Marriage Feast with the following description:  “and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.  “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.”  Matthew 22:6-7.

But, in sharp contrast to those unfaithful shepherds (the chief priests and the Pharisees), we have the Good Shepherd, Jesus.  Jesus proclaims:  “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”  John 10:11-15.  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  “I and the Father are one.”  John 10:27-30.

Jesus is also our chief corner stone.  In addition, we have the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  We also have Augustine, Luther, and Calvin and all the other saints throughout history who gave us creeds and other sound doctrine and the examples of their lives to guide us and inspire us.  “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”  Ephesians 2:19-22.

³⁰  “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.

 ³¹  “Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

 ³²  “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him;  but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him;  and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”  Matthew 21:28-32.  

I read somewhere that our lives are divided into halves.  Many people eagerly pursue their own desires of “success” that they measure by riches and fulfillment of their lusts with the first half of their life.   Many, like the second son, continue that pursuit through the second half of their life as well.  Others may also eagerly pursue their own desires of “success” that they measure by riches and fulfillment of their lusts with the first half of their life, but, like the first son and also like the tax collectors and prostitutes who did listen to John the Baptist, they repent and turn back to God and pursue the “significance” of following God with the second half of their life.        

This story is simple but true and important.  Most of us have two chances, two halves to our lives.  It is obviously best that we should do the will of our Father in Heaven with our first chance, in our youth, and continue to do so in both halves of our lives.  But, if we find that we are like the first son and the tax collectors and the prostitutes who has refused to work for our Father in Heaven, there is still hope.  We can repent, turn around our lives, and serve our Father in Heaven with our second chance in the second half of our lives.    

However, it should be noted that not all of us will be given two chances and two halves to our life.  Other Scripture and our observations show us that some may lose their life much earlier than what they expect.  Lamentations 3:25-28 teaches us to seek God and work for Him in our youth:

^“25  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
         To the person who seeks Him. 
 ²⁶  It is good that he waits silently
         For the salvation of the LORD. 
 ²⁷  It is good for a man that he should bear
         The yoke in his youth. 
  ²⁸  Let him sit alone and be silent
         Since He has laid it on him.”  Lamentations 3:25-28.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 states:  “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;”.

But, if we have not born the yoke of our Lord in our youth, there may be hope.  If we have not remembered our Creator in the days of our youth, there may be hope.  You may have second chance.  There may be a second half to your life.  But, don’t wait!  Repent!  Turn your life around!!  Work for God!!!  James 4:14 warns us:  “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

²⁵  “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

 ²⁶  “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

 ²⁷  And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”  Matthew 21:23-27.

We may too often think that the value of Christ’s miracles is just the benefit that it gives to the sick and suffering.  But, we see here in this text as emphasized by Calvin’s Commentary below that Christ’s miracles prove His divine majesty and authority, that Christ is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of God.

And the way for Christ was prepared by the Witness John the Baptist.  If the people truly honored John the Baptist who “pointed out Christ with the finger, and had declared him to be the only Son of God”, then they should believe in Christ’s divine majesty and authority, that Christ is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of God.

But, as we see, the chief priests and elders were so wicked that they chose their own plans and plots to undermine and attack Jesus over the clear evidence that should have led them to the truth.  

Calvin in his Commentary on this Scripture states in part:

“… But when the divine majesty of Christ had been attested by so many miracles, they act maliciously and wickedly in inquiring whence he came, as if they had been ignorant of all that he had done. For what could be more unreasonable than that., after seeing the hand of God openly displayed in curing the lame and blind, they should doubt if he were a private individual who had rashly assumed this authority? Besides, more than enough of evidence had been already laid before them., that Christ was sent from heaven., so that nothing was farther from their wish than to approve of the performances of Christ, after having learned that God was the Author of them.”  …

Whence was the baptism of John? Christ interrogates them about the baptism of John, not only to show that they were unworthy of any authority, because they had despised a holy prophet of God, but also to convict them, by their own reply, of having impudently pretended ignorance of a matter with which they were well acquainted. For we must bear in mind why John was sent, what was his commission, and on what subject he most of all insisted. He had been sent as Christ’s herald. He was not deficient in his duty, and claims nothing more for himself than to prepare the way of the Lord.  (Malachi 3:1; Luke 7:27.)

In short, he (John) had pointed out Christ with the finger, and had declared him to be the only Son of God. From what source then do the scribes mean that the new authority of Christ should be proved, since it had been fully attested by the preaching of John?

We now see that Christ employed no cunning stratagem in order to escape, but fully and perfectly answered the question which had been proposed; for it was impossible to acknowledge that John was a servant of God, without acknowledging that he was Himself the Lord.” …

“But they thought within themselves.  Here we perceive the impiety of the priests. They do not inquire what is true, nor do they put the question to their own conscience;  and they are so base as to choose rather to shuffle than to acknowledge what they know to be true, that their tyranny may not be impaired. In this manner, all wicked men, though they pretend to be desirous of learning, shut the gate of truth, if they feel it to be opposed to their wicked desires. So then Christ does not allow those men to go without a reply, but sends them away ashamed and confounded, and, by bringing forward the testimony of John, sufficiently proves that he is furnished with divine power.” 

In conclusion, there is a lesson here for us.  Although we certainly do not engage in plans and plots to undermine and attack Jesus, do we have our own agenda that cause us to close our eyes to the truth and to the command of Jesus’ authority?  The chief priest and elders did see Jesus’ miracles and John the Baptist’s witness.  However ,we have much more.  We have the testimony of the full Word of God.  We have the foundation of the apostles and prophets.  We also have Augustine, Luther, and Calvin and all the other saints throughout history who gave us creeds and other sound doctrine and the examples of their lives to guide us and inspire us.  “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”  Ephesians 2:19-22.