Daily Devotional for Sunday, March 1

Indictment of the Pharisees

“Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?”  

My wife and I are blessed with two incredible children. Both of our children were born blind because of a congenital condition. We have learned much about visual impairment and how much we rely on vision. The eyes are responsible for about eighty percent of the information that our brains receive. Because of this, people often over-rely on outward appearance when determining what is beauty, what is valuable, and what is right.

Israel wanted tall Saul as King because he fit the mold of what other nations had. David came next and he and his family were described as beautiful. The Jews began to think that the Messiah would be beautiful. Isaiah corrected them and said, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2).  In today’s text, the religious leaders had become so outwardly focused that they marveled that Jesus ate without washing His hands. Jesus was not into their culture of virtue signaling. Instead, He called out their sin and declared that they were fools for neglecting the real condition of their hearts.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Is what others think of you and how they see you more important than how things really are between you and God? God will not affirm sin. Come to Him with a broken spirit and humble heart!

Jonathon D. Smith