Creekside Cast

Speaker: Don Ross
Have you ever had someone do a scathing review of your life? Painful, isn’t it, but what if what they said was true, and those painful words actually ended up helping you? This Sunday we look at Matthew, Chapter 23, which is Jesus last public message on planet earth. The whole chapter is a scathing denunciation of a false religion that continued under the guise of truth.

Not all of the Pharisees in Israel during Jesus time were evil, some of them were genuine seekers of truth and holiness. Famous Pharisees like Nicodemus (Jn 3:7:50-53), Joseph of Arimathaea (Jn 19: 38-who buried Jesus in his tomb), Gamaliel (Acts 5:34) and Saul, who later became Paul, were all Pharisees who sought to obey God and lead well. But for the most part, the Pharisees used their position of spiritual leaders to promote themselves for material gain, and Jesus denounces them hard. I think there are some things we can learn for our own lives this Sunday, to avoid some obvious pitfalls.