Dead Man’s Bones — Toni M. Babcock
Jesus didn’t mince any words among the self-righteous leaders of his day. The Savior who was sent to “preach good tidings to the meek”, who came to “bind up the broken-hearted” and to “proclaim liberty to the captives” had no patience for the spiritual pride on display exhibited by teachers who used their power and assumed authority to manipulate minds and bring the downtrodden they were supposed to be serving into spiritual bondage.
“They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them,” Jesus said (Matthew 23:4 CSB). In other words, these were works-oriented and not grace-oriented teachers, burdening people with “spiritual” obligations not found in God’s word.
Jesus continued, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces! For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in,” (Matthew 23:13 CSB)… “You blind guides, who strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel,” (Matthew 23:24 KJV) “...you are like white-washed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but are within full of dead man’s bones, and everything unclean.” (Matthew 23:27).
The important thing for us to take away here is to realize spiritual pride in the one who professes to know God is much more damaging to a fellow believer or soul seeking salvation than the pride of someone outside the church. Each of us must hunt for the place this sin might be camped out in our lives and drive it out. Do we strain at gnats, and swallow a camel? Are we making it harder for people in our lives to be saved?
