| Church of Christ |
| Church of Christ 203 Mesquite Street Ranger, TX 76470 Preacher: Drew Hyde 254.647.3425 |
| Sunday Worship Sunday School...9:45 AM Morning Worship...10:45 AM Evening Worship...6:00 PM Wednesday Classes & Worship...7:00 PM Wisdom Seekers Thursday...11:00 AM |
| Spiritual Blindness by Drew Hyde |
| The Disciples approached Jesus in Matthew chapter 15 with a concern. The teaching he had directed toward the Pharisees and their traditions had not been received well. Many of the men in this most influential and respected of Jewish sects were upset. The disciples wanted to know if Jesus knew of this reaction, and perhaps how He was planning to soothe the Pharisees, "But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (Mt. 15: 13-14) Jesus pronounced the judgment of their religion, and the judgment of all man-made religions. If God is not the source, the religion will be rooted up. Their blindness is shown to be a danger to them and to all who would follow them. Jesus is not talking about physical blindness or the danger of a physical fall. This blindness is spiritual and the danger it creates is spiritual danger. The Pharisees were blind to the failure of their religion. The whole purpose of their religion was to strive for greater purity and faithfulness to God's word. The Pharisees had built up a large body of tradition that they respected, taught and followed as if it were God's word. They won great admiration and trust of the masses of the people of Judah over the years. It would not be bold to say that they were generally considered righteous and godly. Yet, the traditions they had created to keep themselves holy and which were the source of their greatest distinction were actually causing them to break God's law. In making new commandments and demanding that others keep them, they had usurped God's authority. At the same time, the elevated status of their traditions allowed them to feel justified in side-stepping commandments of God that they would rather not keep. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of a religious group that claims to serve God, yet creates traditions and commandments that reject God's word in Mt 15:3-7. He applied this judment to them in verses 8 and 9; "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." They were blind to the fact that the teaching of men that supported their religion made it empty, even after Jesus told them these things. We must not follow the Pharisees in this blindness. The same principle holds true today, the commandments and traditions of men in religion lead people away from God. |
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