August 30, 2021 - We move onto Woe #6 in the list, and I believe it is the most well-known of the woes. You might have heard people allude to one of the verses contained in Matthew 23:27-28. Verse 27 reads, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”
This is tied with the previous Woe, where Jesus called out the scribes and Pharisees for being concerned with the look of the outside of the cup but not paying any attention to the inside of the cup. Here, he compares the same people to whitewashed tombs. Such tombs looked clean and beautiful on the outside, but they were still tombs with dead bodies inside.
No matter how much attention is given to the outward appearance of the tomb, it never has the power to remove the bones and uncleanness found inside. Maybe you needed to read that today. Perhaps you have been led to believe that the opposite is true, that as long as you keep scrubbing the tomb walls and polishing the outside of the cup, you’ll be good.
The Christian Gospel message though is not one that rests on our attempts to appear outwardly righteous, and we praise God for that! While we seek to be lovers of the Law of God, we must understand that we are habitual breakers of the Law. We know what we ought to do, but yet, we find ourselves not doing it. That truth is not meant to cause us to try even harder to deny the dead bodies in our tombs.
It is meant to show us the need for Christ. It shows us how much grace and mercy we are truly given. It shows us how precious the following statement is: by the power of Christ, Christian, you are forgiven.
Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at mariposareformedbaptist@gmail.com (new email.) Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.
Pastor’s Corner is a column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.
The Church has moved locations, services are now held at the Bootjack Stompers Hall (located at 4662 Morman Bar Crossing) across from the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.
Time of service is at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday.
I am happy to announce that MRBC has its own sermon podcast. Please check it out by clicking on the link below or searching MRBC Sermons on iTunes. New sermons will be posted every Wednesday.
https://mariposachurch.transistor.fm/episodes
Note: Area churches interested in submitting Articles of Faith are welcome to contact us.
Please email the Sierra Sun Times at sst@goldrushcam.com for more information.
