of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel by sea and land to make a single convert; yet, once he is converted, you make him twice as
fit for hell as yourselves! Woe to you, blind guides! You say: To swear by the temple is not binding; but, to swear by the gold of the temple is binding.
Foolish men! Blind men! Which is of more worth: the gold in the temple, or the temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure? You say: To swear
by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding. How blind you are! Which is of more value: the offering on the altar,
or the altar which makes the offering sacred? Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it. Whoever swears by
the temple, is swearing by the temple, and by God, who dwells in the temple. Whoever swears by heaven, is swearing by the throne
of God, and by him, who is seated on it.
Reflection:
How terrible it would be for leaders who did not do their responsibilities
very well. There is a time for reckoning. For earthly power is a derived power. In
our spiritual language, all power emanates from God. Men and women are mere
stewards of this power. And therefore, at the end of each leader’s rule, he or she
must make an accounting of what he or she did in the course of his or her
leadership. That is why Jesus warns the leaders of His people, especially
the religious leaders of His time. They have a heavy responsibility. Since they
represent God here on earth, they must do so with a pure and clean heart. It
should not be their own voice that should prevail but that of God’s. They
must have great capacity to hear God’s voice. And so, they must be friends
of God.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021