TUESDAY, JULY 12
Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

When Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you…” He was dealing with the issue of Jewish hypocrisy which was absolutely rampant in His day. If we would fast-forward to Matthew 23, we would find Jesus’ complete and total rebuke of the Pharisees. Perhaps Matthew 23:4 is a culminating declaration of what Jesus was speaking to in Matthew 7. He says of the Scribes and Pharisees, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Jesus goes on in Matthew 23 to outline eight woes. He pronounced eight prophetic judgments on the Scribes and Pharisees who were leading the Jewish nation at the time. Every one of them came to pass. Jesus did not have any problem with seeker-sensitivity. He called evil, evil and He called good, good. And it is time we join Him.