May we all look to Jesus as our example of how to speak truth which is tempered by grace and offer grace which is fortified by truth.
Rend your hearts and not your garments
My experience is that if you have been in the church for any length of time, it becomes easy to play a role and do “churchy” stuff and just go with the flow. We can put on our game face, come to church, sing three songs, give some offering, listen to a sermon and plan our lunch during the closing song.
The antidote to hypocrisy
Jesus was also hard on the Pharisees, so the lesson I learn from this is that God has a low tolerance threshold for religious hypocrisy. He doesn’t like it whether it is in the Pharisees of Jesus’ day or in you or me.
Herod vs. God
Herod sought to eliminate a threat to his power, but that threat represented God’s plan for the salvation of humanity, a plan that God would not allow to fail.
