Matthew 23:15
2nd of 7 Woes
15 Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. [1]
Emboldened by the reign of the Maccabees, first-century Judaism was mission-minded, though not as zealous in proselytizing as Christianity. The Pharisees’ zeal
for making converts was laudable, but the content of their preaching was deficient. Their zeal for ritual purification fostered pride and false security and brought no salvation.
I pray: Help me to not get so caught up in tradition that I miss the point of the Gospel. Amen.