There's a shortage of truth in the world today. Of course, the definition of truth seems to be up for grabs for some, but today, we're discussing sincerity in action without pretense. Matthew West sings about this in his song "Truth Be Told." Jesus teaches about it in the Gospel of Matthew.

Spend some time this week examining the words of Jesus with an open heart.

In this episode, I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include: 
  • Consider the historical background
  • Follow the cross-references
  • Utilize a trusted outside resource (like a commentary or Study Bible)
  • Read in context
  • Summarize the text in your own words
  • Ask questions of the text
  • Remember, the people in the Bible were real
• The 30-Day Music Challenge - ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE HERE
• Matthew West's story behind the song - YouTube Video
• The book Matthew West wrote that he mentioned in the video - "Hello My Name Is" by Matthew West
• The verse in Isaiah Matthew West refers to in the video - Isaiah 29:13
• How Jesus uses two metaphors to talk about what He thinks of being clean, put together, and FINE only on the outside - Matthew 23:27-28
• The historical context of why touching tombs would have been a big deal to Christ's audience - Numbers 19:16
• Why it was their practice to whitewash tombs - Douglas Sean O'Donnell "Preaching The Word" Commentary on Matthew
• Really considering the root of what Jesus is teaching and how it may apply to our own "clean on the outside and a hot mess on the inside" moments
• Zooming out all the way to Matthew 21 to see the context of our focus teaching
• Summarizing Matthew 23:1-11 in our own words
• Recognizing the seven "woe"s in Matthew 23
• Checking out another "woe" from the Old Testament - Hosea 7:13
• Hearing the "rolling thunder of Christ's wrath" 

Additional Resources

• Matthew West makes the case for honesty - KLove Blog
• Lyrics - WGBL.org
• "Truth Be Told" by Matthew West Story Behind the Song - YouTube
• Article on the seven "woe"s in Matthew 23 - GotQuestions.org
• Article on what "woe" means in Scripture - Patheos.com
• Commentary on the book of Matthew - Amazon.com

Weekly Challenge

Read Matthew 21-25 to understand the complete context of Jesus' teaching. Focus on Matthew 23 and really study it (I've included resources I used, "Additional Resources" above). Identify and write down summaries of the seven woes. Hear the rolling thunder of Christ's wrath and take His rebuke seriously. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal any hypocrisy in your life.

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