Beware of Religion (Mark 12:38-44)
Bob Schultz, November 30, 2014Part of the Gospel of Mark series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
This week we will study a section of Scripture, Mark 12:38-44, that describes false teachers and religious hypocrisy. Our warning is to flee from those who do not teach the truth about God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The key to making sense of this is simple; for the religious hypocrite, what is external replaces what is internal. When there is an absence of truth, the focus must be what people can see on the outside. In addition, there is a powerful illustration of how religious fakes will always gravitate toward stealing money from the weak and the helpless.
Mark 12:38–44 (Listen)
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
(ESV)
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