November 6

Matthew 23; Luke 20-21
Jesus compares the religious people of His time to whitewashed tombs with dead men’s bones inside.  I once worked at a TV repair shop that really put this on display.  It was the cleanest, most efficient shop I had ever worked in.  Fortunately, I only sat on a bench, repairing what was put before me, and listing what I did.  From there, it went to a supervisor who modified the ticket, padding the bill, in order to get the maximum amount he believed the owner of the product would pay.  The ticket was then given to a salesman who would call the customer and sell them on the repair.  Every repair, as presented to the customer, was a major repair, regardless of the truth.  The truth was that many of those repairs were very minor.  However, because of the clean, efficient process, the customer was never the wiser.  Jesus is saying that some religious leaders do the same thing, deceiving their followers with teachings that neglect the telling of the complete truth.  These kind neglect the weightier matters – justice, mercy and faithfulness.