Let's get to it.

Why don't you turn with me to Matthew?

Chapter 12 is where we are.

Before we get started, I have a little assignment for you, an experiment here.

Look to the person on your left.

Go ahead and do that right now.

And then look to the person on the right.

Which person looks most holy?

That's my question.

Now wait.

Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what the Pharisees of Jesus' time they'd sit around

doing. They were obsessed with who looked the most holy, who seemed to be the most holy of all.

And man, if you were a Pharisee, you wanted to be perceived as the most holiest of all those people.

And so they carried themselves differently

than everybody else. And they behaved differently thinking there were certain things that were

holy. But meanwhile, Jesus comes on the scene and says, that's not holy. In fact, he gets really

down on the things that they thought were holy. And it was just legalism. And it was ugly. And it wasism and it was ugly and it was judgmental.

You know, it's interesting because outward appearance can be extremely deceiving.

I think it's important for us to remember that, you know, Jesus is going to demonstrate this

with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes,

the religious leaders of the day.

And he's going to call him out because he sees their thoughts and their intentions.

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