Daily Devotional Monday Motivation | May 4, 2026
Happy Monday! It’s time for your daily devotional. In Matthew 23, Jesus didn’t let the religious leaders’ status silence Him. The scribes and Pharisees dishonored God by their hypocrisy and other sins. In today’s daily devotional, Jesus desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth; therefore, He doesn’t avoid needed correction.
Impetus for Change
Jesus had much more to say to the religious elite, although by now, they’d probably had enough. The adage, “You can’t fix what you won’t acknowledge,” is an impetus for change. The scribes and Pharisees needed to be confronted with their sins to lead them to repentance. Jude 1:23 says, “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” Hopefully, some began to think about being right with God. In your daily devotional, pray for the best way to reach people’s hearts when they’re resistant to God’s word.
Woe Unto You
Jesus unleashes his fourth woe to the scribes and Pharisees in verses 16-22. In verse 16, He declares, “Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!” Jesus warns in Matthew 6:24 that you cannot serve God and mammon, that is, riches or material possessions. The things of God must mean more to you than wealth. In this daily devotional, don’t let greed or a lust for riches propel you to put money before God.
Ye Fools and Blind
The scribes and Pharisees sought worldly gain more than God’s glory and misled God’s people into making oaths that appeared religious, but were an unwarranted use of power for dishonest gain. An oath is a vow or promise, a plea to God’s justice and omniscience. To elevate gold over God’s ordained temple or dwelling place on earth is misguided.
Yet the religious gatekeepers decided which oaths were more binding than others based on whether they profited from them. In verse 17, Jesus warns, “Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?” They could prosper from the gold, so they valued it more highly than honoring God. In your daily devotional, never place anything before God. It becomes a stumbling block, causing you to miss the mark.
Swearing to God
In verse 18, Jesus charges, “And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.” Jesus chastised them for placing gifts above God’s sacred altar. By benefiting from the gifts, they took advantage of God’s people. In verse 19, he calls them fools and blind because they diminished the altar sanctified for God’s use by exalting the gifts brought to them.
In verses 20-22, Jesus tells them that swearing to the altar, temple, or heaven is indeed binding, because they are swearing to God Himself. Deuteronomy 23:21 declares that when someone makes a vow to God, He will surely require it of them. In this daily devotional, God’s word remains steadfast even when people don’t take it seriously.
God’s Correction is Life for You
In Monday’s daily devotional, the scribes and Pharisees were false teachers who misled the people into making oaths that brought them material gain. However, Jesus’ fourth woe provided them an opportunity to change. In today’s daily devotional, beware of leaders who are overly consumed with material gain and miss the heart of God’s word. Heeding God’s correction is life.
