Worse Than The First

The Jewish leaders and the generation of Jesus' day had, for the most part, rejected His call to repent. Yet, the lived outwardly righteous lives. How could somehow so religious be as wicked as Jesus has made them out to be? From our modern perspective, it would seem that a religious debate ought to be solved without acrimony and result in some form of ecumenism. Jesus will have none of this. He, therefore, shows us the real issue. The generation of that day had made themselves religious and appear good. However, moral reformation without regeneration is only a step to further immorality and idolatry. The Pharisaical movement, begun to ensure that Jews worshipped the one true God, had actually strayed away from the worship of the true God. Their religion had made them worse off than ever before.