(Mat) 22:16, 29 CJB “They sent him some of their talmidim and some members of Herod’s party. They said, “Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and really teach what God’s way is. You aren’t concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status. Yeshua answered them, “The reason you go astray is that you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God.”

To know Scripture and the power of God is far more than possessing biblical knowledge. It is submitting every belief, every conviction, and every area of life to God’s revealed truth. That was the issue Jesus confronted in Matthew 22, and it remains one of the greatest issues facing the Church today.

The religious leaders approached Jesus with deceitful motives, yet they made an honest confession: “Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and really teach what God’s way is. You aren’t concerned with what other people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person’s status.”

Ironically, they rejected the very truth they acknowledged.

Jesus never adjusted His message to gain approval.

He never softened God’s Word to avoid offending influential people.

He spoke the truth because pleasing His Father mattered more than pleasing men.

Later, Jesus exposed the reason these religious leaders had gone so far astray: “The reason you go astray is that you are ignorant both of the Tanakh and of the power of God.”

That diagnosis still explains much of what we see today.

Ignorance of Scripture Produces Ignorance of God

The religious leaders knew religious traditions.

They knew theological debates.

They knew how to impress people.

But they did not truly know God because they refused to submit to His Word.

Their religion served themselves instead of serving God.

That same danger exists today.

Many professing Christians know Christian language but have little interest in knowing what God has actually said.

Others know what Scripture teaches but choose to ignore the parts that conflict with their personal preferences or cultural convictions.

Whenever we refuse God’s authority, we drift further from God’s presence and His power.

God’s Word Must Shape Our Thinking

Followers of Jesus do not begin with culture and then reinterpret Scripture to fit it.

We begin with Scripture and allow it to reshape us.

That means every belief must be examined in the light of God’s Word.

What do we believe about creation?

About sin?

About marriage?

About sexuality?

About the value of unborn life?

About salvation?

About eternity?

The disciple of Jesus does not ask, “What does our culture approve?”

He asks, “What has God spoken?”

Where Scripture speaks plainly, faithful disciples must not compromise to gain acceptance from the world.

God created humanity in His image.

He created us male and female.

He forms every human life according to His sovereign purpose.

Sin is real.

Salvation is found in Christ alone.

These are not cultural opinions.

They are divine revelation.

Jesus Is Our Example

Jesus fulfilled God’s Word through perfect obedience.

He never contradicted Scripture.

He never apologized for God’s truth.

He never feared the opinions of men.

Instead, He proclaimed the Father’s Word faithfully and completed the Father’s mission perfectly.

His disciples are called to follow His example.

We do not fulfill Scripture as Christ uniquely did.

But we honor Scripture by believing it, proclaiming it accurately, and obeying it wholeheartedly.

True disciples do not merely admire Jesus.

They imitate Him.

Which Approval Matters Most?

At its core, this is not merely an intellectual issue.

It is a worship issue.

Whose approval matters most?

Many abandon biblical truth because they fear rejection.

They want acceptance from coworkers.

Approval from family.

Praise from society.

Jesus wanted only one approval—the Father’s.

So should we.

The disciple who knows Scripture also knows the power of God.

He trusts that God’s truth is sufficient.

He believes God’s commands are good.

He knows God’s Spirit transforms lives through God’s Word—not through compromise.

Our world does not need Christians who sound more like culture.

It needs disciples who sound more like Christ.

Run Today’s Play

Ask, is there any area where you are allowing culture to shape you thinking more than God’s Word?

Read Matthew 22:15–33 and ask God to reveal any belief or behavior that is not fully surrendered to His truth.

Share one biblical truth today with both conviction and compassion, seeking God’s approval rather than man’s applause.

Jesus never measured truth by public opinion.

Neither should we.

Know the Scriptures.

Trust the power of God.

And live courageously for the approval of the One whose opinion alone will matter for eternity.