Matthew 23:29-33: “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

This is part of my series going through the animal analogies of Jesus, and I feel I should continue to give a warning, as I have done for the past two days: the name‑calling of Jesus is not a copy. You do not copy and paste it. You do not say, “Jesus Christ said it, so I am also going to do it.”

We need to desist from that animalistic tendency to just bark names at people. I need to desist from it; you need to desist from it. The problem comes when we are confused and think, “Jesus Christ said it. Jesus Christ is a Man—God became Man. He is our example. We are supposed to follow in His steps.” Peter wrote that we should follow in His steps because He suffered for us (1 Peter 2:21). He laid out an example for us that we should follow in His steps.

That is why context is so important. You cannot just jump and say, “Peter said follow in His steps; therefore I can call people hypocrites.” Peter said, “Follow in His steps.” Which steps specifically was Peter mentioning? That is very important. Follow in His steps—go and make sure people hang you on the cross? No. “Follow in His steps” has to be limited to the context. That is the number one rule of Bible interpretation: context.

First, the sentence—what sense is it making in normal language? You need to have it properly formulated. Next, what sense will it make in its context, and to the original recipients—what sense would it make to them? Until you have dug into those things, be careful not to jump and say, “Follow in His steps,” and then jump from Peter’s words to something else.

We also need to know: how did the apostles live their lives? Did Peter go about calling people names? He confronted the leaders of Israel after Jesus Christ rose from the dead and after he healed the man at the gate (Acts 3–4), but he did not start name‑calling. Jesus Christ called people names to their faces: “You experts in the law, you Pharisees, woe to you.” Do not go around doing that. Do not say, “Now I am a prophet.” No. Do not do that.

Remember, James and John also said, “Shall we call fire down on these people?” just because Elijah did it (Luke 9:54–55). That is the example we have of someone calling down fire. Jesus said, “No.” Do not then go to Elijah and begin to criticize Elijah for calling down fire. Those are extraneous things; you are just jumping to conclusions. Leave Elijah alone and his fire. You also do not do that. You are different. You are called into a different order. That does not mean Elijah was wrong or that you are right. Let us not make conclusions or leap into things the Bible is not leaping into.

Even the things the Bible is clearly saying, we are not even doing. Now we want to be advanced. Let us not be too advanced for the truth. The little ones—let us take them. Let us receive the implanted word that is able to save our souls (James 1:21). Let us take it in.

Let us not do finger‑pointing. That is what I am saying. You might say to yourself, “What am I even doing with all this? Am I not finger‑pointing?” No. I am trying to give a sense of what Jesus Christ could mean. Jesus Christ is saying it; therefore it is important for us to pay attention to it, to guide our lives by it. That is what I am communicating. It does not give us a license to call people names—call people pigs, call people vipers, call people this and that “in the name of God.”

That is what is dangerous now. You are doing it in the name of God. You are saying, “It is in the Bible.” Do not.

God bless you.