Honoring Dead Men

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 11
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Many prophets followed Samuel before our Lord appeared, but they all fared badly at the hands of men. “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” said the indignant Stephen, “and they have slain them which showed before the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:5252Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: (Acts 7:52)). Our Lord said to the religious leaders of His day, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the sons of them which killed the prophets.” He proceeded to tell them that He would send fresh messengers to them, and that they would persecute, scourge and kill them (Matt. 23:29-3429Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (Matthew 23:29‑34)). The Book of the Acts records the terrible fulfillment of His words. (Read also 1 Thess. 2:33For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: (1 Thessalonians 2:3); John 16:22They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (John 16:2).)
It is easy to honor dead men whose faithful admonitions no longer sting the conscience. Flesh can even get a certain amount of gratification to itself in doing so, but what God appreciates is willing obedience to His servants' messages while they live, and loyal remembrance of their words after their departure (Heb. 13:77Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. (Hebrews 13:7)).
Be not over-anxious to hold memorial services over us when our lips are silent in the grave. Say a few kind words to us while we are with you, and encourage our hearts by such obedience to the truth that in our prayers we may give account of you “with joy, and not with grief” (Heb. 13: 17). To praise the dead while refusing their teaching is one of the worst forms of religious hypocrisy, and the world is full of it.