SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 23
SEVEN WOES (1-39)
DESCRIPTION OF THE PHARISEES AND TEACHERS OF THE LAW
- They do not practice what they preach. (v. 3)
- They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (v. 4)
- Everything they do is done for men to see: making their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. (v. 5)
- They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. (v. 6)
- They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.” (v. 7)
TEACHINGS OF JESUS:
- You must obey the Pharisees and the teachers of the law and do everything they tell you but do not do what they do. (v. 3)
- You are not to be called ‘Rabbi’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. (v. 8)
- Do not call anyone on earth ‘father’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. (v. 9)
- You are not to be called ‘teacher’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. (v. 11)
- The greatest among you will be your servant. (v. 11)
- Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (v. 12)
THE SEVEN WOES (vs. 13-32)
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. (v. 13-14)
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (v. 15)
- Woe to you, blind guides! You say, “If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath. You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, “If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath. you blind men! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who its on it.
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! Frist clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like white-washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
- Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, “if we have lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
OTHER WOES:
- You kill and crucify the prophets, wise men and teachers that I sent and you flog others in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. (v. 34)
- All the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (v. 35)
- You were not willing for me to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. (v. 37)
- Your house is left to you desolate. (v. 38)
- You will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 39)
THOUGHTS:
The Pharisees and the teachers of the laws were hypocrites. They knew the Scriptures but did not live by them. They looked holy to receive people’s admiration and praise but in reality their hearts were evil. Today, many people say they know the Bible but do not let it change their lives. They say they follow Jesus but they don’t live by the standards of love. We must make sure that our actions match our beliefs.
To Jesus, greatness comes from serving. Service keeps us aware of other’s needs and stops us from focusing only on ourselves. Being a religious leader must not seek for more power, money and status. Otherwise, he would lose sight of God and become blinded.
Sometimes we may obey the details of the laws but still be disobedient in our general behavior. For example, we could be very precise and faithful about giving tithes to God but refuse to give one minute of our time to help others. Tithing does not exempt us from fulfilling God’s other commands.
The people of Jesus’ generation said that they would not act as their fathers did in killing the prophets when God had sent to them. But they were about to kill the Messiah himself and his faithful followers. The would then become guilty of all the righteous blood shed through the centuries.
Jesus said that he wanted to gather his people together as a hen protects her chicks under her wings, but they would not let him. Today, Jesus wants to protect you if you will come to Him. Are you willing to heed his call?