A Messianic Mic Drop
(A Week Like No Other – Part 6)
#132 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
Matthew 23:1-36, Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:45-47
(Summary statement: Jesus condemns the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, instructs His disciples about the attitude that should characterize His followers, and demonstrates His heart of brokenness for Jerusalem.)
I love a good debate, don’t you… Whenever I listen to someone articulating a faithful biblical stance on a topic, and they do so with “receipts”, it bolsters my confidence that “truth will prevail”!... In our passage today, we see Jesus, yet again, bringing truth to bear upon those who, claimed to represent God, His Word, and His ways, but in fact … they failed miserably… As we will see, Jesus also has a word for His disciples – both then and now – that helps us have the appropriate outlook on how we are to do life…
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all tell of what we encounter today. Matthew gives much greater detail, so we will turn to his report for our text today, and since it is a lengthy passage, we’ll think about it as we read it…
At the very beginning of our passage, we read where –
1. Jesus Gives Warning
Matthew 23:1-3
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe,
Let’s pause there for a moment… Jesus acknowledges the legitimacy of “the chair of Moses”... This is the position – the legitimate position of the religious leaders. The “chair” is a way of speaking about “the office”... One should respect the office, even if they don’t respect the occupant in that office! Sound familiar?...
Jesus does speak to the responsibility of the people to “do and observe” what they tell you. BUT! Jesus gives a caveat –
… but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
Jesus is warning the people to not be hypocritical! This warning is to recognize and avoid the bad example of the unbiblical religious leaders – in this case, the scribes and Pharisees…
The first thing Jesus warns about, is –
Let’s read carefully:
Matthew 23:4
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
The scribes and Pharisees were guilty of putting greater expectation on the people than they would place on themselves!... This is “religious oppression”!
When we read that these religious leaders “tie” the people up with “heavy burdens” – we should immediately think about how this compares to what Jesus said back in Matthew 11:28-30. Rember?...
There, Jesus doesn’t “tie up” – He … invites!... Jesus doesn’t oppress – He liberates!... Hear Him again –
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Every generation of believers needs to be on guard against getting caught up in the attitude and practice of the Pharisees. They were all about legalism – whereas the gospel is all about freedom – the freedom found in Christ!
Peter also warned the church to not go down the road of legalism!... Listen to what he said at the Council at Jerusalem –
Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
The “yoke” he was speaking of, was the yoke of laws that exceeded what God has given in His Word = legalism!
There is a second warning about these religious leaders to avoid… not only their oppression, with legalism – but also –
This speaks to the focus these religious leaders had – it was an … unhealthy obsession with … themselves! They do what they do - to be seen, and praised by others!
Matthew 23:5a
But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men;
This obsession with gaining the approval of others for their religious practices, is exactly opposite of what Jesus had preached back in The Sermon on the Mount:
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
In our text, Jesus is warning the people to not follow the example of the scribes and Pharisees who are obsessed with gaining the attention and approval of people, more than they are concerned about the approval of God!... Jesus said –
Matthew 23:5
But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
The phylacteries were small leather boxes with tiny scrolls with scriptures on them… The Jews would these to their arms and head with leather straps… They would also sew them on the borders of their clothes in the attempt to conform to the Mosaic Law.
We read in the Torah these instructions –
“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
38 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. 39 It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.
The scribes and Pharisees have misunderstood God’s instruction… They had deluded God’s instruction to no more than accessories to an outfit, rather than “binding God’s Word” to their minds and hearts - like it is intended!
Another thing Jesus says about the scribes and Pharisees is –
Matthew 23:6-10
6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyoneon earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
Jesus exposes the motives of the scribes and Pharisees. They “coveted the seats of honor at banquets and at the synagogue, and they loved the honoring titles such as Rabbi and father.”(Guzik)
Honoring one who holds such a position is not what is wrong. It is the covetting of such honor, by those who are in such a position, that divulges an evil heart!...
C.H. Spurgeon – “In the Church of Christ, all titles and honors which exalt men and give occasion for pride are here forbidden.”
So, we see Jesus giving a warning… a warning concerning the false example being given by the religious leaders of the day… Next, we see that –
2. Jesus Gives Instruction
The lives of Christians are to be different from the lives of the religious leaders in that day!... Jesus gives His disciples then – and us now, instructions about what should characterize our lives!
He emphasizes the way of “service and humility”:
Matthew 23:11-12
11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
It seems that in every society, in every age, that “greatness” is determined by popularity… Celebrity is measured by the “likes” one gets these days…
That is the way of the “world, the flesh, and the devil”... But Jesus says that true greatness is determined by … humility… In fact, do we not see it, that we truly admire even the sports champion, genius, CEO, or even politician that may have a large platform, but they demonstrate true humility – that we admire these people more?...
And no one demonstrated greater humility … than the very Son of God!
When does the “exaltation” come, that Jesus speaks of?... If not in this life, it certainly will in eternity!
What comes next is rather … lengthy… It is long, but important. We shouldn’t rush through it too quickly, but because of time-constraints, we are not going to linger very long on each point… What we are about to read is a series of statements where –
3. Jesus Renders Judgement
Jesus gives an open rebuke to the religious leaders of the day… The scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites – deserve what they are about to get…
There are eight weighty statements Jesus pronounces… We could share a whole sermon on each, but I think we will simply peruse them today, and ask that the Holy Spirit applies His Word to each of us as needed…
The first judgement comes as –
Jesus condemns the act of these religious leaders that actually … causes a barrier to people being able to understand how they can enter the Kingdom!
Matthew 23:13
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
I think we all know what a hypocrite is… It’s a playactor – someone pretending to play a role that is not who they truly are…
That is something the Lord condemns then - and something He condemns now…
The barrier the religious leaders created was one of making human tradition the greater authority over God’s Word!... That has always been the danger in religion. When it abandons the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word, it dwarfs into a religious system that actually becomes a barrier to people entering the Kingdom!
One commentator, Adam Clarke said – “In ancient times the rabbins carried a key, which was the symbol or emblem of knowledge.”
They should have known better – but their traditions, and self-imposed authority – became the obstacle to people actually hearing and coming to the truth…
Next, we read of how –
[You will notice that there are brackets around this verse - to indicate that it does not appear in the oldest of manuscripts… Regardless, it certainly appears in Mark 12 and Luke 20, where we read their report of this encounter.]
Matthew 23:14
[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]
There are two pieces of evidence of their deception in this passage… Their “clever and dishonest dealing” with widows – that would allow them to steal their homes! – and the deception about their piety! They make long, public prayers – again for the purpose of only impressing others!
Next,
Matthew 23:15
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
There was little argument that the Pharisees were … sincere and passionate about their worldview… They would put generations of Christians to shame because of the lack of such zeal by those who actually know the Lord and the truth of the gospel…
D.A. Carson writes that – “A sizable body of scholarship convincingly argues that the first century A.D. till the Fall of Jerusalem marks the most remarkable period of Jewish missionary zeal and corresponding success.”
It has been noted by some commentators that the most zealous groups out there today, knocking on doors, many even committing two years of their lives going somewhere in the world to “share their message” – are actually religious groups that follow a perverse “gospel” – a non-gospel … a false gospel!... The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who do this more than most are actually … cults!
Any … misdirection away from the gospel / the Word of God – results in a dark bondage to a false religion, like that of the Pharisees … every time!
Jesus leans further into this, when He –
They have perverted the entire system of oaths…
Matthew 23:16-22
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
The apostate religion that Judaism had become, got all messed up with a perverted system, used to masquerade for … integrity.
Rather than just being honest, these Jews developed a multi-layered system of oath taking that could be used, in their mind anyway, to … fudge on their word…
For example, an oath based on “swearing by the temple”, was less … binding than an oath based on “swearing by the gold in the temple”...
This whole system was … perverse, and Jesus condemns it!
Christian – we are to be people of our word!
In the 5th statement –
By that I mean, their misevaluation of what is … important… Let’s read about it –
Matthew 23:23-24
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
I’ve always found it interesting that Jesus … affirms the tithe in this passage, right in the middle of correcting some false values the religious leaders espoused…
They would so occupy themselves to even measure out, and “tithe” from the very spices used for food – but they paid little to no attention to … weightier, more important matters!
It is as if they ignored a clear principle the Lord gave them … and us … that He revealed through the prophet, Micah! –
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
6th –
Matthew 23:25-26
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
These so-called leaders, were more concerned about … appearances than substance!
It is true that we ought to be concerned about how things … appear. Write this passage down. The Holy Spirit gave us this through the Apostle Paul –
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
Some translate the world “form” as … “appearance”... If a matter even appears to be evil, we should avoid it!...
That is NOT what the Pharisees were concerned about. They thought if they … looked good, then they were good!...
You might look good on the outside … to others – but God looks on the inside! Get the inside right, and the outside should then reflect that!
7th – Jesus doubles down on this when He –
They think they are okay … but they are not! The religious leaders of the day, had an appearance of being, and doing good – but they were actually … spiritually dead on the inside!
Matthew 23:27-28
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Not only were they dirty on the inside, like in the previous point – they were … spiritually dead on the inside – and are much in need of true spiritual life!
The delusion is seen in their belief that they are okay with God, as long as other thought they were… But God knows better!
The Apostle Paul would later use some of the same imagery when he was addressing the … corrupt high priest in Acts 23 –
Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?”
Finally, we read how –
These religious leaders were – are – and will continue to be – rejectors of God’s prophets!
This is lengthy, but listen carefully –
Matthew 23:29-36
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
The sad irony here is – the Jewish leaders honored dead prophets with elaborate tombs … but they were the ones who were guilty of killing them!
The embarrassed their own propaganda, but rejected the truth / the message of the true prophets!
Jesus knows them so well, and reveals that they will not change! They will continue to reject the message sent by God, and will be guilty of killing those whom the Lord will continue to send!
It is at this point that Matthew records a matter we considered in our examination of events that took place on the first day of Passion Week… There may be a better way of saying it, but we will call it –
4. Jesus Demonstrates Brokenness
You might even call this; “a compassionate brokenness”... An old word that fits – is the word; lament!
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
As we saw before – Luke tells us, that when Jesus –
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
Jesus tears, portrays His heart!... Why would Jesus weep over Jerusalem?... This is God’s city, so why is the city … as a whole … not embarrassing, but rejecting Christ?!...
This brings us to, once again, needing to think through the issue of God’s sovereignty, and man’s responsibility…
God is giving His Son, to save… so why won’t everyone be saved?... Because, God has also given mankind the responsibility to make choices!... Everyone – the religious leaders in that day – religious leaders today … people then – people now … disciples then – disciples now – all … will stand before the Lord and give account for those decisions, attitudes, actions, and values we have lived…
I like a quote from Spurgeon that illustrates this well – C.H. Spurgeon – “We hold tenaciously that salvation is all of grace, but we also believe with equal firmness that the ruin of man is entirely the result of his own sin. It is the will of God that saves; it is the will of man that damns.”
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
C.H. Spurgeon – “In the Church of Christ, all titles and honors which exalt men and give occasion for pride are here forbidden.”
Adam Clarke – “In ancient times the rabbins carried a key, which was the symbol or emblem of knowledge.”
D.A. Carson – “A sizable body of scholarship convincingly argues that the first century A.D. till the Fall of Jerusalem marks the most remarkable period of Jewish missionary zeal and corresponding success.”
C.H. Spurgeon – “We hold tenaciously that salvation is all of grace, but we also believe with equal firmness that the ruin of man is entirely the result of his own sin. It is the will of God that saves; it is the will of man that damns.”
