Woe to You, Hypocrites! – part 4
Matthew 23:29-36
October 7, 2012
Throughout the history of God’s people one of the greatest tragedies
Has been the presence of those in the congregation
Who claim to be God’s, but aren’t.
They are those who go through the outward motions,
But inwardly do not belong to God.
Isaiah spoke of them when he said:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
They are those who keep their religion on a purely external level.
And that is of course bad enough, but that is not all.
They are also those who throughout the Scripture
We find in opposition to the things of God.
It is not that they are just indifferent to God, they are opposed to Him.
Exodus 17:1-3 “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
And of course Moses actually struck the rock
And brought forth water for the people.
But none the less, they were those who quarreled and grumbled and tested God and sought to discourage the rest of the congregation.
Of course probably their most famous rebellion comes in chapter 32.
Exodus 32:1-4 “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
It was the pinnacle rebellion of the Exodus when Israel,
Barely removed from Egypt and having just received the Ten Commandments,
Decided to go ahead and make a graven image.
In Numbers 11, God actually identifies them:
Numbers 11:4-6 “The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
There was a group of grumblers who sought to cause dissension throughout the camp by complaining about the miserable manna.
And then there was the ultimate discouragement.
When the 12 spies returned, 10 put out a bad report.
Numbers 13:27-29 “Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. “Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”
From there Israel was forced to wander 40 years in the wilderness,
But still the rabble opposed God.
Numbers 16:1-3 “Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
And even after that the rabble still murmured against Moses
And God sent a plague among the people 14,700 people.
All throughout the history we see those opposed to God.
But the rabble wasn’t limited just to the Exodus.
Listen to them argue with Isaiah
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Read Jeremiah and see them arrest him and throw him in a well because they did not like his message.
Listen to them oppose Amos.
Amos 7:12-13 “Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! “But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
And the real tragedy is that at times their opposition
Even became murderous.
2 Chronicles 24:20-21 “Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘ Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has also forsaken you.'” So they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD.”
We see it over and over and over.
• People who pretend to be God’s people…
• People who dwell in the midst of God’s congregation…
And yet people who Hate the word of God, Hate the will of God,
Hate the prophets of God, and who do everything they can
To oppose it and discourage the people as well.
The issue is that not everyone who claimed to be Israel was Israel.
Not everyone who claimed to be God’s child really was.
Some of them were imposters in the midst of the congregation
Seeking to lead people astray.
We saw them continually.
We even see them in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 11:17-19 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Remember when Jesus gave the warnings to the churches.
Revelation 2:14-15 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
The point is that even the church has the rabble in her today.
They are people who associate themselves with the people of God,
But who do not care about God or His will.
Their only objective is to use the church as a means
For their own self glory and to push their own agendas.
And the reality is that this rabble
Has always been a tremendous threat to God’s people.
• They are those who lead people astray.
• They discourage people from following God’s truth.
• They discourage people from following God’s Spirit.
• They discourage people from enduring in their faith.
And they are precisely the type of people Jesus has been confronting here in Matthew 23.
• People who have seated themselves in the chair of Moses
• People who place burdens on people that they won’t help lift
• People who love glory and honor and a display of religion
• People who are greedy but cover it with their religious pretense
• People who discourage others from entering the kingdom of heaven
• People who deceive people and make them sons of hell
• People who miss the point and focus on religion, not righteousness
• People who clean only the outside, but leave the inside full of sin
They are spiritual terrorists.
And in Jesus day they were called “Pharisees”.
We have listened as Jesus has pronounced 7 woes on them,
This morning we get the final one.
And without a doubt this one is the most severe,
For not only does Jesus call them hypocrites,
Jesus also reveals their appointed fate.
So let’s look at our text as we learn more about the kind of false teachers
And spiritual terrorists that can plague the congregation of God’s people.
3 things
#1 THEIR SPIRITUAL DISPLAY
Matthew 23:29-30
And there it is again, that famous interjection from Jesus.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”
“Woe” is that guttural OUIA which was merely a groan
“hypocrites” is the word for actor, calling them a fake
And again we remember that this is NOT some sort of compassionate intervention whereby Jesus is trying to save them from themselves.
This is a public denouncement whereby Jesus
Is seeking to expose them to those who follow them.
And once again Jesus takes issue with their public display.
And that is that they “build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 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.”
And again, it is not just the sin that is in their hearts,
It is also the way they cover it up on the outside.
And now we get a complete picture of what these guys looked like.
(2) “seated themselves in the chair of Moses”
(5) “they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments”
(7) They love “being called Rabbi by men”
(14) They “make long prayers”
(16) They instruct in regard to making vows
(23) They “tithe mint and dill and cummin”
(29) They “build the tombs of the prophets”
And we understand this gesture.
If you were to drive out to the cemetery this afternoon, undoubtedly you would find some of the graves that had flowers on them.
And our society recognizes that as someone
Who has great care for their loved one who is deceased.
Well that is what the Pharisees were doing.
They would go to great lengths to “adorn the monuments of the righteous”
They made a big to do out of mourning the lives of martyred saints
And the reason they did that is because it made them look like
They were one of the same mold as the deceased prophet.
And just in case you didn’t understand the gesture,
They were kind enough to spell it out for you.
(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.’”
You get an idea of what the Pharisees must have looked like.
Doing everything they could to condemn the past actions of their fathers.
AND THIS IS REALLY RICH.
While they condemned the actions of their fathers,
They themselves were plotting the death of Jesus.
They condemned their fathers for killing the prophets
While they themselves plotted to kill the One the prophets spoke of.
Pretty rich huh?
Matthew Henry wrote:
“They protested against the murder of them; If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them. No, not they, they would sooner have lost their right hands than have done any such thing. And yet they were at this time plotting to murder Christ, to whom all the prophets bore witness. The deceitfulness of sinners’ hearts appears very much in this, that , while they go down the stream of sins of their own day, they fancy they should have swum against the stream of the sins of the former days; that, if they had had other people’s opportunities, they should have improved them more faithfully. We are sometimes thinking, if we had lived when Christ was upon earth, how constantly we would have followed him; we would not have despised and rejected him, as they then did; and yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word, in his ministers, is still not better treated.” (pg. 1323)
Henry’s point is pretty obvious.
It’s real easy to sit today
And act like we would have been faithful yesterday.
But faithfulness can only be measured in present terms.
• Are you faithful to Christ today, then you would have been then.
• Do you submit to His reproof today, then you would have the prophets then.
• Do you despise His correction today, then you would have then too.
• Do you attack His ministers today, then you would have His prophets then.
And that is what the Pharisees overlooked.
No wonder they made Jesus sick.
They have a meeting at 2:30 today to plan how to kill Jesus,
But first they have a rally at 1 to mourn over a martyred prophet.
CAN YOU SEE THE HYPOCRISY?
Their Spiritual Display
#2 THEIR SPIRITUAL DNA
Matthew 23:31-33
Because of their hypocrisy Jesus must again expose them to the crowds.
“So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.”
I seriously doubt the Pharisees saw it this way,
But Jesus’ point makes sense.
They should have said, “If we had been living in that day those traitors would have killed us too.”
Oh you fancy that you would not have killed them,
But it is also clear you would not have been one of them.
You are children of your father.
And by the way, this is not the first time Jesus exposed their spiritual DNA
John 8:21-24 “Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘ Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Jesus was clear to them where they were from.
He knew their hearts and He knew their intentions.
Look later in that same chapter.
John 8:39-47 “They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
Ever hear the statement:
“Like father…” [like son]
Or “The acorn doesn’t fall to far from the tree”
Or “He’s a chip off the old block”
The point is, you can claim to be child of Abraham,
But you don’t have his DNA.
• Abraham was a man of faith, you are a man of works.
• Abraham was a man who trusted God, you are men who oppose God.
• Abraham was a man who heard God, you are men who hear nothing.
• Abraham was a man who gave life, you are men who are murderers.
I don’t care what you wrote on your birth certificate,
You are not Abraham’s descendants.
You father is much more obvious.
And that is the same accusation Jesus is making here.
You are all chips right off the old block.
Just like your fathers killed the prophets,
So you have your own agenda as well.
(32-33) “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
That is to say, “Go ahead and do what you have planned you snakes!”
Go ahead you serpents and prove that despite your adorning the prophets’ tombs you are just like your fathers!
You and I can talk a good game and put on a good show,
But our actions show us for what we really are.
1 John 2:3-5 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:”
Are you a child of God?
(yes, I am a child of God)
Then do you do the things that God did?
The Pharisees didn’t and it made Jesus sick.
Their Spiritual Display Their Spiritual DNA
#3 THEIR SPIRITUAL DESTINY
Matthew 23:34-36
And now, at the conclusion of this harsh confrontation
Jesus now reveals their fate.
He just asked, “how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
Which was a rhetorical question that meant they wouldn’t.
But notice now what He says.
(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,”
Jesus said, “I know what you are, and I can prove it”
I’m going to send more prophets to you,
And when I do you will prove you are just like your fathers.
Now if you will notice, up until now Jesus has been confronting them for what they have done. Here Jesus confronts them for what they will do.
It is as if He is showing the crowds, “Maybe you don’t still see what fakes these guys are, but if you’ll pay attention I’ll prove it. I’ll send them prophets and they will kill them just like their fathers.”
Our family watched the move “Find Nemo” not too long ago.
In the movie Nemo and his other fish friend come across three sharks.
All three sharks are trying to reform themselves by proving they don’t eat fish. They are at sort of an AA meeting about not eating other fish.
And I suppose one might think they were truly reformed.
But then one of the fish bumps her nose and it gives the appearance that some blood from her nose enters the water and the Great White shark smells it and the fish says “That’s it, I’m having fish tonight!”
Point was they could only put on the show so long.
These Pharisees could stand there all day
And say they would not have killed the prophets.
Jesus says, “I’ll prove it, I’ll send you some prophets and you will kill them.”
(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.”
• Abel was of course the first murdered human at the hands of his jealous brother Cain.
• Zechariah was one of the last. (John the Baptist not withstanding)
This is not the same Zechariah we read about earlier, this is the Zechariah from the book of Zechariah identified as “the son of Berechiah”
Although his book does not mention it, apparently he was killed for his ministry “between the temple and the altar.”
And Jesus is saying this.
“You think you are innocent of your father’s guilt,
I’ll prove you are just like them.
When you kill the prophets sent to you, you will be just as guilty as them.”
In fact Jesus says “so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth.”
HOW CAN THAT BE?
Because opposing God is opposing God
Regardless of which prophet you kill.
Rejecting God’s Word is rejecting God’s word
Regardless of which prophet you mock.
You will be judged as haters of God and His word.
(36) “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”
In other words, your judgment will be in your lifetime.
And it was too.
In A.D. 60 their temple was destroyed
And Jews have been under persecution ever since.
And so it is apparent why Jesus is so opposed to these men.
They are playing a deadly game of deception
And leading the masses into judgment.
The pinnacle of their deceptive and condemning ministry
Will come less than 48 hours from this very moment.
Matthew 27:20-23 “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
These men who were so certain they would never kill a prophet
Actually get credit for killing the Lord of the prophets.
Their religion was as phony as it comes.
What is more they were the very epitome of the rabble
That we saw all the way back to the day of Moses.
The camped among God’s people, but they opposed God at every turn and Jesus here announced their certain condemnation.
There is a warning there for us.
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
That is an obvious application.
Be real, not a phony.
But as we have said the even greater application
Is to watch out for false spiritual leaders
Who would deceive and lead the people astray.
Here we learn that false teachers are those
Who cling to the position, but who resist the direction.
They love the title, but they hate God.
And it is proven every time they are confronted with righteousness.
For their only position is to silence those who confront them.
Jesus wanted Israel to open their eyes and pay attention
Before it was too late and they suffer
The same condemnation of these wicked men.
The tragedy is that Israel turned a deaf ear and on Friday of that very week
Were led by these blind guides to kill the Messiah.
Make sure that your relationship with Christ is real,
And that it is real in the lives of those you follow.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
