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.”

Woe to You, Hypocrites! – part 3
Matthew 23:25-28
September 30, 2012

The Master’s Seminary produced a book on preaching.
The opening lines of the introduction of that book are as follows:

“I am continually overwhelmed by the responsibility and liability that possess the preacher of God’s Word. We all look with indignation at the lawyer or judge who, for the motive of personal wealth, distorts the truth in attacking the reputation and personal possessions of people, while reducing them to poverty. We respond with similar indignation to the quack doctor who, by incompetence, hazards the health and life of someone for the purpose of financial gain. Such people deserve to be considered criminals; the pain and loss of their victims should rightly be laid to their account.
Offering oneself this way as the counselor or healer to care for someone in the time of crisis and then, through negligence, lack of skill, or selfish greed, making havoc of their lives is unconscionable. Medical and legal associations have set standards in an attempt to prevent such malpractice.
But what about me as the purveyor of God’s truth, the physician of the soul? Shall I not be held responsible to God for any perversion of truth, however witless, and for my negligence and lack of skill? What earthly regulatory association validates me? Do not I, who preach God’s Word, face a higher court than the legal bar or any medical tribunal? James wrote, “Let no many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1)
No profession has as high a liability potential as that of one who preaches God’s Word. God will judge every preacher on the truthfulness and accuracy of his preaching. Any failure as a spokesman for God bring not only shame (2 Tim. 2:15) but judgment. The Holy Spirit promised that all who pastor God’s flock must “give an account” (Heb. 13:17). There will be a day of reckoning for the preacher. Only a tested and qualified kind of person has the right to be considered a lawyer, a judge, or a physician. The standard is significantly higher for the preacher!”
(MacArthur, John [“Preaching: How to Preach Biblically” Thomas Nelson Publishing; Nashville, TN 2005] pg. xi)

Certainly those are penetrating words for any preacher to read or hear.
But they make a valid and accurate point.

• If a doctor can be punished for being ill prepared or corrupt…
• If a lawyer can be punished for being ill prepared or corrupt…
• How much more the preacher?

After all, a lawyer only holds a man’s money…
A doctor only holds a man’s physical life…
But the preacher holds a man’s eternity.

• And if men are punished for corruption in legal affairs…
• And if men are punished for corruption in medical affairs…
• Certainly men will be punished for corruption in spiritual affairs.

James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

And to understand that all we really have to do
Is look at the severe punishment of a true prophet.
CONSIDER MOSES
Numbers 20:11-12 “Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

I think everyone who reads that account agrees that
Moses received a stricter judgment.

And the same goes for those Jesus is addressing here.
You don’t sit yourself in the chair of Moses without expecting
To receive the same standard of judgment that Moses received.

And just like we understand the anger
For a corrupt lawyer or misguided physician,
WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THE ANGER FOR A FALSE TEACHER.

And that helps us understand
Why Jesus is unloading so much aggression here in this 23rd chapter.
• These men claim to speak for God.
• These men claim to be lights in darkness.
• These men have seated themselves in the chair of Moses
• These men guide other men.

The problem of course is that they are blind men guiding blind men,
And so Jesus is here to expose them.
• His aggression is real
• His aggression is intense
• His aggression is pointed
• His aggression is accurate

He has already exposed them in regard to their hypocritical lifestyle.
• They are those who say things and don’t do them.
• They are those who tie up burdens on people but don’t help them carry them.
• They are those who love glory but have forgotten humility.
• They are those who pray in public, but put widows out on to the street.
• They are those who shut off the kingdom from those who are interested.
• They are those who purposely deceive people and make them sons of hell.
• They are those who have mixed up doctrine and a lack of integrity.
• They are those who miss the point of true religion.

And yet Jesus is not finished.
This morning we two more points of contention that Jesus raises
With these false prophets who lead His people astray.

#1 THEIR RELIGIOUS AIM
Matthew 23:25-26

And again we hear that familiar groan from Jesus.

“Woe” OUIA
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (HUPOKRITES)

Jesus has yet to back off of this persistent groan of disgust
Or accusation of being phony.
He is sickened and outraged at the display that these men put on.

And here Jesus begins to explain even more of the problem.
“For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.”

It is the picture of a man who hosts someone at his home
And brings out the fine china to serve a meal in.
(Everything is perfect)

And then when the guest sits and the waiter removes the lid from the dish,
You find a rotting dead skunk inside the pot.

And Jesus says that dish is a perfect example of who you are.

You “scribes and Pharisees” clean up on the outside
And look religious and exemplary and impressive,
But on the inside, you “are full of robbery and self-indulgence.”

“You are like golden goblets filled with vomit!”

And notice the Pharisee has an active role in this.
Jesus said, “For you clean…”

In other words you focus greatly on your appearance.

It wasn’t just that they were clean outside and dirty inside,
It was that all they tried to do was clean the outside.

THEY HAD BAD AIM!

They could look good externally, but internally they were detestable.
Internally they were full of “robbery and self-indulgence”

• We already read that they devour widow’s houses (“robbery”)
• We already read they excuse breaking certain vows (“self-indulgence”)

And this incidentally are two very real characteristics of false prophets.

A true messenger of God serves uprightly looking to an eternal reward.
A false messenger serves deceptively looking to gain an earthly reward.

Micah 3:5 “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, “Peace,” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.”
And this is true in the New Testament as well.
Jude 11 “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.”

And you remember the error of those men.
They all wanted spiritual recognition while maintaining earthly riches.

• Cain didn’t give the best, or the first, yet wanted to be regarded.
• Balaam was willing to take pay to curse the children of Israel.
• Korah wanted the glory of Moses and Aaron.

All of these men pretended religious obedience,
And yet they only did it to gain earthly wealth and glory.

2 Peter 2:15-16 “forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”

Their Balaam’s motive is called “madness”
He was overcome by his greed.

Consider this man.
Acts 8:18-24 “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Yet another prophet for profit, clean on the outside
And full of robbery on the inside.

And this same trend has carried into our own day.
Our televisions are full of hucksters offering spiritual and physical blessing for a small love offering or “seed faith” money.

They offer what they cannot give, and offer it for a cost.

I’ve always like the Ray Stevens song, “Would Jesus wear a rolex on His television show?”

And that was the Pharisees.
Jesus saw their heart and all He saw was “robbery and self-indulgence”

The tragedy is that they didn’t do anything to fix that.
Their only aim was to clean up the outside and leave that sin alone.

And that meant they were only concerned about what man could see
And completely unconcerned about what God could see.

For remember, God looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

And let me remind you that if your religion is only skin deep,
Then God is not pleased.

Things like Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance
Mean little to God if the heart is not right before Him.

And so Jesus gives some advice to these hypocritical Pharisees.
(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.”

What Jesus reminds them of is that man does not become clean
From the outside in, but from the inside out.

No amount of outward conformity can make your heart right before God.

Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

In fact, if all you have is outward conformity, but do not change the heart,
Then we have a word for that, and it is a dangerous one.
That word is called MORALITY.

God has never accepted morality
As a substitute for genuine righteousness.

Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

• That was a man who cleaned himself up.
• That was a man who made himself moral.
• But the Spirit of God did not move in for his house was still unoccupied.

And this man’s morality left him clean, but lost and now in great danger.
MORALITY WAS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HEART RIGHTEOUNESS
You must start with the heart.
For out of the heart come all things that make up the man.

Remember when the Pharisees approached Jesus because His disciples did not wash their hands before they ate.

The idea was that what they put on the outside would defile the inside.

Jesus said:
Matthew 15:17-20 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
Even later as the church was growing and the Judaizers came with the same message, only concerned about getting the Gentiles circumcised.

Paul said:
Galatians 6:12-15 “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

It is the inside that affects the outside, not the other way around.

And that is what Jesus tells the Pharisees.
Quit focusing on making the outside impressive to man,
And start focusing on making the inside impressive to God.

Their religious aim was all wrong.

And the danger is that since they were the leaders of Israel,
Their aim had become the aim of the nation.

The people were only following their lead.
The people were doing what they were taught.
Their aim was affecting everyone else’s aim.

AND THAT IS WHY JESUS IS EXPOSING THEM.

It was a constant struggle to not get people
To follow the same misdirection of these faulty religious leaders.

And today we must watch out for this, making sure
That our religious aim is not merely to moralize men
Or make them outwardly conformant.

Our goal is to cause men to seek the living God
That their heart may be transformed.

Charles Spurgeon said,
“Now observe, brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking and the pit opens wide her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, “Depart, ye cursed,” shall be his portion?”

And here we learn that Jesus is opposed to any such religious leaders
Who make it their aim to do just that.

Jesus confronts the Pharisees for their misguided religious aim.

But there is a second problem.
#2 THEIR RELIGIOUS APPEARANCE
Matthew 23:27-28

Now granted these two sound very similar in their point,
But the difference is this.

In regard to the cup, it was what they did. (i.e. “clean the outside”)
Here it is how they appear.

Now we have moved from their example to their SEDUCTION.

It wasn’t just that what they did was wrong.
It is that they made their wrong look so appealing to everyone else.

“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.”

There again is the example
And one that Israel would have certainly understood.

Every year, leading up the Passover (of which is currently going on), the Jews near Jerusalem would whitewash the tombs surrounding the area.
• It was to make tombs visible.
• So people didn’t unwittingly make themselves unclean.

(Some would even paint bones on the outside)

It was a precautionary thing, but it didn’t change the fact
That when all the tombs got a fresh coat of paint they did look better.
They looked good, but they were full of danger.

And Jesus says here that those whitewashed tombs
Were the appropriate symbol for the Pharisees.

(28) “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Jesus said you are just like those tombs.
• Very beautiful…
• Very attractive…
• Very alluring…
• But dangerous to the core!

See the danger?
Their way of life was appealing to people.
They were attractive.

And this has been the work of Satan from the beginning.
Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

And this has been the work of false prophets ever since.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

2 Corinthians 11:12-15 “But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

False prophets are attractive.
Their look is attractive.
Their offer is attractive.
Their glory is attractive.

Recently in Sunday School we studied through Colossians.
TURN TO: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

The Colossians were a young church and a confused church.
They had Jewish influence, Gnostic influence, pagan influence…

They had been le to faith in Jesus, but then people came in and told them
They had to be circumcised and observe feasts and rituals.

Others paraded their super spirituality.

The problem was it left the Colossians confused and insecure.
Maybe Christ hadn’t made them as pleasing as they thought.

Notice what Paul says:
(Read 16-23)

Can you hear the false prophets as they look appealing?
• Oh they see angelic visions – they must be spiritual.
• Oh they never miss a festival – they must be spiritual.
• Oh they mistreat the body – they must be spiritual.

False prophets always have a certain alluring factor.

But what did Paul say?
(23) “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Now what was the Pharisees plan?
Clean the outside as well as you can.

What was the Pharisees problem?
They were still full of “robbery and self-indulgence”

DO YOU SEE?
Those false prophets might in fact look good and appear good
And seem to have it figured out, but all of their external games
Won’t do a thing as far as overcoming sin.

And that is why Jesus is so adamantly exposing these Pharisees.

Their aim was to clean the outside
And their appearance was very appealing to those around them.

Jesus could see all of Israel following in their footsteps
And He felt the need to intervene.

“Don’t follow the Pharisees – they are blind! They think all that outer junk makes them pleasing to God. If you follow them you will be just like them, and they are headed to hell!”

And I really think it is impossible for us to miss the point here.

• It is internal, not external.
All the religion in the world won’t change a carnal heart,
Only Jesus does that.

You can come to this church and we can:
• Change your clothes,
• Change your speech,
• Wash your body,
• Teach you our songs,
• Help you memorize Bible verses,
• Explain our ordinances.

But only Christ Jesus can change your heart,
You need more than religion!

That is why Jesus said:
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

But beyond that, the point of Jesus message is to
Expose those false teachers who give a bad example.

How do we apply this truth to our lives?
The answer? WATCH OUT!

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

2 Peter 3:17-18 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive (sulagogeo) through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

(sulagogeo = “to carry off booty” i.e. “to kidnap” – PIRATES)

Don’t be fooled because people put on a good display.
And don’t seek the external to be made pleasing.

Romans 14:17-18 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

Seek true righteousness in the heart
Watch out for anyone who leads you to believe
It can be achieved externally.

 

Woe to You, Hypocrites! – part 2
Matthew 23:16-24
September 23, 2012

As you know we are presently in the middle of Jesus stern rebuke
Of the false religious leaders of Israel.

We are told earlier in Matthew’s gospel
That when Jesus saw the people of Israel they were
“distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

Obviously their state caused Him to be moved with compassion.
It also caused Him to be filled with indignation
At the shepherds who were responsible.

In Matthew 23 that frustration and indignation boils over.

We are now on Wednesday of the passion week
And Jesus is as public as He has ever been.

He arrived this morning and began teaching in the temple,
Was met with opposition, answered that,
And now has turned the tables against those who attacked Him.

It is one of the most brutal beat downs in all of Scripture.
• It is direct
• It is blunt

And because it comes from Jesus, who sees the heart,
IT IS TOTALLY ACCURATE.

7 times (8 if you count verse 14) Jesus uses the word OUIA,
Translated “Woe”.

As I told you last week, it really isn’t a word, it is more of an emotion.
It is a guttural word.
It is onomatopoetic. (it sounds like what it means)

It was a groan from the deepest parts of His being.
(It is like when you make a sound after smelling something bad)

It is like when Jesus was confronted with the doubters
Outside the tomb of Lazarus.

John 11:37-38 “But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.”

“deeply moved” translates EMBRIMAOMAI (em-bree-my-o-my)

That is another onomatopoetic word which means
“to snort like a horse” or “to snort in anger”

There Jesus blew out of His lips like a horse snorting.

That is what is occurring here OUIA
He is sickened, He is angered, and He is letting them know about it.

Now that does bring up a pretty good question for us.
WHY IS JESUS BEING SO HARSH?

John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

John 12:47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

I mean we know that about Jesus, but what do we do with this chapter.

If this is anything, it is judgment.
WHY?

Well, we know why Christian judgment is done.
(contrary to popular belief Christians are called at times to judge one another)

1 Corinthians 5:12 “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?”

1 Corinthians 6:3 “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?”

And so we know that there are times when Christians
Are actually called to judge their brother.
But that purpose is always redemptive.

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

1 Corinthians 5:3-5 “For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

As believers we do confront and condemn the sin that reveals itself in the lives of our brothers or sisters, but we always do it with a view to redemption.

The hope is that the confrontation brings about a sorrow leading to repentance and that they can be fully restored in holiness.

But clearly that is NOT why Jesus is confronting these men.
Jesus is not here trying to redeem them.

HOW DO I KNOW?
Because He has already pronounced their certain condemnation.

• In verse 15 He called them “sons of hell”
• Notice what He will say later:

Matthew 23:33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
Jesus didn’t harshly confront these men
For the purpose of saving these men.

Jesus harshly confronted them
For the purpose of saving those who were following them.

The Jews of Jesus day were being led astray by these false teachers.
We already saw last week how they travel on land and sea
To make one proselyte and when he becomes one
They make him twice as much a son of hell as themselves.

We already saw that they refuse to enter the kingdom of heaven
And also seek to hinder those who would enter.

These men are false teachers, false apostles
Who have seated themselves in the chair of Moses,
But who in reality lead people astray.

They are like the false prophets of old.
Isaiah 3:12 “O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths.”

Isaiah 9:16-17 “For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.”

Jeremiah 23:13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.”

What those men and women were in the Old Testament,
The scribes and Pharisees have become in the New Testament.

And Jesus is here publicly and bluntly exposing them so that those who follow them will see the light and change course.

Now last week we already saw their:
• MANNER OF DECEPTION (14)
Namely that while putting on a good outward show of religion through their prayer, they are actually in direct violation of the will of God because they “devour widows houses”

• MINISTRY OF DISCOURAGEMENT (13)
For not only do they fail to enter the kingdom, but they hinder others as well.

• MISSION OF DEPRAVITY (15)
Although they are big on missions their converts would have been better off, if they had remained “unreached”.

And this morning we continue as Jesus continues to expose them.

Now one difference that we will notice this morning is that
Jesus here introduces a new accusation against them.

It has been heavily implied, but here Jesus gets specific.

Not only does He say “Woe” and not only does He call them “hypocrites”

Twice in our text Jesus calls them “bind men”
Twice He calls them “blind guides”
Once He calls them “fools”

The insinuation here is directly linked to their propensity
To give false information and take people in the wrong direction.

You may remember back in chapter 15 when they confronted Jesus
About His disciples not washing their hands
And Jesus exposed their love of tradition over truth.

After the skirmish we read:
Matthew 15:12-14 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Therein lies the problem with false teachers.
They don’t know where they are going,
So how could they possibly guide you?

They may stand and boldly proclaim they know the way to heaven,
But they are blind. They don’t know what they are talking about.

And in order to prove they don’t know what they are talking about
Jesus is here going to expose the inconsistencies in their lives.

If He can show how blind they are,
Maybe you will lose confidence in following them.

And so in our text Jesus points out that these men are deceivers.
They are blind guides, and He reveals that in two ways.

They Deceive by:
#1 THEIR RIDICULOUS DOCTRINE
Matthew 23:16-22

There we get it again, “Woe to you,” (OUIA)

Jesus is just giving yet another example by which they make Him sick!
“Woe to you, blind guides”

You’ve seen the commercials
About a man who all of a sudden shows up in an emergency room and starts performing a surgery on a person. A nurse asks, “Are you a doctor?” And the man answers, “No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

Sleeping in that hotel may make you feel CONFIDENT,
But in reality it does not make you COMPETENT for surgery.
Their confidence is a false expression.

Remember what Paul said as he wrote to condemn Israel?
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

They were confident, but they were not competent.
They thought they could lead people to God,
The end result was that they led people farther away from God.

They didn’t cause the Gentiles to worship,
They caused the Gentiles to blaspheme.
They were blind to the truth and thus led people in the wrong direction.

That is exactly what Jesus is exposing here in the Pharisees.
And then He says why.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say…”

And so we understand that it is in regard to their doctrine.
This is their message.
This is what they preach to people.

“who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’”

It is admittedly a little difficult here to discern their point,
But what is obvious is that their point came from their own imagination.
They didn’t get this from Scripture.

Scripture is clear about when a person
Says they are going to do something.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.”

Psalms 76:11 “Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.”

Deuteronomy 23:21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.”

And I could literally quote from 62 other verses
That regard paying your vows to God.
I mean it is obvious God requires integrity.

Now one thing you will notice in all of those instances is that
What you vow on, or what you swear by is of no importance.

You are to keep every vow, regardless of how or why you made it.

This is what makes the doctrine of the Pharisee a little confusing.
I’m not sure why they thought it was ok
To break a vow based on the temple, but not on the gold.

We do know that Luke 16:14 says that the Pharisees were lovers of money,
And so it is possible that in some way reclaiming the vow made on money
Was easier than reclaiming one made on the temple.
I’m not sure about their thinking.

What is obvious however is that they had developed a system
By which you could lie and get away with it.

“I had my fingers crossed.”
That is sort of what is going on here.
Jesus has already addressed this once.
Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”

And Jesus point was that integrity mattered.
You couldn’t break any vow.

James 5:12 “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.”
Be a person of integrity.

And so what we had here was the Pharisees actually teaching people
That they did not have to keep their word.

Jesus obviously pointed out the ridiculous nature of this.
(17) “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?”

Jesus is saying that their doctrine is foolish and utterly absurd.

WHY WOULD YOU THINK YOU COULD BREAK A VOW BASED ON THE TEMPLE, WHEN YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T BREAK ONE BASED ON THE GOLD?

(18) “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’”

That is the same thing, an excuse for deception.

And again Jesus exposes it.
(19) “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?”

Again, your doctrine doesn’t make sense.
It is foolish and faulty at the core.

And then Jesus gives the correction.
(20-22) “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.”

The simple explanation is that to swear is to swear
Regardless of what you swear upon.

A vow is a vow regardless of the collateral.

In short, Jesus here just publicly revealed them as being foolish,
and He did so publicly in order to open the eyes of everyone
who had previously followed them.

And so Jesus first reveals that they deceive by their ridiculous doctrine.

They Deceive by:
#2 THEIR BACKWARD PRIORITIES
Matthew 23:23-24

You ought to be familiar with this one, this is one of my favorites that Jesus gives, because it makes almost a hysterical point.

Jesus exposes that their priorities are all backward.
In fact, they are filled with neglect.

Listen to what He says:
(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.”

And there again we have that familiar address.
OUIA – HUPOKRETES!
Uggh! Fakes!

And just like we saw last week, He calls them fakes because
They abandon a true spiritual reality
And replace it with a man-made one.

Previously they neglected widows, in fact they foreclosed on their houses, while giving the pretense of long prayers.

IT IS NO DIFFERENT HERE.

The pretense is clearly seen.
“you tithe mint and dill and cumin”

While tithing the crops of the field was a requirement
There is some debate over whether or not tithing garden herbs was included.

But even at that, the display they put on here was quite a display.
These were garden herbs, garden seeds,
And they were exceptionally small.

And the picture here is of a Pharisee (in order to make a good show)
Would meticulously separate out one of every 10 seeds.
A process like that must have been painstakingly monotonous.

But Pharisees weren’t put off by a little hardship and monotony
So long as it produced a good deal of glory.

• They didn’t mind offering long prayers…
• They didn’t mind neglecting their appearance…
• They didn’t mind giving…
• They didn’t mind broad phylacteries…
• They didn’t mind long blue tassels…
SO LONG AS IT PRODUCED GLORY

And that is why they did it.

It really looked good.

But Paul would say about such show:
Colossians 2:23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

In other words, what they are doing looks good, but it doesn’t make you any closer to God or any more holy in His sight.

Yet that is what the Pharisees did.
AND THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM.
If a man wants to get that meticulous about his tithe then so be it.

THE PROBLEM IS WHAT THEY NEGLECTED.
“and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness;”

If you want to tithe garden seeds, so be it.
But these attitudes are non-negotiable.
You must be merciful, you must be faithful, you must love justice.

Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Again in chapter 12, after they cornered Him about His disciples eating grain on the Sabbath. He closed the conversation by saying:

Matthew 12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

This is what mattered to God.
Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 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?”

And so obviously the Pharisees had missed the whole point.

You really think its about tithing seeds?
NO!!! Be compassionate, be merciful, be just!

Which is why Jesus goes on to say:
“but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

In other words mercy and justice and faithfulness are the priorities,
Tithing seeds is secondary.

Would you really assume that God cared more for receiving seeds
Than for you being faithful?

Of course not, God can have all the seeds He wants,
He wants you to be faithful.
Your priorities are way out of line.

And then comes the point that I believe
Would have made everyone listening chuckle.

(24) “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

You are well aware of the Jewish dietary requirements.
• They could only eat animals that split the hoof and chewed the cud,
• And they could only eat insects that had jointed legs with which to jump.

• The gnat was considered unclean because it had no jointed legs.
• The camel was unclean because it did not chew its cud.

Together what they represented was
The smallest and the largest unclean animal.

Some Pharisees would actually drink wine with clinched teeth
To make sure no gnats in the cup passed through.
And that was certainly a picture of tithing mint, and dill, and cummin.

You are meticulous about little things, but you miss the main thing.

It is comparable to straining a gnat out of your drink,
While you feast on a camel steak!
• Do you really suppose getting rid of that gnat is going to help you when you are so grossly breaking the Law by eating the camel?

• Do you really suppose tithing a little seed is going to help you when you so grossly break the Law by neglecting faithfulness and mercy?

No wonder they made Jesus sick.
OUAI – HUPOKRETES!

They had a show of religion, but it was all fake.

And certainly we examine our lives to make sure our religion doesn’t fall into the same category.

But also, we understand the point of this sermon,
And it was to open our eyes to the reality about false teachers.

• False teachers are those who put on a show of religion, but neglect what matters.
• False teachers are those who are public in their ministry, but carnal in their private life.
• False teachers are those who love the glow of the spotlight and yet avoid the hassle of ministry.

Paul said it like this:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

And the danger of these men is that they were teaching others.
They were guides.
They had seated themselves in the chair of Moses.
But they were blind guides.

Remember when Jesus confronted Nicodemus?
John 3:7-10 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”

That was the problem.
You and I should certainly examine our lives,
But also examine those who stand to proclaim the truth.

 

• And those who are false must be found to be false.
• And those who are leading men astray must be exposed as such.

For not only do they sicken our Lord,
But they also close off the kingdom from those who would enter
And secure others as sons of hell.

And if our Lord exposed them, we must as well.

I would close with a very revealing passage in this regard.
Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”

Woe to you, Hypocrites! – part 1
Matthew 23:13-15
September 16, 2012

Well this morning it is finally time to jump back into Matthew’s gospel. We’ve been away from it now for a about a month,
But certainly it is time to step back in to this amazing gospel.

As you know we are presently in the middle of the passion week.
It is now Wednesday.

• On Monday Jesus entered Jerusalem
• On Tuesday Jesus cleared the temple
• On Wednesday He showed up to teach and has been met with opposition.
• They challenged His authority
• They tried to trick Him with taxes
• They tried to stump Him with a hypothetical regarding the resurrection
• They sent a Lawyer to condemn Him

And then Jesus went on the offensive.
In Matthew 23 the tables are turned.

In a way it sort of reminds me of that infamous brow beating
That Job took at the hands of God.

You will remember that for 37 chapters God almost seemed to be on trial.
Several times Job wanted God to answer him in regard to his suffering,
And the book is very one-sided.

But in chapter 38 God showed up.
Job 38:1-3 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”

And for the next 4 chapters God absolutely unloaded on Job
Until Job said in chapter 42

Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”

It is a similar turn that takes place here in Matthew’s gospel.
For 22 chapters Jesus has appeared to be on trial,
Now in chapter 23 the roles are reversed and Jesus goes on the offensive.

And how amazing this is!

Today we live in a world
That has grown increasingly tolerant of false teachers.
There is such a push to get along and not make any waves
That really it has become taboo to oppose or call out anyone.

But our Lord certainly didn’t follow this pattern,
And neither did the other men of God in Scripture.

All throughout the Scripture we find God’s true messengers
Publicly denouncing and calling out those who were false.

• We all remember Elijah calling out the prophets of Baal, and ultimately commanding their execution.

• We remember Jeremiah calling Hannaniah for his false prophesy concerning Israel’s release from Babylon, and Hannaniah died.

• We remember John the Baptist calling the Chief Priests “You brood of vipers” and demanding that they not only repent but “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

• We can read the New Testament letters and find Paul not only opposing false teachers, but naming many of them by name. We know of such false teachers as Hymenaes, Alexander, Philetus, and Demas.

And certainly this was an attribute they learned from our Lord.

In fact in the Revelation Jesus actually commends those churches
Who condemn false teachers, while chastising those who tolerate them.

Revelation 2:2 “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;”

On the flip side:
Revelation 2:20 “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”

This popular notion today of just getting along
And not making waves and not confronting false teachers
Is not a practice that was learned from Jesus.

Paul even said that pastor’s today must be skilled in this.
Titus 1:9-11 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

And I can assure that Paul learned that confrontation from Jesus.
After all, it was Jesus who confronted Paul.

And it is Jesus who confronts the Scribes and Pharisees here in Matt 23.
This chapter is literally filled with lightning and thunder.
It is a sharp and even harsh rebuke.
It is public and it is direct.

Jesus intended to leave no confusion whatsoever
In the minds of those listening
As to what He thought of the religious leaders in Israel.
Jesus came to expose them.

Now when last we were in Matthew we saw this confrontation begin.

And we listened as Jesus revealed that these current religious leaders were:

UNQUALIFIED PROFESSORS OF SCRIPTURE (1-2)
Although they held the seat of authority, it was not God who put them there.
UNWORTHY PATTERNS OF SANCTIFICATION (3)
They speak of spirituality, but do not themselves practice what they preach.
UNWILLING PASTORS OF SHEEP (4)
Instead of delivering the flock, they burden them in a way God never intended.
UNRELENTING PRETENDERS OF SPIRITUALITY (5)
All of their religion is merely a show intended upon getting them attention.
UNASHAMED PROMOTERS OF SELF (6-7)
All they care about is the seat of honor and getting respectful greetings.

And so Jesus fully exposed them.

And this morning He continues.

TEXT PROBLEM
Vs. 14 is not in the NIV
(Scribe added later)

Matthew didn’t include it, (doesn’t flow) but it is true and it is Biblical.

Mark 12:38-40 “In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Luke 20:45-47 “And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

It obviously flowed on the heels of what Jesus said in verse 7.

So, we’ll look at it this morning but we need to look at it first
Since it obviously was meant to go with verse 7, not verse 13.
That being said when we study this text there are three things
Jesus calls out these false teachers for.

#1 THEIR MANNER OF DECEPTION
Matthew 23:14

As we just said this verse actually fit following verse 7.

Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

And this is where Jesus said that the Scribes and Pharisees
Were “Unashamed Promoters of Self”
They loved honor.
They loved glory.
They loved the best seat.

If they were here today they would insist upon sitting in one of these
High-back leather chairs on the stage for all to see.
• At the meal they would insist upon going first.
• They would insist that their name be on the church sign.
• And they would demand that you call them “Dr. so and so”

But this type of thinking unbiblical

This type of thinking actually brings out a serious “Woe” from Jesus.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widow’s houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

Jesus spoke of their love of glory and their pathetic self worship
And that instantly brought forth a rebuke.

And Jesus here brings out two big words that He will use over and over.

“Woe” and “hypocrites”

“Woe” is a unique term, it is actually more of an expression than a word.

It is what we call an ONOMATOPOEIA,
It is a word in which the sound equals the definition.

“Squawk” or “Knock” or “Baa”

Well in the Greek that is what Jesus uses here.
“Woe” translates “OUAI” (oo-i)

It’s a guttural sound somewhere between nausea and sheer disgust.
It is like when you smell something terrible and go “Uggh”
That is what Jesus is doing.
He isn’t so much pronouncing woes like when Isaiah used it
As He expressing grotesque sickness with what they’ve done.

Their behavior is sickening and detestable to Him.

The other major word we are introduced to is the word “hypocrites”
In the Greek “HUPOKRITES”

It was originally a word that meant “to answer”,
But it came to be used of actors who answered back and forth
To one another in their performance.

And hence you see why Jesus used it here.
These men had become actors.
They were performers.

And although good actors and fancy sets can appear real,
It may surprise you to find out they aren’t.

No one here has ever been to Metropolis or Gotham City.
You can search the records and find that Matt Dillon never sheriffed Dodge City.
It was fake.

And those are exactly the words that Jesus used
To address the Scribes and Pharisees.

OUAI, Scribes and Pharisees, HUPOKRITES
Uugh, Scribes and Pharisees, fakes

What they did made Him sick, and here is why.
“because you devour widows’ houses, and for pretense you make long prayers;”

Do you see the obvious contradiction there?

Throughout Scripture we see care of widows as vitally important to God.

It wasn’t necessarily because they were grieving the loss of their husband,
But because in Jesus’ day widows were generally poor.
They had no one to take care of them.

And James said:
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

And this echoes what God had said throughout the Old Testament.
Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
It was clear what God intended for widows.
The truly righteous and God-fearing were to care for the widow.

These sickening Scribes and Pharisees did just the opposite.
Instead of housing the widows they “devour widow’s houses”

• They would throw out a widow who couldn’t pay her rent.
• They would foreclose on a widow who had no means.
• They would take advantage of a widow who had no business experience without her husband.

Paul said in 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:6 “For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,”

They took advantage of the most helpless of people.

But to compensate for their lack of genuine spirituality
They put on a performance of fake spirituality.

“for a pretense you make long prayers”

Some Jewish historians have said that some of these men
Would pray as much as nine hours a day.

The idea was to make sure everyone saw you
As a spiritual person intent on seeking God.
(We already know they prayed on the street corners)

And to the naked eye they certainly would have looked spiritual.
(Just like Christopher Reeve looked like he could fly)

You could have had your personal servants evicting a helpless widow
So that you could take her land, but all the while appear super righteous
Simply because you spent the day in prayer.

And men wouldn’t know the difference,
But Jesus did, because He looked at the heart.

And when He looked at these men He wanted to vomit!

And He said, “therefore you will receive greater condemnation”

Your punishment will be extremely severe for what you’ve done.

Psalms 109:6-16 “Appoint a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, And let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; Let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes. Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder the product of his labor. Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; In a following generation let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, That He may cut off their memory from the earth; WHY? Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness, But persecuted the afflicted and needy man, And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.”

Harsh wasn’t it?
Yet that is what Scripture thinks of a pretender who oppresses the poor.

In His Olivet Discourse Jesus said that a simple failure to help the needy was reason enough to go to hell, can you imagine the punishment for actually oppressing them?

God had said through Moses:
Exodus 22:22-24 “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. “If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

Is it any wonder Jesus is upset?

These men put on a tremendous display of righteousness and religion,
But in reality they are anything but.

• Remember the disdain you felt the first time you heard of a Catholic priest molesting an altar boy?

• Remember the sick feeling when you learned of some television evangelist living an adulterous double life?

That is the type of sickness Jesus has going on right here.
The only difference is these men haven’t been publicly caught yet.

But Jesus knew what was going on
And He was infuriated by their Manner of Deception.

They sinned in the worst way and then covered it with religion.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”

Their Manner of Deception
#2 THEIR MINISTRY OF DISCOURAGEMENT
Matthew 23:13

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”

WHY?
“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.”
Now I know we are appalled by what these men would do to widows,
But in reality this is far greater than that.

For a widow might be mistreated
But still defended by God and receive an eternal home.

This sin is even greater because now
They are messing with men’s eternal state.

The picture here is of men and women who desire to enter the kingdom of heaven, and these men standing in the way.
At every opportunity they seek to shut the door in people’s face.

HOW?

In John 7, during the feast of booths when Jesus said “If anyone is thirsty let him come to Me and drink…”

The religious leaders tried to have Jesus arrested,
But the temple police weren’t sure Jesus was wrong.

Listen to the Pharisees shut off the kingdom of heaven from them:
John 7:46-52 “The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you? “No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? “But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

Later when Jesus healed a man who was born blind,
His own parents were afraid to acknowledge Jesus
Because the Pharisees were slamming the door:

John 9:22 “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.”

Even later they attempted (unsuccessfully)
To slam the door to the kingdom in the blind man’s face as well:

John 9:24 “So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.”

John 9:29-34 “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.”
Even after the ascension of Christ, they did not stop. They did everything they could to stop the spread of the gospel and keep the door to heaven shut tightly.

Acts 4:15-18 “But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”

Acts 5:27-28 “When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

And so it was bad enough that they refused to enter,
But they did everything they could to keep other people out too.

No wonder Jesus was sickened by them.
They publicly tried to keep people headed to hell.

And the hypocrisy there was that they were the ones
Who claimed they knew how to go to heaven.

Remember, they were the ones who in verse 2 of this chapter had “seated themselves in the chair of Moses.”

They claimed to know the truth of how to send people to heaven,
And in reality they did everything they could to keep people out.
What hypocrisy!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”

Their Manner of Deception, Their Ministry of Discouragement
#3 THEIR MISSION OF DEPRAVITY
Matthew 23:15

And isn’t this one rich.
These guys were actually proponents of missions.

We have seen recently in Acts how many of the Jews,
Even in the early church had a difficult time reaching out to Gentiles.

But there were some of the Pharisees who actually did.
For them missions was a big thing.

It was a big thing because it was like a trophy.
If they could take a Gentile raised in paganism and fully convert him to being a legalistic Jew, that was like a badge of honor.

We actually saw this in the Judaizers
That Paul spoke of in the book of Galatians.

Galatians 4:17 “They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.”

Galatians 6:12 “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”

Men who were very missional in their ministry.

The only problem was it was like reverse missions.
(Similar to Mormon missions or Jehovah Witness missions)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make on proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

While their contemporaries stood by and applauded their selfless efforts
Jesus was sickened by it, because He knew what was really occurring.
They weren’t saving souls they were securing souls for hell.

It was bad enough that these men were “a son of hell”,
But they made others that was as well.

“A son of hell” was a reference to someone who loved and practiced deceit and opposed the things of God.

John 8:44 “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.”

Acts 13:8-10 “But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?”

And that is what the Pharisees were.
They were sons of hell.

The problem was their converts were
“twice as much a son of hell” as they were.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

Because a deceived person is far more committed to his theology
Than a lying person is.

Take a Muslim Extremist.
They flew airplanes into buildings
Because they believed 72 virgins were waiting.
But if they had been the ones to create that lie
It is doubtful they would have been so committed.

See that was the Pharisees.
They knew they were lying, but their converts did not.

They were “twice as much a son of hell” as their teachers were.

And Jesus looked at that backward missions dynamic
And it made Him groan in sickness.

He could see the praise and honor heaped on the back of these Pharisees
For all their Gentile converts, and it made Him sick
Because He knew what was really occurring.

“Men are praising you for securing people in hell!”

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”

Now, as you will see, Jesus has several more woes to address,
But it is really eye opening for us to read this chapter.

See, everyone of us should read this and come to the stone cold reality
That we can fool each other,
We may even be able to fool ourselves,
BUT WE WILL NOT FOOL JESUS.

A group of us just returned from Africa and our church was so supportive.
We were encouraged for going, we were encouraged when we returned.
Our victories were celebrated, and or work applauded.

But Jesus knows the truth.
• He knows the heart of each and every one of us who went.
• He knows why we did the work we did.
• He knows the truth we preached.
• He knows the things we promoted.

And the hope is that we did not make Him say, “Ouae!”

But it isn’t just for mission trips.
• We come to church on Sunday morning.
• Some of us teach Sunday school.
• Some of us pray in the service.
• Some of us sing.
• Some of us preach.

On the outside it all looks real good, but Jesus sees the truth about us.
He knows why we are doing what we do.
And the hope is that He doesn’t look at our involvement and say, “Ouae!”

DO YOU CATCH MY POINT?

Man looks at the outward appearance,
But the Lord looks at the heart.

And that is what makes the great commandment,
The great commandment.

Matthew 22:37-40 “And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Friend that is what I want to encourage you to do this morning.
Don’t play games with Jesus.
Not only is Jesus not fooled, He is downright angered by it.

• Don’t be an actor.
• Don’t be a performer.
• Don’t come to church and simply play the part.
• Be who Christ requires.

Jesus vs. The Pharisees (part 2)
Matthew 22:41 – 23:12 (23:4-12)
August 5, 2012

When last we met we saw Jesus
Begin to go on the offensive against the Pharisees.

And we said that the reason is because they had so mutilated His flock.

And we read about those pitiful shepherds in Ezekiel’s day
Who instead of feeding the flock had only fed themselves.

Ezekiel 34:3-4 “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.”

Well God had a response to those shepherds.
Ezekiel 34:10 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”‘”

God determined to remove these pitiful shepherds from over His flock.

The same is seen from the prophet Zechariah.
Zechariah 11 pictures a heavenly conversation
Between the Father and the Son before Christ was sent to earth.

Zechariah 11:4-8 “Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.”

It pictures not only Christ’s willingness to shepherd the doomed flock,
But also to annihilate the shepherds who had had not protected them.

Truer words were never spoken than
“my soul was impatient with them, and their soul was weary of me.”

What a tremendous picture of the friction
Between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day.
He was put out with them, they were sick of Him.

And here on this Wednesday it has all come to a head.

Jesus had entered the temple and began to teach,
But they just couldn’t leave Him alone.

• They had to challenge Him.
• They attacked Him about taxes.
• They attacked Him about the resurrection.
• They even sent a lawyer to try and trap Him.

Of course He eluded their traps,
But it is as if they woke a sleeping giant.

For Jesus turned and went on the offensive.

We actually saw the first part of this text last week.

1) HE EMBARASSED THEM PUBLICLY

He asked them the most basic of questions regarding the Messiah.
Jesus just asked where He was from.

“What do you think about the Christ, who son is He?”
They answered quickly, “The Son of David”

But then Jesus blew their minds.
He quotes Psalms 110:1 where David calls the Messiah Lord and then asks, “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

The answer of course is because the Messiah is more than a man,
He is also God, and this is how He could be
Both David’s Lord and David’s son.

The embarrassment came in because the Pharisees didn’t know that.

Here is one of the most basic truths about Messiah,
And these self-proclaimed experts didn’t know it.

Jesus silenced them.

They had been publicly humiliated and defeated and this opened the door
For Jesus to return to addressing the crowd.

And does He ever.

After embarrassing them publicly,
Jesus then moved into the second part of the sermon.

2) HE EXPOSED THEIR HYPOCRISY

And this comes in the form of 5 relentless shots
Aimed directly at the scribes and Pharisees.
And we saw the first two last week.

1) THEY WERE UNQUALIFIED PROFESSORS OF SCRIPTURE (1-2)

While it was true that they sat in the chair of Moses,
Which was a chair of authority.

It is also true that they seated themselves there.
They had no authority from God.
God did not put them there and this made them unqualified.

2) THEY WERE UNWORTHY PATTERNS OF SANCTIFICATION (3)

Without a doubt one of the purposes of a shepherd
Is not only to feed the flock, but to lead the flock.

Shepherds are supposed to be an example.

Peter said:
1 Peter 5:1-3 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

A shepherd is supposed to be an example of godliness and sanctification
That his people can model.

How many times do we find Paul saying “follow my example”?

God’s children ought to be able to follow the example of their shepherd.
But that certainly wasn’t the case here.

The scribes and Pharisees talked a good game,
But that was the problem, they were all talk.

“they say things and do not do them.”

They were a model picture of people
Who hear the word but don’t do the word.

They were the type of people Paul warned Timothy about.
2 Timothy 3:5 “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

They were the type of people Paul warned Titus about.
Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

That was these scribes and Pharisees.
And so they were pitiful examples of sanctification.

If you were to gain anything from them about the godly life
It would only come when they read the Law,
But you sure couldn’t learn anything about godliness from their lifestyle.

• They were unqualified professors of Scripture
• They were unworthy patterns of sanctification.

And that is where we left off last time.
Let’s go on as Jesus continues to expose the hypocrisy of these men.

3) THEY ARE UNWILLING PASTORS OF SHEEP (4)

In other words, they are cruel and unsympathetic.

They are like a man who puts an enormous load on the back of his animal
And then whips it when it stumbles
With no regard for the weight the animal is carrying.

• We have all seen horses pulling a buggy.
• We have all seen a donkey carrying a pack.
• We have all seen oxen hooked to a plow.

But how many have ever seen a sheep do those things?
Sheep weren’t designed to carry heavy burdens.

When you look at the artist pictures you occasionally find a picture of a shepherd carrying a sheep, but never of a sheep carrying a shepherd.

But these men didn’t hesitate
To put their sheep through the harshest of conditions.

“They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders”

In a spiritual sense they throw guilt and burden after burden
Forcing people into some sort of routine,
Using fear and intimidation with absolutely no regard for the person.

What a contrast they are to Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “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. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus offers to carry your burden, these men make you carry theirs.

Certainly the Pharisees did this
By enforcing every possible Law and oral tradition on the people.
Can you imagine living under the rules of a Pharisee and having to follow all of his commands in regard to working on the Sabbath or something like that?
• I mean they even refused sick people a healing on the Sabbath.
• They were angered because the disciples ate food on the Sabbath.

And then they hold that over your head as though you are now not pleasing to God because you broke one of their traditions?

They made the broken feel shame.
They made the hurting feel guilty.
They made the weak feel worthless.

Now, that is not all bad.
Shame, guilt, and worthlessness can at times be used to lead men to Christ.

There is nothing wrong with a person being broken, in fact it is necessary,
So laying a burden on a man can be helpful if it leads him to Christ.

But that was not the intent of these men.
“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.”

To them people were just there to be used.
They were just a number in the game, a mark on a tally, a way to get ahead.

And this is not the attitude of a true pastor or shepherd.

A true shepherd is concerned for the sheep.
Luke 15:4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

John 10:11-13 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.”

And it’s not hard to tell which ones these guys were.
• They weren’t pastoring the flock.
• They weren’t shepherding the sheep.
• They weren’t bearing their brother’s burdens.

They were heaping burden upon burden upon their brother
And refusing to help him carry it.

They were unwilling pastor’s of sheep
4) THEY WERE UNRELENTING PRETENDERS OF SPIRITUALITY (5)
Oh and don’t we love this one.

Talk about unrelenting.
“they do all their deeds to be noticed by men;”
• They don’t do anything for the glory of God.
• They don’t do anything for the good of a brother.
• Everything they do is only so they can be noticed for it.

We all remember the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:2 “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.”

Matthew 6:5 “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.”

Matthew 6:16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Here Jesus adds a couple more of their pathetic displays.

“for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.”

We’ve talked about this before, but let me read to you what one commentator had to say about this, just to give you a better picture.

“Phylacteries were sometimes called tephillin, a name derived from the Hebrew word translated “frontals” in Deuteronomy 6:8…Phylacteries were small square boxes made of leather from a ceremonially clean animal. After being dyed black, the leather was sewn into a box using twelve stitches, each stitch representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Placed into each phylactery were copies of Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16 and of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. The phylactery worn on the head had four compartments, each containing one of the texts on a small piece of parchment. The phylactery worn on the hand contained a single piece of parchment on which all four texts were written. The Hebrew letter shin (y) was inscribed on both sides of the box worn on the head, and the head strap was tied to form the letter daleth (d) and the hand strap to form the letter yodh (j). The three letters together formed Shaddai, one of the ancient names of God usually translated “Almighty”. Long leather straps were used to bind one box to the forehead and the other to the arm and left hand, because the left side was considered to be closer to the heart…Rather than wearing their phylacteries only at prayer time, as the custom was for most Jewish men, the Pharisees wore them continually as a sign of superior spirituality. They would also broaden their phylacteries, making them larger than normal to signify supposed greater devotion to God.” (pg. 364-365)

Is that not amazing?
I’m pretty sure that is not what God meant by “they shall be as frontals on your forehead”

God was merely saying “Keep this on your mind”
That is like me telling you to “Hide God’s word in your heart”
And you literally open up your chest and stick a bible in there.

And the Pharisees really got after it.
But it was pathetic.

And not only that, but they also “lengthen the tassels of their garments.”

Now this was in reference to command.
Numbers 15:38-40 “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. “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, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.”

That was a reminder, the Pharisees decided to go all out
And hang massive blue cords on their garments.

And Jesus says it is all for show.
It’s just so you will notice them.

Now a true believer does all that he does for the glory of God.
And what he does is not to be noticed by men, but by God.

In fact in response to their hypocritical giving, prayer and fasting
Jesus said:
Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

Matthew 6:6 “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.”

Matthew 6:17-18 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

And this goes for everything else in life.
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

A true Christians concern in life is not what men think of him,
But what God thinks of him.
And the only person a Christian wants to glorify is Christ.

But not the Pharisees.
It was all about them, it was all for show, and they loved to be noticed.
They are Unqualified Professors of Scripture
They are Unworthy Patterns of Sanctification
They are Unwilling Pastors of Sheep
They are Unrelenting Pretenders of Spirituality
5) THEY ARE UNASHAMED PROMOTERS OF SELF (6-7)

Here comes another right hook.
• And this is why they seated themselves in the chair of Moses.
• And this is why they broaden those Phylacteries.

“They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

They love glory.
I mean you open up a banquet hall and they all run to the head table.

They wanted to be a preacher just so they could sit on the stage.
They went to Seminary just so you would be sure and call them “Dr.”
These men don’t ever mind promoting self.

What we have here is the most embarrassing form of idolatry there is.
There is no worse form of idolatry than love of self,
And that is what they had.

And with that Jesus fully exposes them.

All along these people thought they had good leaders, good shepherds,
Religious guides they could trust and Jesus proves just the opposite.

They are:
• Not called by God.
• Not examples for the flock.
• Don’t care about the sheep.
• Are purely external in their spiritual walk.
• And take every opportunity to steal God’s glory.

And Jesus just exposed them.

He Embarrassed them Publicly
He Exposed their Hypocrisy
#3 HE ENLIGHTENED THEIF FOLLOWERS
Matthew 23:8-12

Here Jesus is very matter of fact.
“do not be called Rabbi” (i.e. “Dr.” or teacher)

WHY?
“for One is your Teacher”
My dad told his Sunday school class, “If they ever do evaluations and ask what has Bryan taught you, tell them ‘Nothing, our teacher is the Holy Spirit.’”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

I’m not a teacher in the sense that you need to learn what I know.
My job is to share with you what the Teacher wants you to know.

There are those who are called to teach and those whom God gifts to teach, but they are not the supreme teacher.
Christ is.

“and you are all brothers.”

Furthermore it’s not like I’m on a higher plane than you.
We are all brothers. We are all believers.

• Did not both of us have sin we needed atoned for?
• Did not both of us have condemnation we needed removed?

Don’t come looking to me like I crafted the plan of salvation,
It wasn’t my idea.
I just tell you what the teacher told me about how to be saved.

And the only reason I teach is because God chose to give me this gift
So that I could edify the body, not because I’m better.

(9) “Do not call anyone on earth your father;”

That is to say the source of your spiritual nourishment.
You don’t get spiritual food or provision from me.

“for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.”

God is the source, not man.

In the model prayer Jesus taught us to say:
Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]”

• Whose name is hallowed? The Father’s
• Whose kingdom should come? The Father’s
• Who gives daily bread? The Father
• Who gives forgiveness? The Father
• Whose is the kingdom and the power and the glory? The Father

The Father is the source.
Don’t call me your father, I can’t give you forgiveness, I can’t provide your bread, and it most certainly not my will that we are seeking.

(10) “Do not be called leaders;”

Meaning your guide in life.
I don’t guide your life.

“for One is your Leaders, that is, Christ.”

Jesus is your Lord, not me, and not anyone else.

And Jesus just delivered the knockout blow.
These guys are trying to take the place of God in your life.

• They want you coming to them and not God for insight.
• They want you coming to them and not God for spiritual nourishment.
• They want you coming to them and not God for spiritual guidance.

They are usurpers!
They are trying to take the place of God in your life.

Go to God for truth, not man.
Go to God for nourishment, not man.
Go to God for guidance, not man.

I received a phone call last week from a lady who gave me some specifics about a friends marital condition and the woman was curious about remarriage, and it really was one of those tricky situations.

But I simply told her, “Don’t try to tell her what to do, you and I are not the counselors, the Holy Spirit is the counselor. Our job is to help her hear what God is telling her and to encourage her to do that.”

But the Pharisees were trying to steal God’s role,
And Jesus exposed them.

(11) “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.”

If you want to be called something, be called “servant”
If you want to pursue something, pursue humility.

(12) “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

And Jesus revealed where these guys are headed.

It is obvious that Jesus was not pleased
With the way these Pharisees were handling His sheep
And on this day Jesus went on the offensive.
• He Embarrassed them.
• He Exposed them.
• He Enlightened those who listen to them.

And the message to us is very sobering.
• Don’t play the game, be real.
• Watch out for false teachers who usurp God and slaughter the flock.
• And if you aspire to greatness, then aspire for servant hood for God exalts the humble.

Ezekiel 34:10 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”‘”