Jesus vs. The Pharisees (part 1)
Matthew 22:41 – 23:12 (22:41 – 23:3)
July 29, 2012
As you know Jesus has lately been
Under a pretty extreme and continuous attack.
I don’t think that surprised Him much.
• After entering the city with a parade being worshipped as the Messiah…
• After clearing the temple of all the money changers…
• After re-entering the temple as the new Teacher in charge…
I feel certain Jesus had to expect a bit of a fight.
And of course this was all according to His plan.
Jesus wasn’t just out to teach the truth to the sheep,
He was also out to expose the wolves.
Jesus knew that the religious leaders of the day
Had deceived His flock for far too long
And one of the reasons He came
Was to expose them and break their yoke over His people.
He had no intention of dodging a fight.
He had no intention of leaving them alone.
Clearing that temple was a deliberate act,
Not only to restore the temple to its proper purpose,
But also as a means of declaring war on those who were misusing it.
And so the fight has been on.
• They tried to Trap Him with Taxes – didn’t work
• They tried to Humiliate Him with Hypothetical’s (resurrection) – didn’t work
• They tried to Destroy Him with Debate (a lawyer) – didn’t work
He has not only walked cleanly through their traps,
But has also managed to land a few punches along the way.
But nothing could have prepared the Pharisees
For the battle Jesus was about to give them.
I want to remind you that Jesus has never been a fan of Pharisees.
And the Scriptural reason is simple.
They were destroying His flock.
Remember this passage?
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus had entrusted His flock to the religious leaders
And instead of shepherding, they were slaughtering.
They were like the false prophets in Ezekiel’s day.
Ezekiel 34:1-6 “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? “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. “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”‘”
The Pharisees and Scribes and Sadducees and Chief Priests in Jesus’ day
Had been doing the very same thing.
And Jesus has already told them earlier today what is coming for them.
Matthew 21:43-45 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.”
Don’t miss the obvious.
Jesus is angry at these guys.
He has seen the pitiful shape of His flock,
And He has come to demand an answer of those responsible.
And so as we begin our study let’s just be honest and admit that
Our Lord has extreme enmity for false teachers, cruel shepherds, and obvious hypocrites.
This morning it’s Jesus vs. the Pharisees.
Three main points here
#1 HE EMBARRASSES THEM PUBLICLY
Matthew 22:41-46
We know this is Wednesday and He started out teaching.
But:
• The Chief priests came and questioned His authority, prompting 3 parables.
• The Disciples of the Pharisees came with the Herodians seeking to trap Him in regard to paying taxes.
• The Sadducees came seeking to confuse Him in regard to the resurrection.
• And then the Pharisees sent a lawyer asking about the greatest commandment seeking to get Him into a debate.
Jesus has been fielding attack after attack.
But after answering the question of the lawyer with such wisdom,
The whole group is a little shell-shocked.
That lawyer idea was really their last-ditch effort,
And you can kind of see them looking at each other
Not really knowing what to do.
And it is during that stalemate that Jesus goes on the offensive.
(41) “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:”
You know:
“Since we are all so interested in Biblical debate, I’ve got a question for you.”
I’m not sure if they were eager or hesitant,
But the crowd is watching and they don’t have any choice.
(42) “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”
They must have breathed a sigh of relief when He asked this question.
1) They thought themselves to be experts on the Messiah.
(If it were a jeopardy category, they’d pick it first)
2) The question He asked was a simple one.
In reality this question was in regard to the most basic, foundational
And yet most important truth about the Christ.
WHO IS THE CHRIST?
And more specifically, “whose son is He?”
Now you will also notice there is really no hesitancy here at all.
“They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
They knew about those promises to David about a descendant
Reigning upon his throne and having a kingdom that would never end.
The Messiah would be David’s descendant.
AND THEN COMES THE DIFFICULT PART
(43-45) “He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”‘? “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
And Jesus just takes it from Psalms 110:1
(Psalms 110 is a recognized Messianic Psalm also talking about Melchizedek)
And Jesus simply asks, “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
I mean, if I know anything about descendants,
It is that the father always comes before the son.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Jesus is about to reveal that the Pharisees
• Don’t know near as much about the Messiah as they think they do.
• They are not the all-wise teachers they make themselves out to be.
• Their relationship with God is not nearly as strong as they make it appear.
NOW I HOPE YOU KNOW THE ANSWER
It is because not only is the Messiah a man, “the son of David”,
The Messiah is also deity, “The Son of God”.
Yet in all their studies they never picked up on the fact that
The Messiah was not only fully man, but also fully God.
They should have.
Isaiah 9:6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Psalms 2:7-9 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
Psalms 2:12 “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
It should have been obvious that Messiah must be God and man,
But the Pharisees never noticed that.
That’s why they took such offense at Jesus so often.
John 8:56-59 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.”
John 9:29-33 “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.”
But those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah knew it.
John 1:15 “John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'”
But the Pharisees never saw that.
They never understood it.
And when He posed this question to them
You will notice that they were totally humiliated.
(46) “No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.”
And can you imagine the humiliation?
Jesus just showed them that in reality
They knew nothing about the Messiah,
They didn’t even know whose son He was.
These experts prided themselves on being the geniuses of Israel,
Able to answer all questions and give spiritual guidance
And they didn’t even know this very basic truth about the Messiah.
Jesus utterly humiliated them.
And He points out to them a very important fact.
“The main reason you don’t recognize Me as Messiah is not because I don’t fit the bill. It’s because you don’t even know what to look for.”
You are so out of touch with the truth
That you don’t even understand the most basic and essential facts
Regarding the most important person of Israel.
You didn’t even recognize that Messiah must be God.
And certainly not to spend much time here,
But you do understand the necessity of this truth.
Many throughout history have indeed argued about the deity of Jesus.
• Arius was one of the first heretics to try and argue it away.
• Today Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons still deny it.
But the deity of Jesus is essential to our faith.
If Jesus is only man then He has inherited Adam’s sin nature
And is unqualified to be the Savior.
Furthermore He must be fully God and fully man
In order to be a mediator between the two.
And make no mistake that Jesus is God.
His miracles proved it.
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
He forgave sin.
Mark 2:5-7 “And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”
He received prayer
John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
He received worship
Matthew 28:16-17 “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.”
He claimed to be God
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
And He accepted the title when other’s claimed it.
John 10:26-29 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Furthermore Paul is adamant about the fact.
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Philippians 2:5-7 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
And we could go on and on, but you get the point.
Deity is essential to the Messiah.
He has to be God.
The Old Testament said so, and yet these religious leaders had no clue.
They claimed such knowledge and insight about God
And in reality didn’t know the slightest things about Him.
Jesus humiliated them here.
And all of a sudden, the entire crowd realized for the first time,
“Maybe our teachers aren’t that smart after all.”
Jesus just put a crack in their armor.
But He wasn’t finished, not by a long-shot.
He Embarrassed them Publicly
#2 HE EXPOSED THEIR HYPOCRISY
Matthew 23:1-7
If you read this story in Mark’s gospel,
After Jesus gave the question none could answer Mark says:
Mark 12:37 “…And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.”
So be sure and picture the scene.
In 22:34 Scripture says Jesus silenced the Sadducees.
In 22:46 Scripture says Jesus silenced everyone else.
And according to Mark there was a large crowd listening in on the debate.
So look to your right and see the humiliated religious leaders
Too afraid to challenge Him anymore,
Look to your left and see the large crowd of people
Now giving full attention to anything Jesus wants to say.
(1) “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples.”
And the point of His sermon is to not only wound the scribes and Pharisees, but to do them in for good.
And in these first 7 verses He lands five punches
In which He destroys the reputation of these hypocrites.
As we study we not only see the obvious problems with false teachers.
But we also learn the dangers of Phariseeism in our own lives.
There is no doubt that Jesus is not pleased with pretenders.
1) THEY ARE UNQUALIFIED PROFESSORS OF SCRIPTURE (2)
Notice what He said, “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;”
“the chair of Moses” was a symbol of authority.
Today prestigious universities award scholars with “a chair of history” or “a chair of philosophy”
They sat in “the chair of Moses” which was to assume
The highest and most prestigious level of theological understanding.
They appeared as experts on the will of God.
The problem was they “seated themselves” there.
• God didn’t call them, but they came.
• God didn’t send them, but they ran.
• God didn’t speak to them, but they taught.
Jeremiah 14:14 “Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.”
Jeremiah 23:21 “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied.”
Unlike the apostles whom the Lord called into ministry.
These men assumed the position on their own.
False teachers still do by the way.
God doesn’t call them, but they run into it anyway.
And that is why they are unqualified.
The church does not operate like the world,
Although some undoubtedly think it does.
Someone goes to looking at a man and wonders if he is qualified for the ministry.
And the first thing they want to know is if he has been to seminary.
I for one am not opposed to seminary,
But I am certainly opposed to those who think
It in any way qualifies a person for the ministry.
• There is no doubt seminary can help prepare you.
• There is no doubt seminary can help inform you.
• But I don’t care how long you study or how many degrees you earn or
what level you achieve; seminary can never qualify a person for
ministry.
WHAT QUALIFIES A PERSON?
The calling of God.
Now even in that a person can be called by God and yet disqualify himself
By not holding to a certain level of holiness and sanctification.
But the only person that qualifies someone
To stand and preach or teach the word of God, is God.
WHY?
Because it is not a work done in the flesh,
And cannot possibly be learned or cultivated by human effort.
It is a work done through the power of His Spirit
As He equips those He calls to be able to proclaim His word.
• It’s not a privilege.
• It’s not an honor you achieve.
• It is a stewardship entrusted by God to those whom He chooses.
These men were unqualified because God had not called them.
They took it upon themselves.
And my what a blow to the Pharisees.
Jesus just informed the entire crowd that the religious leaders of their day were not called by God to be there.
They are Unqualified Professors of Scripture
2) THEY ARE UNWORTHY PATTERNS OF SANTIFICATION (3)
Now, they don’t have the right to sit in “the chair of Moses”
But they are sitting there and so Jesus says,
“therefore all that they tell you, do and observe.”
Now this does not mean that Jesus is endorsing their preaching,
He very clearly is not.
But these are the men who sit and read the Law of Moses,
And even from the mouth of a false prophet,
God’s word is still God’s word.
“You have an unqualified preacher,
But whenever he preaches scripture you still have to listen.”
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
“but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”
The right jab in verse 2 is followed by a left hook in verse 3.
These men are terrible examples of the Godly lifestyle.
They are unworthy patterns of sanctification.
They are all talk.
They talk about what it means to love and serve God,
And yet they don’t love or serve God.
Didn’t Jesus just condemn them of this very thing?
Matthew 21:28-32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
It was to them that Jesus said:
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
James warned against being people like that:
James 1:22-24 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.”
That was the Pharisees – deluded.
They thought hearing it was all God wanted.
And yet Paul reminds us:
Romans 2:13 “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
Jesus taught us:
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
These guys were a joke.
And Jesus said, listen so long as they are reading from the Law
And talking about the Law, then yes do what they say.
But don’t look at their life as examples of how to obey the Law,
Because they miss it by a mile.
They are all talk.
And that’s really as far as we’re going to be able to go this morning,
We’ll finish this up next week.
But take a minute and understand what Jesus has just said.
We have here men who claim the greatest knowledge of God.
• And yet, they don’t recognize Messiah.
• They aren’t called by God.
• They don’t obey the word (even when they teach it)
Is there any confusion as to why Jesus is put out with them?
Look we learned it last week.
Jesus is not looking for some outward pretense or show of religion.
He doesn’t care about your titles.
He isn’t interested in your position.
He certainly isn’t impressed with your knowledge.
WHAT DOES JESUS WANT?
(For you and I to love God)
• Do you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?
• Do you know God?
• Do you walk in obedience to Him, or just claim to?
It’s all about being real, and these Pharisees weren’t.
And so Jesus is blowing a hole in their façade.
We cannot assume that He would be any more pleased with us.
Certainly as a preacher I have to examine myself
As one who speaks week after week about obeying Christ.
But in reality we all have to examine ourselves as we claim Christianity
And that we are lights in darkness to the world around us.
Are we really, or do we only claim to be?
When Jude wrote to the church
He was concerned about these types of hypocrites,
Not only in the pulpit, but also in the pew.
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
The point is they are phonies and they bring no good to the church.
And they are in great danger before God.
We’ll finish this up next time,
But let me encourage you church, above all things be real!
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
