He Pronounces Woe Upon the Scribes and Pharisees
We will use Matthew's account, as it is the most complete and comprehensive.
Notice before He condemns them, He agrees that they had the authority to do
what they did. They, the Scribes and Pharisees, "sat on Moses' seat". They constituted the Sanhedrin. They took over where Moses and Joshua left off.
They were the Teachers and Interpreters of the Law. Their position was
granted according to the Law of Moses, therefore, Jesus said to the multitudes,
"practice and observe whatever they tell you." Notice Jesus always upheld
authority. He believed that all authority was of God, whether it was good or bad.
He preached respect for the position, not the person, but as is often the case,
many a good position is filled by a bad person.
Now, notice what they were doing that Jesus condemned.
- They did not practice what they preached. Much of what they
taught was good but they, themselves, thought they were above
the Law and not responsible to do it. They seemed to think
their position guaranteed them a place in Heaven. They imposed
sever obedience to the Law until it became a yoke or burden unto
the people. In many cases, they went beyond that which God
imposed, but they would not bind themselves to these laws.
- They did all their deeds to be seen by men. James says we must
do good works that they who see them, may glorify God. Do these
two statements seem contrary to each other? No, they say two
different things. Jesus was saying that we must not do good
works to glorify ourselves but James was saying that we should
do good works that God be glorified, not ourselves. Two particular
areas were pointed out. The saying of prayers and the giving of
alms. The Pharisees were very eloquent in their prayers. But
this was done for the phrase of men, not to glorify God. They also
made a big to do over the giving of alms. Everything that they
did seem to be to impress men.
- They even dressed to impress men. Two things on their person were
worn to impress men. Their phylacteries, wide head bands with
portions of scripture inside of them, were worn on the pretense
that the scriptures would be indelibly impressed upon their minds
and as a means to impress men of their love for the scriptures.
Their fringes, long strings of leather, that hung down from their
sleeves and from the hems of their garments, were worn to impress
men. The longer the fringes, the more pious they were.
- They love the place of honor at the feasts and the best seats
in the Synagogue. Matthew Henry says that it is not the
possession of these honored seats that is here condemned,
someone must set there as long as they exist, but it is the
loving of them that is here condemned.
- They loved titles of honor. "Salutations" in the market place,
being called "Rabbi". They loved to have people "tip" their
hats to them as was the custom. Loved the little bow that people
made when they greeted them on the street. The title "Rabbi"
had been assumed by the teachers and masters of Israel which
included the Pharisees. It signified "great" or "much" and
also contained the title "doctor" or "MY Lord". "He who
salutes his teacher and does not call him Rabbi, provokes the
Divine Majesty to depart from Israel."
Next Jesus told them and us how we are to act when we are called to places of
leadership. Verses 8 thru 12. Here we must be careful to see what is condemned
and what is not. There is nothing wrong with a title unless it promotes pride.
The title Deacon or Elder is not a place of honor, it is a place of service. The
Deacon is to be the servant and should imply humility. Here, Jesus forbids the
claiming of titles of honor for ourselves for the sake of pride. He repeats this
twice. "You are not to be called Rabbi, father, or master." These are terms that
apply to the functions of the God Head.
- Rabbi or Teacher. You have but one Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
- Father. You have but one Father, and He is in Heaven.
- Master. You have but one Master and He is The Christ.
Unmerited authority and the assuming of titles that are beyond us, is what is
condemned here.
Why is it being condemned?
- It is not compatible with the "simplicity" of the Gospel.
- We are all brethren, we are all scholars and we are all equal
in the eyes of God.
- Our religion is not derived from or dependent upon any man.
Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth condemned them
of this very thing, some claiming to be of Paul and some
claiming to be of Silas, and it caused a split in the church.
Therefore, he that will be greatest among you, must be your servant. Verse 12 has
pages and pages of commentary written about it. "Whoever exalts himself will be
humbled and whoever humbles himself, will be exalted." Commenting on this, someone
has said, "Honor is like a shadow which flees from those that pursue it but follows
those that flee from it." Only the foolish are taken in by the proud.
Jesus, then, pronounces 8 woes upon the Scribes and Pharisees. These are in
contrast to the 8 beatitudes in Chapter 5. Read verses 13 thru 33.
- "They shut up the Kingdom of Heaven." How can these men shut
up the Kingdom of Heaven? They became sworn enemies of the
Gospel of Christ. They that sat on "Moses seat", and had access
to the scriptures should have, of all people, contributed to the
fulfillment of the Gospel but instead, they set about to condemn
it and turn the people against Christ and His Gospel. They did
this because of their pride. They were loosing their jobs and
their places of honor and it hurt their pride. They did not
like a religion that insisted on so much humility.
- They used their position for personal gain. This second woe is
omitted in the later translations. It does not appear to have
been in the original texts. But lets look at it anyway.
Notice how they used their position for personal gain:
- They took from widows, their homes. It was very
legal, we are told. They would request the widows
to allow them to use their homes to house themselves
and their attendants, which, of course, was unthinkable
for anyone to deny.
- They would then, court the affections of the widow
and become a trustee of the estate, which was the
equivalent of taking over the estate. To ease their
conscience, they made long prayers. Tradition has it
that some of their prayers lasted for as much as 3
hours, twice each day.
- They would go to all means to get a convert and then, make him twice
the "child of hell" as they were. The "winning of converts" is
the most mis-understood of all Christian endeavors. The command
from God is to witness, not to convert. Conversion is the work
of the Holy Spirit. Jonah was a very reluctant witness to the
city of Nineveh but God used him anyway and saved 120,000 souls.
Paul says that witnessing is "planting a seed". Sometimes others
"water" that seed as Silas did for Paul, but ultimately, it was
God that gave the increase. All kinds of tricks and schemes have
been used to "win converts", and these Jews engaged in them all.
They did this for the phrase of men, not for the glory of God.
- They led the people into making dangerous mistakes, particularly
in the area of "oaths". An oath was a contract, written to
protect the interests of both parties. These Scribes and
Pharisees wrote contracts that had "loopholes" in them which
they used for their own personal gain. Jesus taught that any
contract that allowed for breach of faith, was not of God.
Jesus says here that an oath, whether sworn by the Temple, or
the Alter or by Heaven, is bad, but never-the-less, is binding.
For all of these belong to God.
- They were very strict in small matters of the Law but very loose
in the more weightier matters. They could swallow a camel but
strangle on a gnat. They were very careful to obey those
outward duties of the Law for the sake of appearances, like
the tithe, the phylacteries, the fringes on their garments, the
long prayers, the long faces and the ceremonies, but they
omitted love, money and faith.
- They were concerned with outward appearances. this is similar
to the last one. Jesus compared them to a vessel that is washed
clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. So it is with
people who avoid scandal that will spoil their reputation with
man, but allow wickedness in their heart.
- They were dead in the Spirit. They were as "white sepulchers" or
tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of corruption on the inside.
- They pretended love. They claimed to love the Prophets of the past
while they hated and persecuted those of the present. They even
built memorials to past prophets and protested loudly against those
who had murdered them, yet they were, at that very time, plotting
to murder Jesus, the one whom all the prophets had borne witness.
In verses 31 thru 33, He shows them how they witness against themselves.
"You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets." "How are you to escape
being sentenced to hell?" "Go on with your plotting, walk in the way of your sin
and see what will come of it." God will not always strive with man.
To these hypocrites, Jesus preached hell and damnation. Many ministers today stay
away from this subject, preferring to preach about the love of God. Notice Jesus
was not condemning them to hell, they were doing this themselves. He was showing
them that they were headed for hell if they did not accept God's redeeming Grace by
repenting and changing their ways. Repentance and faith are necessary to escape
hell.
In verses 34 thru 39, Jesus turns His attention away from the blind religious
leaders of the day to the blind followers , particularly in Jerusalem. Notice
there was still hope for these Jews. He promises that He will send prophets unto
them for two reasons:
- To give them one more chance to turn from their sins and accept
the Gospel.
- He is going to do this so that they will have no excuse, they will
not be able to claim ignorance or that they never had an opportunity
to accept Christ.
This Jesus did. After the resurrection, John records that Jesus sent the eleven
Disciples and said to them, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." Paul and
Barnabas, speaking to the Jews, said, "It was necessary that the Word of God be
spoken to you first but sense you have thrust it from you and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, behold we now turn to the Gentiles."
Notice in verse 34 Jesus uses Old Testament names to describe New Testament
people. "I will send you prophets, wise men and scribes..." We may interpret this
anyway we like but most scholars believe that Jesus was referring to evangelists,
ministers and teachers who would be instructed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Notice what Jesus says will happen to them. "Some you will kill." "Some you will
crucify." "Some you will scourge in your churches." "Some you will persecute from
town to town." Even so, Jesus says, "I will send them." Jesus foreknew what would
happen to them, yet He sent them. He promised and gave them Grace sufficient for
their needs. The Jews, after the ascension of Jesus, followed the Apostles around
from town to town and persecuted them. This was nothing new for the Jews, for they
persecuted the prophets of old. From Abel, son of Adam to Zechariah, son of Barachiah,
of Jehoiada, recorded in II Chron. to Jesus, Son of God. All the shed blood
of innocent people shall come upon this generation. The destruction shall be
dreadful. In the year 70 AD, Jerusalem was almost completely destroyed. Jesus was
speaking of this 37 years before.
Jesus lamented over what He saw as inevitable. Jesus loved Jerusalem, He loved the
Jews, they were God's chosen people. "Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, how often would I
have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings."
Despite their sins, Jesus would have forgiven them and gathered them unto Himself if
they had repented, but they would not. "Therefore, your house is forsaken and
desolate." The city and the Temple will be destroyed.
History bears out the fact that the beauty and spirit of Jerusalem departed with
the death of Christ. The joy, the love, the devotion, all that reflected God's
presence, departed with the death of Christ. "You will never see me again until
you say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."
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