Passion Week Teachings 5

Good Morning! 

When I began this week, my thinking was that I would breeze through Christ’s teachings.  As you can see, I have gotten hung up on just the teachings Jesus gave to the religious hierarchy … and, yes, these were teachings.  Had the chief priests, the scribes, the Herodians, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees not focused on their hatred of this rebel named Jesus; had they taken the time to think about what the Scriptures they claimed to love so much, might they have not embraced His teachings and seen the richness of God in their own lives.  Instead they chose to reject the Messiah – the very One they awaited.

This morning, Jesus speaks again …

Matthew 23:1-12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Pharisaism Exposed

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their [a]phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called [b]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Footnotes:

a.     Matthew 23:5 I.e. small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the left arm and forehead for religious purposes

b.     Matthew 23:10 Or teachers

My first thought is to pray … “Lord, reveal to me should I, as a teacher and leader in the Body of Christ, allow myself to think of myself as anything other than Your servant. Correct me, dear Father God, so that I might be an honor to You and an example of You to all You have entrusted to my care.”  

Jesus continued …

Matthew 23:13-36 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Eight Woes

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [a]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

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

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.”

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

My thought is to ask why this pronouncement remains in Scripture.  All these hypocrites are dead … aren’t they?  Wait a minute … human nature continues even today.  It is easy to fall into Satan’s trap of pride.  Don’t we all strive to be “better than” … to be considered as learned or successful or the like?  Sometimes we forget WHOSE we are and focus on WHO we are … and become that which Jesus pronounced woe. 

This is a hard teaching … not the encouraging words that I wish to provide day by day.  But it is one of the more important teachings that I must learn … to remember to Whom I belong. 

As I said, my intent was to breeze through the teachings of Christ … as you can see, that isn’t easy to do.  But I believe the teachings we did look at are important for all who serve Christ. We are all “priests” so to speak, as we bear the message of reconciliation to people around us.  Let us to do so in humility and gratefulness.

Have a blessed Good Friday and a wonderful, though different, Resurrection Day. Remember that Christ died for us that we might become the righteousness of God and Christ rose for us that we might have hope for eternal life in Him.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

Prayer: Father, thank You for touching my life each day. May the words that I key each morning be the words You would have shared with my friends and loved ones. May Jesus be the center of the messages.  And may the joy of being in Christ reign in all.  In Jesus’ Name … Amen.

Scripture for today: Matthew 23:1-36