Tag: Hypocrisy

Woe to the Hypocrites Part 2 – Matthew 23:25-36

Matthew 23

Woe to the Hypocrites Part 2

Matthew 23:25-36

In Matthew 23, we are following Jesus’ last words to the crowds of worshippers in the Jerusalem temple in Matthew 23. It is just two days before Jesus will be condemned and crucified. It is His last public encounter with the scribes and Pharisees—the Jewish religious leaders who, on the whole, despised and rejected Jesus. In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus warned His disciples and the gathered multitudes not to follow the hypocritical practices of the scribes and Pharisees. Then, Jesus turned directly to the scribes and Pharisees themselves and pronounced a series of woes on them. Again and again, Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” The woes pronounce God’s judgment, while, at the same time, calling for repentance.

We saw last time that Jesus began by issuing some “woes” over the way their religious hypocrisy harmed other people around them (Matt. 23:13-15), showing that …

1. Hypocrisy Deters People from the Kingdom (Matt. 23:13-15)

Jesus said to them, “you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” They were making converts to themselves and to hell, not to the kingdom of God (Matt. 23:15).

Then He spoke two “woes” over the way their religious …

2. Hypocrisy Distorts the Word of God (Matt. 23:16-24)

They distorted the word of God and dishonored God by majoring on the minor points of the law and minimizing the main points. He called them “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matt. 23:24).

And now, He speaks three remaining “woes” over the way their religious hypocrisy harmed these very hypocrites themselves (Matt. 23:25-36). He speaks two woes to expose that …

3. Hypocrisy Disguises an Unclean Heart (Matt. 23:25-28)

Jesus gives two illustrations of this truth. First, He uses the illustration of washing dishes, saying,

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” (Matt. 23:25).

Imagine cleaning only the outside of your dishes, but letting the inside (where the food goes) collect all the grime, scum, and filth from being used time after time unwashed. How ridiculous! None of us would want to eat from dishes that contained putrid food and garbage.

Now, the Pharisees had meticulous traditions and rules about washings. Matthew’s first readers likely knew all these cleansing ceremonies. But Mark, in his Gospel, explains these customs, writing,

3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. (Mark 7:3-4).

Many of these traditions concerning washings and cleansings had their basis in the Old Testament law. But one problem we already saw with these washings back in Matthew 15 was that the Pharisees held their traditions above the commands of scripture. Jesus told them in Mark 7:9, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (cf. Matt. 15:3-6).

But, again, the problem Jesus confronts here is their hypocrisy, specifically, the hypocrisy of their priorities. They made great efforts to cleanse their external appearance, but they ignored their internal iniquity. They took great pains to ceremonially clean their cups and plates, following the letter of the law and their traditions. And they thought that by doing so, they themselves were “clean”. Outside they appeared pristine. But Jesus says, “inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25). The word “extortion” means plundering, robbery. Their heart was full of greed to the point where they thought nothing of devouring “widows’ houses” (Matt. 23:14), preying on the poor and defenseless. Their hearts were also full of “self-indulgence,” that is, lacking self-control or restraint. Their hearts were given over to greedy, unrestrained self-gratification. The Pharisees “plundered both the souls and the wallets of the people and used the ill-gotten gains to serve themselves.”[1]

Jesus’ solution for their problem is in Matthew 23:26, “26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” The Lord is primarily concerned with your heart. It’s not that He isn’t concerned about your external behavior. He is. However, the way that God has made us is that the outside is controlled by the inside. When your heart is clean inside, your behavior will become clean outside.

Next, Jesus uses the illustration of white-washed tombs. He says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matt. 23:27). Each year before Passover the people of Jerusalem would whitewash the tombs as a safeguard for the pilgrims traveling to the feast, painting them with white, powdered lime dust. That way, the pilgrims would be careful not to accidentally touch or rest themselves against a tomb, which would make them ceremonially unclean and unable to partake of the Passover. Jesus says that’s what the Pharisees are like. They are all clean and sparkly on the outside, but their insides are like dead men’s bones. Outwardly, they appeared holy, but spiritually, they were dead. In their spiritual deadness, they were not only inwardly defiled themselves, but they also contaminated anyone who came near them.

And they did it all to look good in front of others. Jesus says, “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt. 23:28). They wanted to appear righteous before people, but neglected to be righteous before God. They forgot that God looks at the heart. He sees their hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus took off their mask of external morality and religious play acting, exposing their rebellion against God and His law.

Without the inner cleansing of the heart, religious display is worse than useless; it is deception. And the danger is that the hypocrite may not only deceive others, but he usually even deceives himself into thinking that all his religious white-washing means that he is truly righteous. Jesus sees the truth. He says they are full of death, uncleanness, hypocrisy, and lawlessness. Charles Spurgeon preaching about hypocrisy says,

Secret sins bring fevered eyes and sleepless nights, until men burn out their consciences, and become in very deed ripe for the pit. Hypocrisy is a hard game to play at, for it is one deceiver against many observers; and for certain it is a miserable trade, which will earn at last, as its certain climax, a tremendous bankruptcy.[2]

Hypocrisy disguises an unclean heart. And the danger of this is, that without a clean heart, no one will see God. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). David asks in Psalm 24,

3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5).

Only the holy, the pure in heart, may stand in the Lord’s presence. But this is exactly why God sent His Son to save us.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord made this promise about the New Covenant,

25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

A cleansed and purified heart is a work of God by faith through His grace, not something we can accomplish on our own. Only God can give us a clean heart through His Spirit because of the redemption of Christ. He causes us to be born again (John 3:3-8) as new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). This is how, in Acts 15, Peter describes the salvation that God granted to both Jews and Gentiles,

“Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:7-9).

Listen, Christianity is never just cleaning up our external appearance. It is always the Holy Spirit of God in Christ purifying our heart by faith. Look to Christ alone. Only in Christ can you be forgiven and cleansed from your polluting sins. Only in Christ can our hearts be transformed. Look to Christ and the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

So, we see the danger of hypocrisy to ourselves and others, because it deters people from the kingdom of heaven, it distorts the word of God, and it disguises an unclean heart. The final woe shows us that …

4. Hypocrisy Dooms to Judgment (Matt. 23:29-36).

The last woe is for persecuting the prophets. It comes in Matthew 23:29-33, and then Jesus predicts further persecution and pronounces judgment on their generation. This final “woe” stands out from those that preceded it because Jesus gives it the longest treatment. And while the other “woes” our Lord speaks in this chapter dealt with the present hypocritical actions of the scribes and Pharisees, this “woe” deals with actions involving not only the present but also in Israel’s past and their future. Notice the harsh condemnations the Lord spoke in this “woe”. Jesus says,

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:29-33)

First, Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who pretended to honor God’s prophets and righteous men from the past. They knew that God’s prophets down through the centuries were all persecuted by their forefathers. For instance, consider Moses. In the wilderness, the people grumbled and rebelled against him (Exodus 15-17). Consider Samuel. The people didn’t listen to him either but instead demanded a king (1 Sam. 8). Elijah said of the people of Israel, “the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10). Isaiah was despised. Tradition has it that he was sawn in two (Heb. 11:37). Jeremiah was hated. The priests, (false) prophets, and all people seized him saying, “You must die!” (Jer. 26:8). On several occasions, he was placed in prison (Jer. 32, 37). They even threw him into a pit and left him to die (Jer. 38).

As the writer of Hebrews says, God’s Old Testament prophets and righteous men suffered “trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:36-38).

Now, the generation of Jesus’ day pretended to honor men like Moses and Elijah and Isaiah and Jeremiah by building them monuments and decorating them in their honor. Sinful hypocrites tend to prefer dead prophets over living ones. And they decorated these monuments with the boastful self-assurance that, if they had lived in those days, they would never have done those horrible things to God’s prophets that their fathers had done. They thought that their religious display somehow separated them from the sins of their fathers.

But Jesus points out the continuity between the murderous acts of their fathers, and their own murderous intentions. Even then, the scribes and Pharisees had already begun to plot how they would put Jesus, the Son of God, to death. Matthew tells us back in Matthew 12:14 that, “the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.” In Matthew 16:21, Jesus began to show His disciples that “He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day“. And in Matthew 21:45-46, we’re told that when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables He spoke against them “they sought to lay hands on Him.”

Do you see their hypocrisy? They were pretending to honor God’s murdered prophets from the past, while perpetuating the murderous acts of their fathers in the present. Jesus says, “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matt. 23:31). He tells these scribes and Pharisees, “Fill up, then, the measure of your father’s guilt” (Matt. 23:32). They would add to their fathers’ guilt the ultimate guilt of murdering the Son of God. Thus, Jesus both exposes their treachery and releases them to do their murderous work. And so, that very week, this most privileged of all generations demanded that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be crucified. And they stood there mocking Him as He hung on the cross. This is why Jesus said, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33).

The great deception of this form of religious hypocrisy is that it allows them to honor God’s great works of the past, and to make great declarations of what they would have done in someone else’s time, and to think that they’ve actually accomplished something “spiritual” in saying such things. And yet, the whole time, they are covering up and ignoring their own disbelief and sinful rebellion in the present.

I wonder if, like me, you have ever wondered what you would have done with Jesus if you had lived in that generation? If I were in the crowd and heard Pilate ask, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:17), what would I say? Because of the sinfulness of my own heart, would I have also said, “Barabbas” as the multitudes did (Matt. 27:21)? If I were in the crowd and heard Pilate ask, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:22), would I have joined those who said, “Let Him be crucified!” (Matt. 27:23)? As confident as I might be to say, like Peter, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (Matt. 26:33), I know, like Peter, I am weak of will and feeble of heart. I might have denied Jesus three times that night just as Peter did. (Matt. 26:75).

Do you know the weakness of your heart? These scribes and Pharisees didn’t. They disguised their impure hearts and refused to recognize their own sin. They fooled themselves into thinking that they were more righteous than they were.

Listen, there is hope for the soul that realizes his sin. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick … For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matt. 9:12-13). But hypocrisy dooms people to condemnation in judgment because they will not recognize their sin and repent.

Jesus goes on to predict their future treachery that would expose the full guilt of their generation:

34 “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, 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 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” (Matt. 23:34-36).  

Look at that first word in Matthew 23:34, “Therefore . . .” Jesus is saying that, because of their hypocrisy, because they truly had the same murderous intent of their fathers, because underneath their religious façade they were snakes and vipers who were doomed to the judgment of hell, He pronounces their judgment that is coming.

Jesus declares Himself to possess the authority of God, declaring Himself to be the one who will send them prophets from God. He is about to send them more prophets and apostles (Luke 11:49; John 20:21), and what they would do to them would prove what they really are. As Stephen, while filled with the Holy Spirit, would preach to them in Acts 7,

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it” (Acts 7:51-53).

They immediately killed Stephen for those words, too. They revealed their true character in how they treated him, just as they treated the Son of God. Acts records that the Jewish leaders of that generation drove the apostles and the believers out of the temple, then out of Jerusalem, and then followed them from city to city—persecuting them, scourging them, crucifying them, and killing them. Jesus says that all the righteous blood shed on the earth, “from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,” would be laid upon that generation. Abel was the first martyr in the book of Genesis, murdered by his unrighteous brother Cain in anger and jealousy over Abel’s righteous worship. Zechariah is the prophet murdered by the Jews in the last historical book of the Hebrew scriptures, 2 Chronicles. And so, it was as if Jesus was telling that generation that the long history of the blood of every righteous saint who was slain for righteousness sake—from the first book to the last—would be laid on that generation!

That generation did suffer the multiplied guilt and judgment they and their fathers had brought upon themselves. About forty years later, just as Jesus prophesied, Jerusalem was utterly destroyed by the Roman armies of Titus, and the people slaughtered or scattered around the world.

Why? Why would they be held guilty for all of that? Because they will reject and crucify the Messiah, the Son of God, the Righteous One whom God sent to be the Savior. They could not be forgiven—they would eternally be guilty—if they persisted in rejecting the only Savior. No one can be saved if they refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

If you want to avoid condemnation in God’s judgment, you need to recognize your sinfulness. These hypocrites failed to recognize their sinfulness and repent. They proudly boasted in their righteousness, “Oh, we would never do what our fathers did!”; “We would never persecute the righteous.” But they did—they did it even worse than their fathers did. They rejected and crucified the Son of God.

Hypocrisy dooms those who practice it to be condemned by God in judgment. Jesus said, “How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33). The Gospel is clear. The way to escape the condemnation of hell is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. You must be born again! You must be given a clean heart and a new spirit by faith in Christ.

I wonder if you’re wearing a mask this morning. Are you trying to pretend that you have it all together, when deep inside you know you can’t keep up the act much longer? The cure for hypocrisy is not to change anything on the outside. It’s not a matter of doing more things, of trying to get more religious. That just perpetuates the wearing of masks. If you want to change, if you want to truly become someone you’ve never been before, the change has to take place on the inside.

I know of only one person who can affect that kind of change. His name is Jesus Christ. Stop playing Christian charades. Stand before Him and admit that you’re a sinner. Repent and believe that He died for your sins and was raised to give you a new life. Leave the ranks of the religious hypocrites and join the ranks of the forgiven sinners.

 

— NOTES ————————————————————–

[1] John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary: Matthew 16-23, Moody Publishers, Chicago IL, p. 386.

[2] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Secret Sins, New Park Street Pulpit Volume 3, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/secret-sins/#flipbook/ accessed 08/21/2025.

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Beware of Religious Phonies – Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:3

Beware of Religious Phonies

Matthew 23:1-12

In this section of Matthew’s Gospel, we are following the events in the final week of Jesus’ life before He went to the cross. We have seen increasing conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities in the temple in Jerusalem. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were by and large hypocrites, and over the last few days in the temple, Jesus has exposed their unrepentant hypocrisy in the parables He told and the questions He answered. The last six verses of Matthew 22 confirmed their hardness of heart. In those verses, Jesus proved from the Old Testament that the Messiah would be more than a man. But rather than believing God’s word and repenting, the Pharisees were silent.

In Matthew 23, we have the last public teaching of Jesus—His last sermon to the multitudes. After this, Jesus will only teach His disciples privately. Jesus knows these will be His last words of counsel to the people. They are words of warning against their religious leaders, namely the scribes and the Pharisees.

Matthew 23 can be divided into three parts. In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus speaks to His disciples and the gathered multitudes, warning them not to follow the hypocritical practices of the scribes and Pharisees. Then, in Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus pronounces seven “woes” directly upon the scribes and Pharisees themselves. And finally, in Matthew 23:37-39, Jesus speaks mournful words of lament over Jerusalem for its hard-hearted rejection of Him. So, first we see our Lord’s warnings; then, His woes; and finally, His words of weeping.

This morning, we look at the warnings to His disciples and the crowds about the religious hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. As Matthew writes this true teaching of Jesus, it is more than just a rebuke against the Pharisees, it is also a warning against hypocrisy in the church, especially among its leaders. It is a call for us to examine ourselves against the backdrop of Jesus’ warnings. First, Jesus warns about the hypocrisy and pride of the Jewish leaders (Matt. 23:1-7), then He calls His disciples to a life of servanthood and humility (Matt. 23:8-12).

1. Warning about the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:1-7).

Jesus began by saying something surprising to the multitudes and to His disciples—especially considering what He is about to say to the scribes and Pharisees in the rest of the chapter. Jesus will later condemn them in no uncertain terms. But first, He says, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do . . .” (Matt. 23:2-3). A “seat”, in the sense that Jesus here speaks of it, is a position of authority that a teacher in Israel would occupy. In some synagogues, this was the literal seat that was centrally placed in the front, from which the scribes and Pharisees taught the law of Moses.

The scribes and the Pharisees were the bible scholars of the day. They had made it their life’s vocation to study the law, and interpret its application. And to the extent that they truly and accurately taught God’s law, the scribes and Pharisees truly sat in Moses’ “seat”. When they taught faithfully from God’s law, Jesus tells His followers to “observe” and “do” as they say. The truth of God’s word is always valid, no matter who speaks it. The law of Moses came from God, and so Jesus told the people you should do the things they tell you, at least as far as they correctly taught and interpreted the law.

We know from the rest of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew that the scribes and Pharisees did not always teach the law of God accurately. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said six times, “You have heard that it was said … but I say to you …” (Matt. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). In each of those instances, Jesus corrected the erroneous teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. They beyond the scriptures in their teaching on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1-14). They went astray in their teaching on how you are defiled (Matt. 15:1-20). And most importantly, they denied who Jesus was, questioning His authority (Matt. 21:23-27). Jesus clearly opposed these teachings. But the authority of the law of God stands even when men teach it wrongly.

The problem was not always what they taught, but that their teaching was …

A. Characterized by Hypocrisy (Matt. 23:2-4)

What our Lord tells His followers is this: “. . . but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matt. 23:3). In other words, they were hypocrites. They taught the law, but they did not practice the law. Or when they did practice it, they practiced their own legalistic version of it with all sorts of man-made rules and traditions. Jesus says, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matt. 23:4).

They made things harder for the people, and they weren’t even willing to help out. They were quick to point out the sins of others, but they would not admit their own sins and repent. In short, they preached that others should do what they themselves wouldn’t do. The very heart of hypocrisy is that we think we can help other people by setting standards for them that we don’t feel the need to keep.

Jesus warned us about this kind of hypocrisy in the Sermon on the Mount, saying,

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).

We must be sure that we preach nothing to others that we aren’t prepared to apply equally to ourselves. The scribes and Pharisees heaped on the people burdensome rules and regulations that were an unbearable load to carry—ones that even they themselves would not carry.  

How unlike Jesus! He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” (Matt. 11:28). In just two more days, Jesus would take all of our sins and burdens upon Himself at the cross. Isaiah prophesies of Jesus, “Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).

Next, Jesus goes further to show that not only were they characterized by hypocrisy, they were also …

B. Characterized by Seeking Acclaim (Matt. 23:5-7)

Jesus says, “But all their works they do to be seen by men . . .” (Matt. 23:5). The religious rules they followed, the rituals they observed, and the alms they performed—they weren’t done from a heart of reverent service to God. Rather, they were all done to make themselves look good in the eyes of other people.

Jesus gives evidence of this that anyone in the crowds could see. The first example is, “They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments” (Matt. 23:5). “Phylacteries” were little boxes, tied to leather straps, that they bound to their arms and hands, or onto their foreheads. In these boxes, they placed portions of Scripture, or written prayers. By doing this, they were sought to apply literally what it says in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, where God told the Israelites,

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as front lets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Ordinarily, Jewish men would wear these ‘phylacteries’ during times of public worship. But when the synagogue gathering was over, the scribes and Pharisees continued to keep theirs on—walking around with them in public display. And Jesus says they made them “broad” (that is, large and easy to see), in order to show that they were loaded-up with a lot of passages of Scripture and a lot of prayers.

In addition, Jesus says they also “enlarge the borders of their garments.” This refers to the commandment in Numbers 15, where God told the Jewish men to make ‘tassels’ on the corners of their garments (Num. 15:37-41). These ‘tassels’—dangling down from the corners of their garments—were to remind them to “remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them” (Num. 15:39). Apparently, even the Lord Jesus had these on His garments (Matthew 9:20; 14:36). But the scribes and Pharisees made their tassels ostentatiously long and “enlarged”, in order give everyone the impression that they were more devoted to the law than everyone else.

Let’s be careful here to say that Jesus does not teach we must avoid ever letting our devotion to the Lord be seen. Jesus Himself taught, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). What’s the difference? It’s our motivation. We’re to let our light so shine that men may glorify our Father—not that men may glorify us! God knows our motivation. He knows when we are seeking the applause of men rather than the glory of God. Hypocrites put their piety on parade to receive the acclaim of others.

Jesus gives more evidence of their self-aggrandizing behavior in Matthew 23:6-7, “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’“

The scribes and Pharisees were among the most highly respected members of the community. And that was an aspect of their role that they were really fond of. They were invited to the important feasts; and when they arrived, they found that the best place at the table had their name on it. Or when they went to the synagogue, they found a seat of honor set aside just for them. When they walked down the street, or they went to the marketplace, they were recognized and greeted. People greeted them by calling them “Rabbi”, which meant “honored teacher”. And Jesus says, they loved it!

Professing our religion in such a way as to win social benefits that we may derive from it as a result, is a dangerously slippery slope. We will soon be compromising our profession in such a way as to gain the most social approval. Being an attention grabber is also hypocrisy. May God protect us from it by helping us not to do as the Pharisees and scribes did—who showed-off their religion to gain acclaim from others.

Having warned about the hypocritical practices of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus then goes on to teach His disciples by giving them an …

2. Admonition to Humility (Matt. 23:8-12).

First, Jesus urges humility by teaching us to …

A. Avoid Exalted Titles (Matt. 23:8-10)

What Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees who loved to be called “Rabbi, Rabbi”, led Him to then go on to say to His followers, “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’ [that is, ‘exalted teacher’]; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers [or, more literally, ‘leaders’ or ‘masters’]; for One is your Teacher [or ‘Leader’ or ‘Master’], the Christ” (Matt. 23:8-10).

Jesus says don’t seek to be called by titles that would make you feel superior to other people. We only have one Rabbi or truly ‘exalted teacher’, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We have one Father, and He is in heaven. We have one Master, and He is Christ.

It is not wrong to serve as a teacher, pastor, or spiritual father to others in the church. We see examples of this all throughout the New Testament. God has appointed pastors and teachers in the church. But the pastor or teacher has authority only so long as they are accurately presenting the word of God. We must remember that all believers in Christ are equal before God, and we are never to claim personal superiority over others. What I believe that our Lord is forbidding is “religious professionalism”—that is, esteeming people in the church simply because of the titles men have given them, and not with regard to Christ.

I love Pastor Michael’s attitude in this regard. He has worked hard and rightfully earned his doctoral degree. But he never insists or even expects people to call him Doctor Shockley. He would rather just be called Michael or brother. I serve in the office of pastor, but I would never insist you address me by the title. I am a servant of Christ, just as the rest of you. In the church, the love of “titles” is a snare. It cultivates an unhealthy fear of man and obscures the esteem we owe first to our Lord. Never allow a human with a title to take the place that only God Himself should occupy in our lives.

Finally, Jesus teaches His disciples to …

B. Embrace Servanthood (Matt. 23:11-12)

Jesus says in Matthew 23:11-12, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The scribes and Pharisees were not concerned about serving anyone. They used their religious position to make themselves great in the eyes of the people. Jesus taught His disciples to do the opposite. And He set the example for them to follow. In Matthew 20, when James and John, with their mother, came to Jesus seeking places of honor in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:25-28).

The way of “greatness” in our Lord’s kingdom is humble service in His name. No one stooped down as low, in humble service, as our Savior did. Paul writes about Jesus Christ,

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:6-8).

Jesus came as a servant. He came in obedience to His Father. He came giving His life on the cross for us. Paul goes on to write,

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11).

God the Son humbled Himself and became a human. He selflessly served others, ultimately sacrificing His life to save us. And God exalted Him to the highest place of honor.

Scripture consistently teaches that the proud are brought low, but God exalts the humble. We should never strive for prominence, prestige, or positions. We should, instead, strive to humbly serve our Lord by serving others. I fear that in the church today there is far too much emphasis on becoming leaders, and not enough on becoming servants. There are shelves full of volumes of books that tell you how to be a church leader, how to grow a great church, and how to increase the influence of your leadership. Jesus did not teach us to be leaders. He taught us to be servants. Jesus warns us “ whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:12).

So let’s take the warning from Jesus to heart today. We must beware of hypocrisy, especially in ourselves. Beware of pride and attention seeking. The only one who deserves honor—the greatest prominence, prestige, position, and power—is our Lord Jesus Christ. May everything we do and say bring glory to His name!

 

 

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Word of Warning

matthew-the-kingdom-of-heaven

Word of Warning

Matthew 16:1-12

I have been pointing out that we are in a section of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is training His disciples in kingdom ministry. Each of these narratives is a lesson in faith, in learning to believe in Jesus and to trust Him in all things. When Jesus fed the five thousand, He was training them on the priority of kingdom ministry and God’s provision for it. When He walked on water, Jesus taught them the power of faith over fear. When the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus about hand washing, He gave them a lesson on the purpose of kingdom ministry—God’s cleansing the heart by faith. When Jesus answered the request of the woman of Canaan, He gave them a lesson on the perseverance of faith. And in feeding the four thousand, He taught them that compassion for all people is the passion in kingdom ministry. Today, along with the disciples, we will learn a lesson on the peril of kingdom ministry.

We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are called to kingdom ministry with Jesus. Kingdom ministry is all about making disciples, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom so that men and women, boys and girls, would believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Today we learn that discipleship not only requires us to believe, but it requires us to beware. Kingdom ministry includes warning disciples about the dangers that will derail or sidetrack their Christian walk.  

The context for this lesson goes back to the end of Matthew 15 where Jesus had just fed the four thousand in a largely Gentile area. Immediately after feeding that crowd, Jesus and His disciples left to go to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 15:39).

While Jesus was in Gentile territory, the people sought Him out, brought the sick and needy to Him, marveled that He healed them all, and glorified the God of Israel (Matt. 15:29-31). This is what faith looks like. But now, when Jesus is back in Jewish territory, we find Him again facing opposition. Instead of finding people who believe, Jesus faces unbelieving opposition. The religious leaders of Israel again confront Jesus. And Jesus teaches His disciples to …

1. Be wary of seeking signs (Matt. 16:1-4)

Matthew 16:1 says, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.” Now, if you were a first-century Jew reading this sentence, you would be stunned that the Pharisees would join with the Sadducees.

We have already met the Pharisees, a religious and political group, who so esteemed the oral traditions that formed around the law of Moses that they developed a rigid and burdensome set of strict applications of the letter of the law to everyday life. The name Pharisee comes from the Hebrew word parash meaning “to separate”. They were very careful to keep themselves separate and distinct from the ‘contaminations’ of pagan culture.  

The Pharisees have confronted Jesus a number of times already. They grumbled when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:11). They accused Jesus of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons (Matt. 9:34; 12:24). They accused Jesus of teaching His disciples to break the Sabbath (Matt. 12:2). They plotted against Jesus to destroy Him (Matt. 12:24). They confronted Jesus about hand washings (Matt. 15:1-2) and were offended by Jesus’ teachings (Matt. 15:12).

The religious and political party of the Sadducees rejected the oral traditions, the prophets, and other sacred writings that the Pharisees held to. They believed that only the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were authoritative. While the Pharisees believed in angels, spirits, and the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees did not. Most of the Sadducees were wealthy Jewish elites in the ruling class. Because the office of the High Priest was sold by Rome to the highest bidder in those days, all the chief priests were Sadducees. They controlled the temple and its worship.

Representatives of both parties constituted the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish governing body in Israel (cf. Acts 23:6). These two disparate groups join together to confront a common opponent—Jesus. Their purpose is to test Jesus. It is clear that they were not coming to find evidence to believe in Jesus. They had already made up their minds about Jesus. They were looking for evidence to condemn Him. They pretended to seek evidence that Jesus was the Messiah but only desired to see Him fail, so that they might ruin Him.

So they demand “that He would show them a sign from heaven”—in other words, a sign from God. We know that they were not sincere in wanting to see a sign from heaven, because Jesus had already given many signs from God. Jesus had healed great multitudes of sick people, and cast out demons. He had cleansed lepers with a touch, given sight to the blind, and cast out demons with but a command. And these miracles all testified together to the fact that Jesus Christ is the long-awaited, promised Messiah—through whose ministry the Scriptures said that “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isaiah 35:5-6). Jesus did not do these things in secret, He did them publicly. Jesus not only did miracles of healing and casting out demons, He also did what God alone can do when He fed the multitudes in the wilderness.

If this group of Pharisees and Sadducees sincerely wanted a sign from heaven, they had plenty to chose from. God gave one very notable sign from heaven at Jesus’ baptism when, “the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:16-17).

But in spite of all this, they still demanded more. They demanded “a sign from heaven”. Perhaps they wanted Him to cause the winds to blow down from the clouds and part the sea—as it did in Moses’ day. Perhaps they wanted Him to cause the sun to stand still in the firmament—as it did in Joshua’s day. Perhaps they wanted Him to cause fire to come down from sky and consume an offering—as it did in Elijah’s day. My guess is that even if Jesus had done these things, they still would not believe. Their problem was not a lack of evidence. Their problem was the evil unbelief in their hearts.

That was their demand—“show us a sign from heaven”. When they made this request, they likely already knew what His response would be, because the Pharisees had already asked this sort of thing of Him once before. Back in Matthew 12, we read…

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:38-40).

The sign of Jonah would be Jesus’ final and ultimate sign. Jesus, the Son of Man, would die, be buried, and rise from the dead on their third day. It would be the definitive proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of heaven and earth. Through His death and resurrection Jesus would save from sin all who believe in Him. This is the gospel message. To those who genuinely and sincerely seek the truth, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only sign that is necessary.

This time, Jesus answered in almost the same exact words in Matthew 16:2-4:

He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

Look at Jesus’ words about the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ ability to determine the weather. They knew how to look at the evidence and draw a logical conclusion. They could do it with the weather. They knew how to read the facts and correctly interpret them. Their problem was not lack of evidence or lack of reasoning. Their problem is that they did not want to believe what the evidence clearly showed. They were not ignorant, they were evil.

Jesus says, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” (Matt. 16:4). Only a “wicked” and “adulterous” generation would continue to ask for signs in such a context. They only proved that they were never really interested in signs at all. He calls them “Hypocrites!” They came pretending to know God. They came pretending to want a sign. They came pretending to seek the truth. But in reality, they only came to confirm their wicked unbelief. They came with murder and adultery in their hearts. Jesus is not interested in playing their games. He does not play pretend. He refuses to give them again what they already refused to receive and believe. Jesus does not rebuke them for their failure to see but for their failure to believe.

Be wary of seeking signs. It may indicate a wicked heart of unbelief. God has graciously given us the one sign that is necessary to believe and be saved. Jesus died for our sins on the cross and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. If you will not believe in Him knowing that, no sign in heaven will convince you. In Revelation 6, after Christ breaks the seals on the scroll and “the stars of heaven fell to the earth” and “the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place,” instead of believing in Christ, people hid themselves from the wrath of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 6:15-17). In Revelation 9, after the plagues of the trumpet judgments, the people “did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Rev. 9:20-21).

Be wary of seeking signs. Even if you get them, it’s no guarantee that you will repent and believe. Don’t seek after signs. Seek the Savior. Come to Jesus who died for your sins and lives to give you eternal life.

Next, Jesus teaches us…

2. Beware of false religion (Matt. 16:5-12)

Matthew 16:5-6 says, “Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’”  

Jesus uses “leaven” or “yeast” here as a symbol of that which is small, and that operates and spreads in a hidden way. Once allowed into a thing, it spreads its influence and ends up permeating the whole thing. Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, a little of the “leaven” of the Pharisees and Sadducees can work its way in, spread its influence, and end up permeating the whole of a person’s soul.

Now, the disciples misunderstood this. They are confused. They have no idea what Jesus is talking about, so they assume it must have something to do with the fact that they forgot to bring bread (Matt. 16:7). Jesus is concerned about their spiritual food, but they are concerned about their physical food. So Jesus has to correct them. Matthew 16:8 says, “But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?’”  

Why did they miss the point? Jesus says to them, “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?–but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Mat 16:9-11).

Jesus says they missed the point because they failed to remember. Jesus had just fed the multitudes through them. On both occasions, He took the meager food they had and multiplied the bread so it not only met the needs of everyone, but they had an abundance of leftovers. Jesus says they failed to understand the lesson of the loaves. They hadn’t “understood” what these experiences had to teach them about Jesus’ priorities, His power, and His provision. These were lessons in faith, training them to trust in Jesus. Yet, because they failed to remember and understand, Jesus rebukes them saying, “O you of little faith” (Matt. 16:8). If they truly believed what Jesus taught them, they would never have worried about bread. They would see that Jesus was not concerned at all about what’s for lunch. He was concerned about the poisoned religious food of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew explains in verse 12 that, “Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matt. 16:12). What is so dangerous about their doctrine? What is the major problem with it? Jesus has told us. Look back up to Matthew 16:3, what did Jesus call them? “Hypocrites!” He said the same thing about them in Matthew 15:7. In Luke 12:1, we’re told that Jesus—on another occasion—said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.” In the Sermon on the Mount, repeated tells His disciples “you shall not be like the hypocrites” (Matt. 6:5; cf. Matt. 6:2; 16; 7:5). Seven times in Matthew 23 Jesus condemns them for their hypocrisy (Matt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 27, 29).

They were pretending to seek the truth, but they were not seeking the truth at all. They were, in fact, doing all they could to avoid and oppose the truth. All the signs were pointing to Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah—the Son of God and King of the Jews. But they didn’t want Him. They would not bow down to Him and worship Him. They would not accept God’s plan for them through His cross. Their pursuit of the truth was a sham.

And Jesus was warning His disciples—and you and me today—to beware of that attitude! We must be on our guard against the hypocritical pretense of “seeking the truth” that is often characterized by seeking “signs”. “I’ll believe what God says if He does this or that! I’ll put my faith in Jesus if He shows me the evidence I demand of Him.” The reality is that He has already given us all the evidence we need for a saving faith in the cross of Jesus Christ. To ask for more than that is to ask out of a wicked and adulterous heart.

Listen, the greatest danger facing the church today is not a lack of resources but a lack of genuine faith in Christ. Jesus warns us about spiritual phonies. Hypocrisy is contagious. It spreads like leaven. A little bit can permeate and ruin the whole church. Jesus says beware of them. Just because a person knows how to dress, knows how to talk Christian, and can quote Scripture, does not make them real. They may just be wearing a great costume and playing a great part.

Our concern in the church should not be if we have enough bread. Our concern should be the spread of hypocrisy. Is our faith just pretend? Are we losing our holiness? Am I wearing a mask of religion on Sunday to cover my iniquity on Monday?

Jesus says beware! Stay away from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Stay away from anything that substitutes legalism for faith in Jesus. Stay away from trusting in ritualism and ceremony. Stay away from self-righteousness and pride.

What’s the solution? Turn to Jesus. Come humbly, repentantly, believing in His death on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. Trust in His resurrection from the dead to give you a new life and life eternal. Instead of hypocritically keeping external rules and rituals, walk in a loving relationship with Christ. Obey His word out of gratitude for Him saving you from sin and hell. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He is the only Lord and Savior.

 

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