Matthew 23:13-25 Mark 12:40 Luke 20:47

Matthew 23:13-25

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 [“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.

Mark 12:40

 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Luke 20:47

47 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Missing the point seems to have been a real specialty of the Pharisees.  They would do things that were good and right from one perspective, but their motives annulled any benefit from these actions.  It is a very sad thing when people dedicate their lives to God from a purely external perspective.  God is not impressed by our actions.  God is looking to experience intimacy with us and longs for us to enter into a genuine relationship with Him.  Jesus condemns the actions of the Pharisees because they activities meant to promote self-righteousness and not acts of worship born out of a genuine and loving relationship.  God does not need us to do anything “for” for Him.  He does want us to enter into a relationship “with” Him.  Jesus point to religious deeds that are dead acts of self-righteousness.

EVANGELIZING OTHERS: Jesus pronounces two woes on the Pharisees concerning “evangelism.”  The first is that they not only don’t enter the kingdom, but they also prevent others from going.  The second is that when they go to great effort to make a proselyte, the only result is that the “convert” becomes twice the “son of hell” that they are.  Perhaps the shocking statement that the Pharisees and their converts are sons of hell is meant to be backed up by the evidence that they devour widows’ houses while at the same time offering long public prayers.  They pretend to be one thing, when they are actually another.  It is a dangerous thing to be a hypocrite because of the impact it has on the people around us.  Not only does this impact our own lives but the lives of those around us.  This is why leadership is such a dangerous position.  Leaders have a great impact on those they lead.  By definition, a leader must have followers.  That leader is responsible not only for himself but also for those he is leading.  He must demonstrate integrity and be an example as a leader.  We can only lead people to where we are or have been.

MAKING OATHS: Apparently the Pharisees had made up some sort of a system that they could swear by the temple or the altar and not be obligated to keep the oath.  However, if they swore by the gold in the temple or the sacrifice on the altar, they were obligated.  This may be the ancient equivalent of making a promise with your fingers crossed.  Jesus makes it clear that this practice is ridiculous and worthy of condemnation.  Scripture discourages us from making any kind of oath.  It is totally unnecessary for us to make any kind of oath.  God’s desire for His children is that their word be kept all the time.  When we say something, it should be true every time.  No swearing or oath should be required for others to believe us.  We are obligated to keep our word no matter what.  Honesty and integrity should always be the marks of our speech.

DEDICATING OBJECTS: The Pharisees were meticulous about tithing the smallest spices, but they did not follow the heart principles of the Law like faithfulness, mercy and justice.  This would be the traffic law equivalent of a driver who carefully checks to make sure all his signal lights are working and the wiper fluid in his car is at the correct level prior to driving drunk.  Jesus called it straining a gnat while swallowing a camel.  They would be careful to clean the outside of the cup while leaving the inside filthy.  We work so hard to maintain outward appearances because that is what everyone sees, but we often ignore the issues of our heart.  God sees our heart and cares far more about the spiritual condition of our hearts than the neatness of our hair.  However, there are many people who spend more time grooming the outside of the body than the spend on purifying their hearts.  Little things and external things are far less important than the large internal issues.  God wants us to focus on our hearts and our spiritual well-being and not the physical.

APPLICATION: Evangelism needs to be about calling people to become follower of Christ, not followers of us.  Our honesty and integrity must be a priority so people can trust what we say without having to make any kind of an oath.  Invest more time investing in the health of our heart and spiritual growth than in our physical appearance or the image we project to others.