Matthew 23:1-12

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:17-20

Introduction

For the Past Few Chapters in Matthew…

We’ve Seen a New Jesus

One that Doesn’t Mince Words

One that Tells it Like it is

One that Speaks Openly in the Face of Corruption

But Now He’s about to Take it Up Several Notches

We’re about to Enter into the Harshest Rebuke…

That We’ll Ever See Out of Jesus

But Every Bit of it is True…

And the People Needed to Hear it

All I Ask of Us is that…

We Think about the Things Jesus Says…

And Reexamine the Things We Think/Believe/Practice

Matthew 23:1-12

It’s Still Tuesday of the Last Week of Jesus’ Mortal Life

Ever Since He Entered Jerusalem on Sunday…

He’s Taken Up the Role of God’s Prophet…

Pronouncing Judgment Against Israel’s Leaders

He Cleansed the Temple

He Symbolically Cursed Israel’s Leaders By Cursing a Fig Tree

He Spoke 3 Parables to the Religious Leaders…

That Foretold Their Coming Judgment

Then He Entered a Theological Battle with Them…

That Ended in Him Being Victorious Over Them

Now, Jesus is Going to Expose & Condemn…

The Behaviors/Practices of the Scribes & Pharisees

Behaviors/Practices that the Jewish People…

Had Come to Accept as Righteous/Holy

Jesus Wanted Everyone to Know:

The Ways of the Scribes & Pharisees…

Are Not the Ways of God’s Kingdom

Which is Exactly What He’s Been Saying All Along:

Matthew 5:20 (NASB95)

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23:1–3 (NASB95)

1 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.

After Defeating the Pharisees with a Question They couldn’t Answer…

Jesus Turns to the Crowds & His Disciples and Says:

“The Scribes & Pharisees have Seated Themselves in the Chair of Moses”

Scribes were the Professional Experts of the Law of Moses

Pharisees were a Sect of the Jews that Held Strictly to the Scriptures

What Does it Mean that They’ve “Seated Themselves in the Chair of Moses”?

They’ve Put Themselves in Moses’ Place

They Consider Themselves to Be the Authority…

When it Comes to Interpreting & Teaching the Law

Since They’ve Placed Themselves in Moses’ Seat…

Jesus Gives the Crowds & Disciples a Very Important Command:

“Do What They Tell You to Do…”

“But Don’t Do What They Do”

“Because They Say, But They Don’t Do”

What Jesus is Saying is:

“Follow Their Teachings When They’re Teaching the Law”

“Don’t Follow Their Traditions, Interpretations, and Applications of the Law”

Whenever the Scribes & Pharisees would Interpret the Law…

They would Rely on Years of Traditional Interpretation…

Instead of Taking the Scriptures at Face Value

They Speak the Law of Moses, But They Don’t Practice it

They Cite the Scriptures Accurately…

But They Don’t Interpret/Apply Them Accurately

They Know, But They Don’t Understand

It’s One Thing to Know Scripture

To Memorize & Be Familiar with Scripture

It’s Another Thing to Understand Scripture

To Know, Not Just What it Says, But What it Means…

And How to Properly Practice it

“Whenever the Scribes & Pharisees Teach You the Law…”

“Listen & Obey”

“But When it Comes to Their Interpretation & Practice of the Law…”

“Do Not Follow Their Lead”

“They Expect a Lot of Things from Their Listeners…”

“But They Don’t Practice it Themselves”

Sometimes I’m Afraid Jesus could Say the Same Things about Us

“Those People Who Describe Themselves as the Churches of Christ…”

“Consider Themselves the Authority…”

“When it Comes to Interpreting/Teaching the Scriptures”

“Whenever They Teach the Scriptures…”

“Do What They Say, But Don’t Do as They Do”

“Because They Preach, But They Don’t Practice”

“When it Comes to Interpreting the Scriptures…”

“They Rely on Years of Traditional Interpretation…”

“Instead of Taking the Scriptures at Face Value”

I’m Going to Say Something…

That Some of You will Think is an Extreme Statement…

When, in Fact, it’s Just the Opposite

Nothing Should Be More Unanimously Accepted Among Christians:

There have Been a Lot of Intelligent & Faithful Interpreters/Teachers…

Who’ve Come Out of the Restoration Movement

But My Loyalty/Allegiance Does Not Lie

With Any of Them

With Any of Their Interpretations

With Any of Their Teachings

My Loyalty/Allegiance Lies:

With the Scriptures Themselves

With Interpretations/Teachings of Jesus & the Apostles

If Some Men/Women in Our History Interpreted/Taught Correctly…

That’s Great

But I’m Not Going to Believe/Practice Anything…

Simply Because They Did

I Shouldn’t have to Feel Like I’m Saying Something Radical…

When I Say:

Our Loyalty/Allegiance should Be…

To the Scriptures & Their Author

Not Any System of Interpretation

The Scribes & Pharisees Allowed the Interpretation/Teaching…

Of Their Forefathers to Determine How They…

Interpreted/Taught Scripture

That shouldn’t Be the Case with Us

7 Times in this Chapter, Jesus is Going to Call…

The Scribes & the Pharisees “Hypocrites”

“Actors, Pretenders”

Have We Ever Been Guilty of Acting Out Christianity…

But Not Really Living it?

Have We Ever Been Guilty of Pretending to Live the Christian Life?

We Say “Amen” to the Teaching of Scripture…

But We Never Actually Put it to Practice?

If that’s the Case, We Need to Know One Thing for Certain:

God is Not Fooled

When Jesus Returns, the Jig is Up

Let’s Not Let it Come to that

Let’s Repent & Surrender Our Lives to Jesus

Let’s Not Be Hearers But Not Doers

Let’s Give Up the Act

Matthew 23:4 (NASB95)

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.

The Pharisees had a History of Taking the Law…

And Adding More Demands to it…

Which Made Obedience that Much Harder

One Scholar Put it:

“They’ve Multiplied the Number of Ways in Which a Man May Offend God”

They’ve Multiplied the Legal Burdens of the Law…

And Placed that Burden on the Shoulders of the People

But They Themselves…

Were Unwilling to Even Attempt…

To Lift Those Same Burdens

They would Use Legal Loopholes…

To Get Around Whatever Demands They Pleased

They Missed the Forest for the Trees

The Purpose of God’s Laws was to:

Guard People from the Destructive Nature of Sin

Guide People Toward Holiness & Godliness

To Bring Honor/Glory to God

But, with this Legalistic Mindset…

The Purpose of Obeying God’s Laws…

Becomes Twisted/Distorted

It Becomes No Longer about:

Guarding from Sin

Guiding Toward Holiness/Godliness

Bringing Glory to God

It Becomes about Obedience for Obedience’s Sake

Obedience to the Law Becomes the End…

Instead of the Means to the End

And Whenever Obedience to the Law is the End…

Instead of the Means to the End…

You Make Up New Laws/Demands…

That, When Obeyed…

Are Intended to Help You Obey the Original Laws/Demands

The Sole Purpose of the Law has then Become:

To Obey the Law

The Law, and Obedience to it, has Become the End…

Instead of the Means to the End

One Example of How the Scribes & Pharisees Did this was:

The Sabbath Day

It was Meant to Be a Day of Rest, Worship, & Remembrance

But They had Turned it into a Day of Demands/Burdens

That was One of the Big Issues They had with Jesus

He Showed Up & Didn’t Follow Their Sabbath Rules…

And They Condemned Him for it

The Means had Become the End

The Sabbath Day had Lost its Purpose

That’s Why Jesus Said:

Mark 2:27 (NASB95)

27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Man wasn’t Made to Serve the Sabbath Day By Obeying it

The Sabbath Day was Made to Serve Man

The Sabbath Day was the Means to the End…

Not the End Itself

Can We Be Guilty of that Kind of Reasoning?

Do We Bind Heavy Burdens on Our Siblings in Christ?

Do We Make Demands Where the Scriptures Don’t?

Do We Think of God’s Commands as the End…

Instead of the Means to the End?

One Simple Example is the Assembly

There’s Only 1 Passage that Comes Remotely Close…

To Commanding Christians to Assemble Together Regularly

Hebrews 10:23-25 Tells Us the Means & the End

The End (Purpose/Goal) is for Christians to Encourage Each Other…

To Practice Loving Our Neighbor & Doing Good Works

The Means (Way to Reach that Goal) is the Assembly

We Assemble for the Purpose of Encouraging Each Other

The Assembly is the Means to that End…

Not the End Itself

What Happens When We Focus on the Means Without the End?

What Happens When We Demand/Expect the Assembly…

But We Don’t Demand/Expect the Assembly’s Purpose?

Churches would Look about the Way They Do Now:

People Begrudgingly Show Up…

Give Little to No Effort…

To Sing, Talk, or Serve in Any Way

They Just Sit for an Hour…

Impatiently Watching the Clock

But What if We Demanded/Expected the End…

As Much as We Do the Means?

What if We Demanded/Expected Our People to:

Serve…

Encourage…

Stir Each Other Up to Spread Love & Good Works…

As Much as We Demand/Expect Them to Assemble?

What if Our Times of Assembly…

Were Structured in Such a Way…

That They were More Centered on Those Things?

What if Every Week We Ate Together?

What if Every Week We Served Together?

What if Every Week We Spent More Time in Fellowship Together?

Then We’d Be Getting to the Heart…

Of What the Assembly’s All About

The Assembly isn’t the Purpose…

It’s the Way We Get to the Purpose

The Assembly is the Means

Encouragement to Love & Service is the End

When We Get that Backwards…

We Begin Heading Down a Fruitless Path…

That Leads to the Binding of Hard & Heavy Burdens

If We would Only Demand What Jesus Demands…

And Keep Our Focus Where it Needs to Be Kept…

We’d Find that His Yoke is Easy & His Burden is Light

Matthew 23:5 (NASB95)

5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Jesus Tells the Crowds & Disciples…

That the Scribes & Pharisees Only Do Good Deeds to Be Noticed

Phylacteries were Black Leather Boxes…

Containing Passages of Scripture from Exodus & Deuteronomy

They’re Worn on the Forehead and Forearm

The Practice of Wearing Them Comes from a Literal Reading…

Of Passages in Exodus & Deuteronomy…

About How the Law should Be Bound as Signs on Their Hands…

And Frontals on Their Foreheads

And Tassels were Commanded to Be Worn on the 4 Corners of Their Garments…

To Remind Them to Obey God’s Laws

Jesus Most Likely Wore Tassels on the Borders of His Garment

The Scribes & Pharisees would Broaden Their Phylacteries…

Making Them Bigger/Wider to Be More Visible

And They’d Make Their Tassels Extra Long

This was All to Show Others Just How Devout They Were

Jesus Didn’t have a Problem with the Wearing of Phylacteries & Tassels

It was the Motivation Behind Doing So that He Condemned

They Wanted Others to See Their Accessories…

And Admire Their Piety/Devotion to God

Is it Possible for Us to Do the Same Today?

To Want Others to See/Know of the Good Deeds We Do?

To Want Our Dress to Show Others How Spiritual We are?

There’s Nothing Wrong with Doing Good Deeds & Dressing Up

But, if We Do So in Hopes that Others will…

Consider Us More Holy/Devout…

Then We’re Doing it for the Wrong Reason

As Jesus Said:

When You Do a Good Work…

Try to Hide it from Even Yourself

And When it Comes to How You Dress:

Don’t Dress in a Way that Disrespects

Don’t Dress in a Way that Demands Respect

Christian are Called to Be Humble Like Our King

Do Good & Dress in Such a Way

Don’t Do or Dress for Your Own Glory…

But for God’s

Matthew 23:6–12 (NASB95)

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 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.

The Scribes & Pharisees Loved Receiving Honor & Reverence

Banquets & Synagogue were 2 of the Most Social Events Jews would Attend

During Those Social Events…

They Wanted the Places of Honor…

So that Everyone would Know How Important…

And Deserving of Honor/Praise They Were

And Even Out in Public (Marketplaces)…

They Wanted to Be Addressed in Respectful Manners…

So Everyone Around would Know How Important They were

They Loved to Be Called:

“Rabbi” = “Master”, “Outstanding Teacher of the Law”

“Father” = “Leader/Authority”

“Leader” = “Personal Guide/Instructor”

But Jesus Told the Crowds & His Disciples…

To Not Be Called:

“Rabbi”

Because There’s Only One Master/Teacher

“Father”

Because God is the Only Leader/Authority

“Leader”

Because the Messiah is Their Only Personal Instructor

Citizens of God’s Kingdom are All Siblings

All are Equal

There are No Superiors

No One is Any More Special/Important than Anyone Else

God Does the Exalting/Honoring/Glorifying

And He Exalts Those Who…

Humble Themselves to the Rank of Servant to All

But Those Who Seek:

Greatness…

Importance…

Honor…

Glory…

Praise…

Exaltation…

God will Humiliate in the Age to Come

Application

Jesus Teaches Us…

To Not Be Like the Scribes & Pharisees:

They were Hypocrites Who Didn’t Practice What They Preached

They Placed Extra Demands & Heavy Burdens on Others

Their Only True Concern was Their Reputation

They Wanted More Than Anything Else…

To Be Honored/Praised By Others

These are All Things Jesus Tells Us Not to Do