Eight Woes

Follow Up

Last week of Jesus’ Earthly Ministry

In a Few days:

Turned over to the Roman authorities

By His fellow countrymen

Isaiah 53:3–6 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Last Week

Jesus exposes the Pharisees

Uses them as an example

Attn: to the Crowds and the Disciples

Seated themselves on the Seat of Moses

Tie up burdens on Man - Unwilling to be burdened

For their sake and another

Their deeds - are for the attn of other men

They love honor and chief seats and respect

They are not fit for such positions

Eight Woes

Read Text

Attn: Shifted to the Scribes and Pharisees

Call: “Woe to You” (There are Eight Woes)

This is a pointed Pronouncement of Judgment

There will be a sorrowful destination for those found guilty

Prophetic Feel (Isaiah 5)

Isaiah’s commission

Vision Before commission

1.5 (v.14)

Not Original to the Mattean text

Added (by later copyists) to harmonize the account in Mark and Luke

No doubt that Jesus said it - but it wasn’t complementary to Matthew’ s argument and audience

Follows the logic of Jesus’ argument

Includes the entire synopsis of the argument that Jesus is making

Woe to You, Hypocrites

You take advantage of the Helpless

in the Name of God and godliness

You will be Judged

1 and 2 (v.13, 15)

Woe to You! Hypocrite!

Blocking the entrance into the Kingdom

Kingdom of God - Christ Reigns

All who submit to His rule are given an eternal blessing of life and heir to the throne

Woe to You, Men who stand in front of the Gate

You are Stumbling Blocks

Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

The things that you are doing, preaching, advising, judging are causing others to to stumble

(You) have the power to keep someone out of the Kingdom

(You) have the power to show them the Way to the Throne

Proselytizing

Culture of Converting Gentiles (God-fearers) to becoming full Jews

Strapping on the “yoke of the Law”

And getting circumcised

“You’re not converting them to the Faith”

For you are not of the Faith

But, converting them to Hell, You Son of Hell

3 and 4 (v. 16-24)

Deals With: Concern with Details (Minutiae) / Priorities

Setting their own Priorities without concern for the Heart of the Law / Lawgiver

“You blind Guides”

Your Given a responsibility of the souls of God’s people

Training, guiding, leading, Judging, Displaying the Image of God

Blind to the Heart of the Law?

Or Blind to the Judgment you will Incur?

These will change your heart

Elevating small concerns while neglecting more important

Law says - Make sure to fulfill your vows to the Lord

Deuteronomy 23:21–23 ““When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.”

Leviticus 19:12 “‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”

Matthew 5:33–37 ““Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”

You can not keep that Promise

It is not worth it

The consequence is too great

So they are making an oath on something really close

The Sanctified Gold of the Temple

Why not swear on the Temple?

The Temple Sanctifies

Exodus 29:37 ““For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy.”

Why not swear on the Lord

Q: Why cant you stand on your own word?

Representative of the Image of God

You have defiled the name of God amongst yourselves

Swear to God

Is it Just a Saying?

Why else do we say it, but to give us authority or credibility?

IF it is a saying, we are either blaspheming His holy name or saying something lighter in order to give us the same credibility

That is His argument:

Matthew 23:19–22 ““You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.”

Woe 4: Tithing

Tithing on Mint and Dill (which is Lawful)

But why are you doing that? If you appreciated the why - Your offering would be so much more

Don’t lose the Camel - Focusing on the Gnat

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Hosea 6:6 “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

5 and 6 (v. 25-28)

Woe to You

Whitewashed Tombs

Spend all this time - Cleaning the outside

Need a inward cleanse

No amount of spiritual washings or baptisms can wash out your hypocrisy and lawlessness

No Circumcision will cut you to the heart!

You can clean the tomb but inside your dead!

Matthew 6:1–2 ““Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

Matthew 6:5 ““When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

7 (v. 29ff)

You say - in the day of the prophets

I would have been on the right side of history

We would have stood with the prophets and against their bloodshed

-Do we do this?

We look at the silly pharisees

“You murdered the Prophets”

“You testify against yourself”

You Serpents

You Brood of Vipers

How will you escape the sentence of Hell???

I am sending you more: prophets, wise men, and Scribes

They will be Killed, Scourged and persecuted

Just like the prophets before them

From: Abel to Zechariah to JtB to the Christ

And they will be martyred for your sake

and all of these will come upon this GENERATION

Isaiah 53:10–12 “But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”