Woe - Sermon One

Intro

A series leading into Jesus’ death. Exploring the big ideas of the sermon that sealed his death via the Pharisees.

Main Point:

Sometimes we get caught up in how to be religious, instead of being who God has created us to be. Woe to us.

The small things

Scripture:

Matthew 23:1–22 NIV

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 14 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 23:1–12—Serve More Humbly than Pharisees

Pharisaic teachers normally taught that knowing Scripture took precedence over obeying it, because knowing it was the prerequisite for obeying it; but they themselves would have agreed that one must obey it and not just learn it.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 23:1–12—Serve More Humbly than Pharisees

Rabbis were also affectionately and respectfully called “Abba,” or “Papa”; they addressed their disciples as their children, and the rabbis’ authority and honor placed them on a higher level than the disciples. Jesus says that only God is to receive such superior respect; all other Christians are peers.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 23:13–28—Woes to the Hypocrites

Like beatitudes (see Mt 5:3–12), woes were an Old Testament form of prayer. The prophets commonly employed them, and they are akin to “alases” or, perhaps here, curses (“Cursed be …” in contrast to the blessing formula, “Blessed be …”; cf.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 23:13–28—Woes to the Hypocrites

“Child of hell” means someone destined to go there. The problem here is not making converts (28:19) but teaching them wrongly.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 23:13–28—Woes to the Hypocrites

Jews were no longer allowed to pronounce the sacred name of God in this period. By swearing lesser oaths, some people hoped to avoid the consequences of swearing by God’s name if they could not keep their vow or if their oath turned out to be mistaken. As people swore or vowed by things related to God instead of by God himself, more and more things became substitutes for the divine name and thus became roundabout ways of seeming to swear by God while hoping to buffer the consequences.

Application

Stay centered on the most important things. Don’t put unnecessary burdens on others.

Examine why we do what we do.

Whose face are we shutting the door in? Exclusion due to our own burdens?

Cards, Smoking, Single motherhood, Abortion.

We act like God won’t forgive them, and because of us they will never realize he does.

The disciples we make end up in dangers of the fires of hell if we don’t get this straight.

Stay centered on the most important things.

Challenge

What burden was put on us that wasn’t of God? What burden do we put on others by us?

What are the most essential things to stay focused on?

No cards, dancing, or movies

Don’t smoke, drink, or have sex before marriage

The bigger things