THE JUDGE HAS SPOKEN
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When a duly appointed or elected judge speaks their judgment is law (at least until it is overturned). We have recently been in court when the judge pronounced a decision, and that decision, as much as we did not like it, was the final word.
The first century Jewish religious establishment was awaiting the coming of the One who would be the judge of the world. Sadly, He came, but they did not recognize Him for who He was and is. The coming of Messiah was made clear in
The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
In the previous weeks we have seen the exposing of the hypocrisy of the religious establishment, which included the priests, most of whom belonged to the party of the Sadducees, and the scribes and Pharisees. As the Anointed One, Jesus has been given the right to judge the earth and its inhabitants. And today we see Him pronouncing judgment on a specific group, which He refers to as scribes and Pharisees. As mentioned last week, most of the scribes during the first century were associated with the party of the Pharisees. Being skilled in the handling of the Scriptures they did not embrace the errant, liberal views of the Sadducees who denied the inspiration of the Scriptures, the resurrection of the dead, and the existence of angels. Though they embraced all of the OT as the inspired Word of God, they added to His Word by putting the teachings of the Rabbi’s on an equal plane. They were not only skilled with the Word of God, but as we will see today, they were skilled in manipulating the Word for their own agenda.
If you have not done so already, please turn to . As we consider this passage this morning we will look at the pronouncement of judgment, the reasons for judgment, and the need for an ever-present awareness of hypocrisy.
Let’s read our passage together.
In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places,
and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,
who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
Now, let’s consider
THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT
THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT
The term woe, is not so much a curse as a pronouncement of judgment
D. A. Carson points out:
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke a) First Woe (23:13 [14])
A “woe” can be a compassionate “alas!” (24:19), a strong condemnation (11:21) or a combination of the two (18:17; 26:24). In Matthew 23 condemnation predominates; but it is neither vindictive nor spiteful so much as judicial. Jesus the Messiah pronounces judgment.
The term itself is an onomatopoeic interjection, or a guttural outcry. It is kind of like the things we might cry out when we are upset or in pain such as an “ow!” It was used to express grief, despair, sorrow, dissatisfaction, pain, and fear.
Eight times Jesus used this outcry to express the pronouncement of judgment that was coming on the scribes and Pharisees for their continued hypocrisy.
Let’s focus now on
THE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
THE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Over the course of this passage Jesus gives eight reasons judgment is being pronounced on hypocrisy.
Hypocrites are cited for excluding others from the kingdom
Notice verse 13.
The scribes and Pharisees claim to teach God’s way but refuse to enter the messianic kingdom and hinder those who try to do so. They fail to enter the kingdom because they refuse to recognize who Jesus is.
Hypocrites are cited for pretentious inconsistency
Notice verse 14.
Here we must note a textual issue.
Mark and Luke place this text as part of the description of the scribes and Pharisees from last week’s passage.
In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places,
and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,
who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
In other words, though the content of verse 14 is authentic, it is debatable as to whether it is a part of the description or a part of the judges pronouncement.
Hypocrites are cited for subverting others with false faith
Notice verse 15.
The Pharisees teaching locked their converts into a theological frame that left no room for Jesus the Messiah and therefore no possibility of entering the messianic kingdom.
He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Hypocrites are cited for their perversion of truth
Notice verses 16-22.
Hypocrites are cited for inverting divine priorities
Notice verses 23-24.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
In essence Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees of a massive distortion of God’s will as revealed in Scripture.
Hypocrites are cited for their extortion of others and indulgence of themselves
Notice verses 25-26.
The idea is that the scribes and Pharisees filled up their dishes and cups with goods which they robbed others of. Many years after this, our Lord’s brother railed against the rich by saying:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.
Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!
Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Hypocrites are cited for spiritually contaminating everyone they touch
Notice verses 27-28.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 5053 Burial Remains by Mail
An English clergyman has complained that the cremated remains of an elderly woman, due for burial in the local churchyard, arrived at his vicarage—by mail.
Writing in his parish magazine, Vicar Peter Spivey of the Yorkshire parish of Meltham said that he found this increasingly common practice on the part of morticians “degrading and distasteful.” The woman had been cremated in London; the undertaker paid $3.70 in mailing fees to ship the small metal box containing the ashes.
Vicar Spivey is now advising parishioners to add a provision to their wills specifying that they “not be sent by registered post for burial.”
The issue in Jerusalem was that if a person touched a grave they would be ceremonially unclean for seven days and unable to partake in the Passover festivities. And since there were many pilgrims from afar who came to Jerusalem for Passover, about a month before Passover they would whitewash the tombs so that travelers could recognize them and not touch them.
Though the hypocrites went through such an ordeal to do this feat, they did not recognize their own inward, moral filth. Paul tells the believer that though their outward man is perishing, their inward man is being renewed. But that is not the case for non-believers. Their inward man is moving them further and further from God.
It’s not that the scribes and Pharisees were deliberate and self-conscious hypocrites, but that in their scrupulous regulations they appeared virtuous but were actually contaminating the people. Like the parable of the fig tree, they had an appearance of righteousness, but upon close inspection they were barren of true righteousness.
Hypocrites are cited for their pretension in presuming to be superior to others
Notice verses 29-33.
The scribes and Pharisees believed that if they had been living during the time in which their forefathers put various prophets to death, that they would not have participated in this evil. And yet, at this very same time they were plotting to kill Jesus of Nazareth, their long awaited Messiah.
A few years later, as Stephen was about to be martyred for his faith and faithful witness to Christ, he said this:
“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;
you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
THE NEED FOR A PRESENT AWARENESS OF HYPOCRISY
THE NEED FOR A PRESENT AWARENESS OF HYPOCRISY
Sadly, hypocrisy is not limited to the scribes and Pharisees in first century Israel. It is rampant today, and has been rampant throughout the history of the church.
Hypocrisy still keeps folks from God
Hypocrites still make hypocrites out of their disciples
Hypocrites still disciple other hypocrites
Hypocrites still make excuses for their sin
Hypocrites still major on the minors
Hypocrites still focus on appearances and neglect the inner man
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 5053 Burial Remains by Mail
An English clergyman has complained that the cremated remains of an elderly woman, due for burial in the local churchyard, arrived at his vicarage—by mail.
Writing in his parish magazine, Vicar Peter Spivey of the Yorkshire parish of Meltham said that he found this increasingly common practice on the part of morticians “degrading and distasteful.” The woman had been cremated in London; the undertaker paid $3.70 in mailing fees to ship the small metal box containing the ashes.
Vicar Spivey is now advising parishioners to add a provision to their wills specifying that they “not be sent by registered post for burial.”
Hypocrites still do not recognize God’s dissatisfaction with their teaching and actions
Perhaps the opposite of hypocrisy is to be authentic. It doesn’t mean that we are sinless. The Bible is clear that even mature believers struggle with sin. But Jesus is our Advocate with the Father, always living to make intercession for us.
To be authentic we must continually examine our own lives to see if our manner of living is consistent with our beliefs. And when we are confronted with our own error, then we must seek the Lord’s help to correct things.
We should neither put on pretenses as the scribes and Pharisees, nor put on a false humility. Rather, we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God.
Let’s pray.
Closing Song:
May The Mind
May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day, by His love and pow’r controlling all I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour, so that all may see I triumph only thro’ His pow’r.
May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing — this is victory.
May the peace of God my Father rule my life in everything, that I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.
May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe, looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.
May His beauty rest upon me as I seek the lost to win; and may they forget the channel, seeing only Him.
May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day, by His love and pow’r controlling all I do and say; all I do and say.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.