Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 23

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Read and summarize

Context Matt 5 vs Matt 23: False Righteousness

Entering the kingdom Mt 5:3

— Shutting up the kingdom Mt 23:13

Mourners comforted Mt 5:4

— Destroyers condemned Mt 23:14

Meek inherit the earth Mt 5:5

— Proud send souls to hell Mt 23:15

Hungering for holiness Mt 5:6

— Greedy for gain Mt 23:16-22

Obtaining mercy Mt 5:7

— Rejecting mercy Mt 23:23-24

Pure in heart Mt 5:8

— Defiled in heart Mt 23:25-28

Peacemakers = God’s children Mt 5:9

— Persecutors are the devil’s children Mt 23:29f

Persecuted are God’s children Mt 5:10

— Persecutors are the devil’s children Mt 23:29f

Q: Jesus last public sermon was not about salvation or the kingdom of God.

What was it about ( 23:1-7 )?

The Description of False Spiritual Leaders ( 23:1-7 )

( 23:1-7 ) Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

5 But all their works they do to be seen by men.

They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

— Jesus’ last public sermon was not on salvation, on the resurrection, or on kingdom life

— It was a sobering message of condemnation against false teachers who exhibited false righteousness

( 23:2-3 ) saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do

— “Moses’ seat” means that they put themselves in the position of Moses’ authority.

They would be the first to espouse Moses as an authority

— The Pharisees traditions and their interpretations and applications of the law had become as important to them as God's law itself

— The problem arose when the religious leaders

(1) took man-made rules as seriously as God's laws

(2) told the people to obey these rules but did not do so themselves – “Do as I say, not as I do”

(3) obeyed the rules not honor God but to make themselves look good

Marks of false leaders

False Leaders Lack Integrity

( 23:3 ) Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do

— Do not do according to their works

— Hypocritically demanding of others many things they never do themselves

— They were wrong about murder, fornication, divorce, adultery, swearing, praying, worship and virtually every other area of living ( 5:21-48 )

— They “invalidated the word of God for the sake of [their] tradition” ( 15:6 )

— When they did occasionally teach God’s truth, they did not obey it themselves; for they say, and do not do

False Leaders Lack Sympathy

( 23:4 ) For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers

— They piled up heavy burdens of religious regulations, rules and rituals on men’s shoulders until they are unbearable and impossible to carry

— Certain false leaders in the early church forbad marriage and eating of particular foods ( 1 Tim 4:3 ); they also said that plucking heads of grain amounted to reaping and hence, forbidden on the sabbath ( 12:1, 2 ); that healing a person on the sabbath was forbidden; that ritual hand-rinsing in connection with every meal was required ( 15:1, 2)

— The heaviest burden of all was the fear that a man’s good deeds must outbalance his evil deeds if he is to be saved

— Under the name of Christ, Roman Catholicism still forbids marriage of their clergy and teaches abstinence from certain foods on certain days and other legalistic and unscriptural doctrines

False Leaders Lack Spirituality

( 23:5 ) But all their works they do to be seen by men.

They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garment

— Phylacteries were little leather boxes containing Scripture verses; ; excellent example of false righteousness

— Very religious people wore these boxes on their forehead and arms in order to obey Deuteronomy 6:8 and Exodus 13:9, 16

— But the phylacteries had become more important for the status they gave than for the truth they contained

False Leaders Lack Humility

( 23:6-7 ) They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

— The scribes and Pharisees loved the place of honor at banquets

— They didn't care about being holy-just looking holy in order to receive the people's admiration praise

— Today, like the Pharisees, many people who know the Bible do not let it change their lives

— They say they follow Jesus, but they don't live by his standards of love

— People who live this way are hypocrites

Going Deeper