Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

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Announcements:

Get To Know You Class ends next week.

We plan to have other classes like this in the future.

Home Bible Study Fellowship is meeting Thursdays at 7pm (Genesis).

Youth Group meeting Sunday nights at 6pm, right here at Lakeland.

Immediately after Service we will have communion and our fellowship lunch.

If you are new to Calvary Chapel…I’m Pastor Marc, welcome!

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Please turn in your Bibles to Matt 23 today.

We are covering all 39 verses of Chapter 23 today.

Some background of where we are… Jesus is in Jerusalem for Passover, in His third and final year of earthly ministry.

These are some of Jesus’ final ministry moments before the cross.

Final teachings to His disciples and the great multitude of Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Passover.

Thus, our larger them has been, “The King’s Ministry in Jerusalem” which we observe until the end of Chapter 25.

In this Passover week, one morning as Jesus entered the Temple and taught the people… various groups of religious and political parties (scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians)… took turns questioning Jesus… questions designed to trap Him… but He answered all their questions with divine wisdom, and the people marveled and the questioners were silenced… and while they would not glorify Him with their mouths… their very silence stood in testimony of Him.

Now we enter, Chapter 23 where Jesus speaks to many Jewish pilgrims and His disciples denouncing the scribes and Pharisees.

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry in Luke 12:1-2 Jesus also spoke to a crowd of people and said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

In this passage today, Jesus is fulfilling these words.

The title of today’s message is, “Hypocrisy Grieves God.”

Let’s pray!

Matt 23:1-3 “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.”

Jesus begins this teaching speaking about the importance of respecting the scribes and the Pharisees position…

Scribes Gk. grammatĕus means “a writer.”

They were copyist of the Jewish law, and experts in the law.

Sometimes called “lawyers.”

And, Pharisees- the orthodox and conservative religious sect of Judaism.

They sat in Moses’ seat… they were the leaders… they sat in the seat authority over the nation spiritually, as Moses once did.

In the many synagogues throughout the nation, there literally was a seat for the Pharisees and Scribes.

One such “Moses Seat” was discovered in the synagogue in Chorazin (and I have a slide of that seat).

This seat is stone, but it seems they could also be wooden seats as depicted in this next image.

This painting pictures Jesus pronouncing Woe’s upon scribes and Pharisees… who are on wooden seats.

The main point is the seat was designated for the person, and that person held authority.

Some interesting etymology with the word seat.

In Greek, this word is kathĕdra which is a root word for our English word “Cathedral.”

And, by definition, A cathedral is a church that contains the cathedra (Latin for 'seat')… the place of a bishop… thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate.

(Wiki)

So, again… even with the modern word Cathedral… it points to the seat of authority of the person who held the position.

And, Jesus’ instruction is because of the position they held… because they sat in Moses’ seat.

V3 “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.”

The scribes and Pharisees instructed people concerning scripture… on the Mosaic Law and the prophets… the people were to observe (lit.

“to keep watch upon”) and do what the scripture says.

Good advice for us today.

However, Jesus also instructs “do not do according to their works...” and indicts the scribes and Pharisees, “for they say, and do not do.”

“Do what they say, don’t do what they do.”

There was an inconsistency between their works and their words.

We have many sayings to describe this inconsistency:

"Practice what you preach.”

“You’re all talk.”

“You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”

The scribes and Pharisees were guilty of this.

Of “High talk, and low walk.”…

“Talkie talkies”, not “walkie talkies.”

God expects us to be above this...

In James chapter 3, James cautions us on the words we speak… especially for teachers.

James 3:1 states, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

That’s sobering for me.

James also points out, there is an expectation for the student… James 1:22 states, “...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

So, we’re all accountable.

So, Jesus cautions the people to do their part.

Listen and obey, but don’t fall into the hypocrisy that the scribes and Pharisees are living out by not following their own instruction.

In the military, there’s a saying, “Salute the rank, not the person”... and that could apply here in Matthew.

I praise God when my actions and words are consistent.

But, there are times when I fail… we all fail at times.

There’s a element of hypocrisy in all of us… there are times when our words and actions don’t align well.

In those moments, I don’t condemn myself… I fall on His grace.

I know my sin is against Him, and I follow what 1 Jn 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And, that’s what I do… I pray for forgiveness and ask for the Lord to teach me through my failures… and to empower me through the Holy Spirit to not fail again.

Well, back in Matthew, Jesus continues, now describing the failure of the scribes and Pharisees… indicting them for hypocrisy and for pride.

Matt 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.”

This is hypocrisy.

Jesus describe the scribes and Pharisees as binding (lit.

“to put in chains”) the people… the heavy burdens are “hard to bear” by def.

“oppressive.”

And, they put these heavy loads on men’s shoulders… weighing them down.

A load these scribes and Pharisees were not willing to bear themselves… they wouldn’t even attempt to help… not even to extend a finger to help.

Be weary of a leader who lays a heavy trip upon you, and then won’t help you… or follow themselves.

So, what is this heavy burden?

Is it the word of God they were teaching?

Certainly not!

1 John 5:3 states, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.

And His commandments are not burdensome.”

In Matt 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I believe the burden the scribes and Pharisees were laying upon the people was NOT scripture, but tradition… man made rules… religion.

While Jesus does not specifically state this… historically, this seems consistent.

Besides the Hebrew Bible… the Tanakh… what we call the OT...

Jews also adhered to a number of oral traditions and commentaries by various Rabbis over the years.

This book is called the Talmud… which has 2 major components… the Mishnah (oral tradition) and the Gemara (analysis and commentary of the Mishnah).

And, while these books were not completed and published until several hundred years after Jesus (350-500 A.D.), the oral traditions were alive and well in Jesus’ day, and I believe these are the heavy burdens being laid upon the people.

Jesus continues in V5 describing the motives of the scribes and Pharisees…

Matt 23:5 “But all their works they do to be seen by men.

[Pride / Approval] They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.”

The Phylactery is a prayer box… a small leather box worn on the head or left arm of Jewish men… still to this day… and I have a slide of Jewish men wearing their Phylacteries.