Matthew 23

The Greatest Among You Shall be Your Servant

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 ***Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”

MATTHEW 23:1-2

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

The Chair of Moses

The “Chair of Moses” is similar to a professor’s chair at a university. It was a distinguished place of honor purporting advanced learning, scholarly application and the right genealogy. The Pharisees and Scribes traced their claim to this honor all the way back to Moses. They claimed that their Mosaic authority was passed from God to Moses to Joshua to the elders to the prophets and finally to the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus was not interested in their claims of authority. He denounces them for their lack of legitimacy. His statements makes us ask, “What truly gives anyone the right to in the ‘professor’s chair?’”

 Jesus was not contesting the Pharisee’s claims to historical lineage or their knowledge of scripture. This despite the fact that he frequently punched holes in their theology (see Mt 12:1-14; 15:1-20; 16:6-12; 19:3-9). Instead, Jesus was challenging the vast chasm between their walk and their talk. They were like business professors who never ran a business, politicians who never left the beltway or clergy who aren’t doing works of just in their own community. The Pharisees were, quite simply, all “heavenly minded but no earthly good.”

 No matter how extensive our biblical knowledge or how devoted we are to preaching scripture to the flock; if the study of God’s word doesn’t increase our love of God’s people—we are bells that peel in the desert [1 Corinthians 13:1].

 In last week’s study, Jesus put it quite simply:

1. Do you love God?

2. Do you love your neighbor?

The Pharisees failed in both areas. They loved the law and they loved to judge others by it. I may love to read Scripture, but do I love the people to whom it points? Widows, orphans and immigrants? The naked, the sick and the imprisoned? The most rejected and least accepted? These Pharisees (and the Pharisee in me) used their elite education to gain attention for themselves and to distance themselves from others. Our Lord’s condemnation of the religious existed on three levels:

1. Making religion into a show of personal aggrandizement

2. Making religion into a set of rules and rituals that only the privileged could afford to pursue

3. Using their adherence to these exclusive rules and regulations to set themselves apart from others—not at the service of others

Essentially, the Pharisees stance on life was; “I have more knowledge than you and that makes me holier.” Instead, it should have been; “God has given me the means to study his ways—how can I use this responsibility to free my people?”

 If we are to be “set apart” as religious leaders let it be from the selfishness and disengagement of this culture. Let us be known by our limitless compassion and for being “Good News” to the poor. But let’s make sure that we are never “set apart” for our titles, our doctrine or our rituals. For then these frightening words of Jesus will be directed at us; “But do not do according to their deeds; for they say {things}, and do not do {them}.”

“Have seated themselves…”

You have to admire what Jesus says here. He is in the temple and already cleared it of the graft connected to worship. Now he is confronting the religious leaders on what would seem like their own turf. But it was not their turf. It was the Messiah’s turf. It was his rightful place and it was his “Professor’s Chair.”

 For one day in history, the temple looked like it will when Jesus returns. The false leaders and “those who have seated themselves” will be evicted and the city will be filled with the shouts of lepers restored and the blind that see. The poor will have “the good news preached to them.”

Matthew 11:4-6

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”

 The sorrowful fact that Jesus had to confront the religious leaders was an indictment of the disconnected state of the leaders from their people. Imagine a situation where new believers must be cautioned; “Listen to what the leaders say, but don’t live like they live.”

 Yet, couldn’t that be an indictment of our contemporary culture as well? Can I say that I have never participated in any act of aloofness? I find this temptation hardest to resist when I am insecure or in a threatening environment. That is when I want to put on airs, talk about my degrees, what I’ve done or who is in my network. As we learned previously in Matthew 21, we use authority when we run out of legitimacy. That is the temptation hardest to resist: To become more humble and more reliant on Christ rather than using my privilege to appear self-important. Look at Paul’s claim to leadership:

2 Corinthians 12:10

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Being Christ to the wounded means consistently asking; “How do I make myself less threatening to this person(s)?”

1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.

2 Corinthians 11:29-30

29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? 30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

MATTHEW 23:4-7

4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

“They tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders…”

The essence of a false leader can be summed up in a short statement: He or she leads for personal gain, weighting decisions by what will improve his or her own circumstances and excusing the effect upon the “least of these.” We have learned consistently that leadership—to the nomadic Hebrew people of God—was not about getting ahead. Leadership meant that no one was left behind, not in the end times but in these times!

 This is also the essence of Satan who reveals to us the essence of evil. As long as we work towards his plans he will allow us the addictive pleasures of this life. However his long-term desire is the humiliation of God. Satan abhors God. At first, Lucifer (the Light-Giver) thought that he could destroy God’s love for his creation by enlisting humanity to kill God’s beloved. Instead, it led to God’s ultimate triumph. Now Satan roams the earth like a prowling lion seeking to devour God’s people.

1 Peter 5:8

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 Satan’s mission is to capture souls to glorify himself with the singular intent of causing pain to God. We participate in Satan’s plan whenever we use people for our own pleasure or gain. We may even rationalize that we are doing good and that is the tragedy of the Pharisees. They had rationalized their own falsehoods and turned their rationalities into dogma. When the Son of God came they wouldn’t recognize him, let alone get out of his “chair” so he could be seated in his proper place.

 The tell tale sign of their depravity was that they would perform no religious deed without public recognition and avoided any act that would keep them from dirtying their hands and missing their rituals (thus the story of the Good Samaritan). They were religious leaders running over the poor on their way to Sunday services.

 Compare their attitudes with the attitude of Paul in 2nd Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 12:5-10

5 On behalf of such a man will I boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to {my} weaknesses. 6 For if I do wish to boast I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the truth; but I refrain {from this,} so that no one may credit me with more than he sees {in} me or hears from me. 7 And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

 There is but one reason to devote ourselves to God and that is because he loved us so much. To be a Christian leader is a call to complete subservience. Giving up all I am for all the he can be through me.

MATTHEW 23:8-12

8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

“One is your Teacher…”

The word that Matthew uses for “one” (when he refers to teacher, father and leader) is “heis.” It means both primary and abundant. As you will see in the rest of this reading it refers to the principal authority as opposed to a sole authority.

 Why is that important? My children call me “dad” or “father” and this reading doesn’t discourage that title. However, this reading establishes there is only one true “Father” from which my authority even to parent is given. In essence these are my children on earth loaned to me by God and my focus as a Christian parent is to model God’s love and point them towards the primary Father.

 In essence, Jesus is telling us that there is no one to whom I should give unquestioning leadership over my life. I weigh everyone’s position in my life against the “Heis Pater,” the one true Father.

 Master [Rhabbi], Father [pater] (meaning ancient or primary father) and Ultimate Judge [kathegetes]—the One who has ultimate rule.

“And you are all brothers.”

Jesus expands upon the issue of our rightful titles by teaching that we have only one true master, father and leader.

· Rabbi [Rhabbi]: This is the word for master or teacher. Obviously, my life will have many teachers but only one authority against which I will weigh what others say; “Are your teachings rooted in the compassion of Christ?”

· Father [Pater]: We examined this word a little bit already. This is the word for ancient or paternal father, as in the “Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.”

· Leader [kathegetes]: This word means ultimate judge. Only God is my ultimate judge. How other people judge me matters not compared to how I will be judged by “heis kathegetes.” The word can also mean the “right to prune.” In other words, God alone has the right to prune his harvest. The Pharisee’s standard of pruning was the law while our Lord’s standard was God’s compassion. Which standard do we use?

In addition, Jesus uses the primary word for brother [adephos]. “A” is the word for primary and beginning. It is the first letter [Alpha] of the Hebrew alphabet and could also be used for the term “foundation” (both in time and importance).

 To call another your brother, in this sense, is to say that your relationship with that person takes precedent over all other relationships. For example, Jesus uses this term when his own family members come to take him away from his ministry. He turns to those around him and states; “My mother and My brothers [adephos] are these who hear the word of God and do it [Luke 8:21].”

 “Hear and do!” Those are the principle qualities of a brother (sister) of Christ. There was plenty of judging in the Pharisee’s life but very little hearing and even less doing. Throughout history, we—as Christians—have often been known more for our judging than our “hearing and doing.” I must constantly ask; “How does my town view our church?” In particular, “How do the poor in my town view our church?” Do they see us as a judge or would they say; “They heard my cry and did something about it.” That is the weight against which our churches will be tested.

“But the greatest among you shall be your servant.”

Throughout this reading we have been talking primarily about positions of responsibility in Christian leadership yet the truth is that to call myself “Christian” is to be a responsible leader. In closing his example about religious leadership, Christ tells us that we are greatest when we serve. The word he uses for greatest [meizon] is also the word for elder. The word used for servant [diakonos] is a word that is used for an attendant, a waiter at a table and for a Christian teacher, pastor or deacon.

 Once we are his; we are no longer our own. We do not live for ourselves anymore.

Matthew 20:26-28

26 “It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 Christ not only preached this, he modeled the attitude of service consistently throughout his life.

John 13:14-15

14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

 Even after his return, we find Jesus feeding breakfast to his disciples on the shores of the Lake of Galilee:

John 21:12-13

12 Jesus said to them, “Come {and} have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread, and gave them and the fish likewise. Paul the reformed Pharisee, also took on the role of servant—even slave—to all men in order to bring them before Christ:

1 Corinthians 9:19

For though I am free from all {men,} I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more.

2 Corinthians 4:5

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

Philippians 2:5-8

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, {and} being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

“Whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Scripture tells that the path to God is a path of humility and service. In fact, the word that Jesus uses for humility [tapeinoo] means to be totally abased, depressed or humiliated. Contemporary psychology would argue against this type of “Christotherapy”; instead emphasizing the importance of self-esteem and feeling good about ourselves. Yet the reason that there are so many self-help manuals available is that there message is transient; it only works for a while. Ultimately, there really is no help in self, only in service.

 Friends, the bible works! And, scripture tells us that the way to joy is the way of humility and service:

Job 22:29

“When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence and the humble person He will save.”

Psalm 138:6

For though the LORD is exalted, yet He regards the lowly; but the haughty He knows from afar.

Proverbs 15:33

The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor {comes} humility.

Proverbs 16:18-19

18 Pride {goes} before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. 19 It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 29:23

A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Isaiah 57:15

For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell {on} a high and holy place, and {also} with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:4-5

4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.”

James 4:6

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore {it} says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5-7

5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

 In each one of these scriptures, we can see a common thread. Humiliation (and certainly the public display of it) is not God’s end. The purpose of humbling ourselves is not ultimately that we would live like groveling worms. The purpose of humility is to allow the Lord to exalt us with our true dignity. A dignity that is never personal but always communal. We are street orphans welcomed into the King’s family. We rejoice whenever another street orphan is found and brought to the Lord’s family. When we choose humility, the Lord hears our cry and exalts us [hupsoo]. The word exalted means to be lifted up and placed high. Imagine the lost lamb lifted up and placed high on the Shepherd’s shoulders. Is that the goal of my leadership? Is that what I seek to do daily? Is that the heart of my church? Seeking the lost sheep and placing them high and exalted on our Lord’s shoulders?

 Our new joy is not based in how great we think we are (self-esteem), but how much God loves us (“while we were yet sinners”). Our new joy fills us with a desire to invite others to such richness. To be liberated from the never-ending cycle of striving to impress others and instead, embrace the incomparable joy of serving God.

Humbling myself today

What can I do to humble myself before the Lord and his people today? That is a question that would turn much contemporary psychology on its ear. However, it is the question that the Pharisee’s should have asked everyday and it is the question we need to ask as well. It is the only question I can ask which will prime me to set “the chair of Moses” aside for Jesus—and not climb into it myself.

 Here are four ways that we are called to be humble before our Lord:

1. Humility before God (repentance). Acknowledge my sinfulness and ask for forgiveness.

2. Humility before the Word. Recognize I do not have the answers and I need to daily seek for more knowledge from Life’s Instruction Book.

3. Humility before fellowship. The Holy Spirit works through the Body of Christ. There is no such thing as Lone Ranger spirituality. I need to yoke myself to a fellowship of believers and give them the right to know my struggles, affirm my faith and hold me accountable to my walk.

4. Humility of service. To be Christian is to be a servant—a “a waiter serving the needs of others.” I cannot claim Christ as Lord without serving the least of these.

Matthew 25:34-36

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me {something} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’”

The way to true joy is the way to personal abandonment! The more I let go of myself—the more I am able to take hold of Him. The question of humility is the question of abandonment. Abandoning pride, abandoning prejudice, abandoning judgment, abandoning self-righteousness, and finally… abandoning the chair of Moses so that Jesus can take his rightful place—the Chair of Moses—in my life.

 What must I do to abandon myself today?

MATTHEW 23:13-33

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

The woes

Most theologians call this the Seven Woes yet they all have a central theme—hubris. The leaders of Jesus’ time used their positions as privileges and not responsibilities. They used it as a way to put themselves above others and to keep the common person down.

Is it any wonder that these leaders wanted Jesus dead with his stinging public attacks? Remember, Jesus didn’t take this battle to them, they brought it to him and it wasn’t a response out of self-righteous anger. This was a response to the systemic abuse of power that enslaved people in poverty and prevented them from a relationship with their true Father and Creator.

The use of power, position or wealth for one’s own self-aggrandizement at the cost of other’s dignity is condemned throughout scripture, both Old Testament and New.

Shut off the kingdom of heaven from people

Having a false and myopic concept of heaven themselves, the Pharisees and other religious leaders locked people out of the real heaven presented by Jesus and Scripture. Heaven has numerous references in the Bible, of course, but the Pharisees projected heaven to be a projection of their rule-based lives. “Heaven is following the rules like us,” they would teach.

However, in this section of the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that you can follow all the rules perfectly and still be condemned, if you are judgmental. As in the story of the Prodigal Son, the rule-following elder brother is outside his father’s love—not because the father shut the door—but because the brother refuses to forgive his younger sibling and enter into relationship. The father pleaded with the older brother to forgive and join the family. The elder young man preferred his self-righteousness to forgiveness.

We aren’t sent to hell, we choose it.

We can’t enter heaven condemning others or judgmental. We enter through the gate of humility and gratitude, an extension of the joy and relationships we have grown in this life.

You devour widows’ houses

Condemnation of the religious leaders’ treatment of widows goes all the way back to Job [Job 22:9, Isaiah 10:2, Jeremiah 49:11]. Indeed God evaluated the Israelites by their treatment of widows, orphans and immigrants (strangers).

The practice was for widows to be given to the oldest brother of the deceased husband, if there were no male siblings, the entire estate of the deceased was given to the scribes to deal out to the widow—as they saw fit. Scribes were condemned in scripture for their practices of impoverishing widows and paying themselves exorbitant fees [Jeremiah 8:8, Nahum 3:17].

You make him twice as much a son of hell

Sine the path of the Religious Leaders was so off course, it is clear their disciples would be even farther erroneous. However, look at the depth of the consequences of their actions that Jesus alludes to, “A son of hell…”

Hell is a place of continual turmoil where people burn and gnash their teeth with anger and weep for lost opportunities. Read the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man [Luke 11:19-31] and see what hell is like. It is a place for people who ignore compassion. The rich man never abused Lazarus, his brothers and he simply ignored him until was too late. Even from hell, the Rich Man is trying to manipulate Lazarus.

Hell and heaven are simply permanent continuances of the way we’ve lived this life. If we are surrounded by angry and judgmental people in this life, what makes us think our eternity will be any different? Similarly, if we are surrounded by kind and compassionate people. The forever after will be a continuance of the patterns we’ve built in the here and now.

Whoever swears…

The concept of “swearing” has been terribly reduced in our culture. It is not just saying a filthy word or using the Lord’s name in vain. The king would give his scepter to a person and send him to other villages. That scepter represented the right to speak on behalf of the king. If the person used that scepter for personal gain rather than to speak on behalf of the king, it was punishable by death.

We use the Lord’s name in vain when we purport to speak on God’s behalf but use a message that is self-promoting. This is what the Religious Leaders of Jesus’ time were doing. Exploiting followers for their own gain.

Jesus tells us not to swear by anything or anyone. Let our word stand for it self.

Matthew 5:37

“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

Our name should be our bond without having to swear by any other authority.

Neglected the weightier provisions of the law

While paying attention to the subtleties of the law, the religious leaders missed the entire point. They were working hard, but in the wrong field and all their work would be for naught—a horrible distraction to themselves and those they were supposed to lead.

The whole point of the law was to support compassion. They used the law to undermine compassion. What a waste of time and life.

However, I often see the same trap laid in so many churches today. Members spend resources including time and money on the church building but neglect the community around them. Children are abandoned and hungry around them and their raising funds to paint new parking lines in the lot or add cushions to the pews or purchase a new multi-thousand sound system so the preach and praise band can be heard in the foyer.

This was not God’s call to the church. God’s call to the church has always been justice and righteousness—not self-righteousness—but the kind of righteousness that would correct wrongs whenever they were found.

Amos 5:21-24

21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.

23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

God will not hold our pastors accountable for the number of people in their church, but for the justice they did in the streets.

You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish

Jesus accuses the religious leaders of attending to their appearances but not to their souls. The priestly vestments were among a national treasure held under lock and key by Rome for protection. Even today, decorations for an altar and a priest for each liturgical season can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Some non-liturgical congregations are not much better, they just exchange the garments and drapes for mass media and multimedia sound systems. There are even congregations who compete to have a pastor or bishop with the nicest cars and estates.

When there are children going to school without coats in the brutal cold, the Lord would find these antics inexcusable.

You are like whitewashed tombs

What a statement! These religious leaders avoided tombs with a passion, to touch them would make them unclean. For the same reason they avoided the sick, the dying and the lepers. This accusation was at the heart of the story of the Good Samaritan. The religious in the story avoid the man on the side of the road so they wouldn't have to ceremonially cleanse themselves. The Samaritan who treats the man and carries him to safety is declared more holy than the religious leaders [Luke 10:30-37].

It was also the shocking part of Jesus going to the graveyard in the Decapolis to heal the young man possessed by a legion of demons [Luke 8:26-39] as well as talking with the Samaritan woman at the well [John 4:7-38] and healing the daughter of the woman who was demon-possessed [Mark 7:24-37]. All of these miracles occur in places where the religious leaders would never set foot.

Imagine the thoughts of the disciples as Jesus took them to these “forbidden places” to be with these “untouchable people.” Where would this place be in my city? As a pastor, is that where I am leading my people? To find Jesus, followers had to go to these places. Heaven will be such a place. If we are not comfortable with the “untouchable” in this life, how will we ever expect to feel comfortable in heaven?

So you testify against yourselves

To testify [G3140 Martus] was to be willing to be a martyr for your statements. It was a legal term used for someone who made a statement in court. A false witness could be sentenced to death for their lies. Jesus is telling these men, that their testimony will be held against them and that they are lying—even to themselves. There are, of course, a number of ways we can lie to ourselves and to God. The religious leaders did it by making law and ritual more important than people and compassion. It reminds me of a teacher I once met who said, “I don’t have time to get to know these kids, I have a curriculum to teach.”

I would contest that you can’t teach people if you can’t engage them and you can’t engage people you don’t build a relationship with them.

MATTHEW 23:34-39

I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes

Abel is considered the first Martyr, his story can be found in Genesis 4. The story of Zechariah is found in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22, Zechariah was condemned by the king and conspired against by the priests for his accusation that Israel had lost the core of their faith. Uriah [Jeremiah 26:20-23] was killed for backing Jeremiah in his prophecy of the upcoming desolation of Israel.

Throughout history, people have killed those who told inconvenient truths. One theologian stated that if Jesus were alive today we wouldn’t kill him; we’d just ignore him.

What are some of our inconvenient truths? How do we respond when people tell us those truths? Do we ignore or make an attempt to kill the relationship? What are some of our culture’s inconvenient truths? How do we treat the prophetic today?

A prophet is someone who makes us feel uncomfortable by telling or revealing the truth to us. The hungry homeless on the street are prophetic. So are those incarcerated in our prisons and detention centers. Who else makes us feel uncomfortable with the truth?

How often I wanted to gather your children together

This is a testament to the loving patience of Jesus and therefore our Creator. It tells us that Jesus had been to Jerusalem multiple times (which really points out how much we are missing from the Gospels, the synoptic Gospels have Jesus going to Jerusalem only one time).

The response of Jesus to the hardness of heart he finds in Jerusalem is compassion, not pity or judgment. He realizes the primary fault lies with the leaders and thus the woes of this chapter fall largely on them.

Our Creator continually longs to gather us no matter what we have done in the past.

This is one of seven references in the bible that refers to God in the feminine form, as a “hen gathering her chicks.” Some people are very offended that God might also have a feminine side, others offended that God is almost referred to as male or "Father." Simply put, any God that is "metaphysical--above physics"--could easily also be metasexual--above genders. Combine the best of both genders and you will begin to find another clue to the Creator of both genders.