March 26, 2025 | Be God's Family
A Warning to Us All
Scripture: Matthew 23:1-39(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.
Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
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.
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.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Devotional
This is the passage that got Jesus crucified. Previously, Jesus had confounded the religious leaders with his teaching and his compassion, such as healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath (Mark 3). He spoke against them in parables such as the parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22). This was more direct. He named them in a seven-count indictment. And he did so in the temple courts, on their home court. He was the Michigan Wolverines planting their flag on the “O” of Ohio Stadium, in front of the religious leader’s home crowd during Passover Week.
For that, they believed they had to kill him.
It is impossible to justify the Sanhedrin for crucifying Jesus, but it is easy to understand their motivation. Nobody likes to be called out like that, particularly when it’s all true. Everyone wants to be comfortable in their hypocrisy rather than be confronted by it.
When I read this passage several years ago, my thought was that if Jesus came today to deliver Matthew 23, he wouldn’t go to a church, he’d go to a Courthouse. As an attorney and Judge, it was uncomfortable to be confronted by that. Other than updating some cultural references, He wouldn’t have to change a word. It’s humbling to realize that.
While Jesus attacked a powerful profession, and the threat to power was motivation to kill Him, denigrating an entire profession creates a universal reaction. Even though we may not be powerful, we tend to put a good deal of our self-worth into our professional work and are sensitive when someone denigrates what we do for a living. It is one thing to attack a profession as being economically unproductive or superfluous. It is quite another to attack it as a “whitewashed tomb.”
As uncomfortable as it may be, think about Jesus coming to your workplace. What do you think He would say?
Poem
I Am Tired, Lord
Psalm 5
For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.
Psalm 5: 4-6
I am tired, Lord
I come to you for rest
I lie down upon the bed of Your refreshing
I close my eyes in sleep
I am restless, Lord
I dream of the wicked who abuse Your little lambs
I wrestle with the arrogant whose lives are hypocrisy
I sweat as I battle deceit in my own heart
I am crying, Lord
Listen to my lament, O King
Calm the nightmares of my storms, O God
Draw me into Your arms, O my Love
I am resting, Lord
Your heartbeat steady resets my soul
Your shushing breath calms my hiccoughing gasps
Your steady arms enfold me to Your breast
I am safe, Lord
