September 2, 2012
Matthew 23:1-39
Key Verse 23:12 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
In chapter 22, Jesus gave a serious warning to the Pharisees about not accepting God’s sovereignty over their lives and rejecting his servants and his Son. The Pharisees did not accept Jesus’ words. Instead, they got mad at Jesus and tried to trap him in his words twice. But each time Jesus gave them the truth about giving to God what is God’s and loving God and others. In verses 1-12 Jesus warned the crowds and his disciples not to be like the Pharisees. In verses 13-36 Jesus pronounces seven woes to the Pharisees. In verse 37-39 Jesus laments over Jerusalem. May God give us a spirit of repentance and a renewed heart to serve Jesus and his gospel humbly.
First, do not do what they do (1-12). Look at verses 2-4. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat. They studied Moses’ laws and taught them to the people. But the teachers of the law and the Pharisees did not practice what they taught. Their catchphrase was: “Do as I say, don’t do what I do.” They only pushed others to obey the law of God but did not show them examples to follow. Jesus was not like them. Jesus led his disciples by his own example of washing his disciples’ feet and encouraged them to follow him. He said in John 13:34b “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” In John 10:4, he speaks of his shepherding, “he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” As Bible teachers, we must not only teach the Bible to others but also practice it, setting good examples for them to follow. 1 Peter 5:2,3 says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,…not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
Look at verses 5. “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.” According to Deuteronomy 6:8, which says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them on your hands and bind them on your foreheads,” the Jews interpreted this verse to literally make small boxes with copies of Bible verses such as Exodus 12.2-16 or Deuteronomy 6.4-9, and they would roll them up, and put them in these small boxes and tie the boxes on the back of their hands and foreheads. It is good for those who do not remember their New Year key verses to make a New Year’s key verse box and wear them on their forehead and arm. But in order to show the people that they loved the word of God more than ordinary people do, the Pharisees supersized these boxes. At the end of their prayer shawl, they would have tassels in which they tied knots. Each knot represented a certain prayer that they would pray, kind of like a rosary. The longer the tassel, the more time, apparently, the person spent in prayer. So the Pharisees would make these really long tassels to show off their “Spirituality.” In modern terms, the phylacteries and tassels are like our testimonies. They are good and necessary if they are done sincerely. But if we write testimonies to show off or out of obligation to please others, we become hypocrites.
Look at verses 6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’” They loved sitting in the important seats at banquets and churches; as they passed by the marketplaces, people greeted them, calling them “Rabbi!” Even if they had nothing to buy, they went out to the marketplace intentionally in order to be greeted by people and hear the people call them, “Rabbi.” They sought praise and personal attention from people. They gloried in titles. They were self-seeking, seeking their own honor and glory.
People thought that the Pharisees were great because they dressed and acted religiously, sat on the important seats and had illustrious titles. People think that movie stars, rock stars and football players are great because they receive glory and recognition from people around them. But Jesus said that true greatness does not lie in those things. Jesus said in verses 11-12, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus is the greatest of all because he became the servant of all. He humbled himself in order to serve God’s holy mission given to him. Philippians 2:5-7 says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” In order to be truly great in the sight of God, we must learn of Jesus. Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. We must learn how to serve God and others sacrificially and humbly. When we humble ourselves and serve others in the name of Jesus, God will exalt us as true stars in God’s work and history and the kingdom of God.
Second, seven woes (13-39). After teaching the crowd and his disciples not to be like the Pharisees, Jesus talks directly to the Pharisees, pronouncing seven woes to them. Look at verses 13-15. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” The Pharisees taught Moses’ laws and the Jewish traditions to others but they themselves did not practice what they preached. They took pride in their knowledge of the Bible. Their hearts became arrogant and insensitive toward the word of God. It was because they did not repent before the word of God. They did not believe in Jesus. Rather, they rejected him, belittling him as “Mary’s illegitimate son, the son of a lowly carpenter, a friend of tax collectors and sinners and a Sabbath lawbreaker.” They also persecuted those who believed in Jesus.
They were blind guides. In verses 16-23, Jesus used the word ‘blind’ 3 times. The Pharisees were blind guides because they could not discern which ones were more important. For example, the temple is more important than the gold of the temple. The altar is more important than the gift on it. Showing justice, mercy and faithfulness are more important than giving a tenth of their spices. They meticulously keep minor details of the law as if straining out a gnat but omitted to keep the fundamental truth of the Bible such as loving God and others as if carelessly swallowing a camel. They are as funny and ridiculous as those dieters who eat an extra-large pizza, and then drink Diet Coke.
In 2008, a police raided a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa and found that many illegal immigrants were working in terrible conditions. Then a big debate occurred among the rabbis whether the meat produced by the factory was kosher. Many rabbis assured that since the meat was slaughtered according to the law, it was kosher. They are just like the Pharisees.
They emphasized outward cleanliness but did not care to keep their hearts clean before God. Look at verses 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.” Of course, we must keep ourselves clean by taking a shower everyday, brushing our teeth, combing our hair and wearing clean clothes. But maintaining ourselves clean on the outside is not enough because God sees our hearts. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” At first it seems that our inner thoughts and desires do not make any difference as long as we do not expose them. But soon our inner thoughts and desires will show themselves in our actions and bear either good fruit or bad fruit.
When the Pharisees did not repent their sins of greed and wickedness in their hearts, they became enemies of God, even persecuting God’s servants. Look at verses 29-31. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.” They pretended that they were more righteous than their forefathers. But they were just like their forefathers in rejecting, persecuting and even shedding the righteous blood of God’s servants. Jesus warned them of the impending judgment of God on them and their generation. (32-36)
Third, Jesus laments over Jerusalem because the chosen people abandoned God’s mission (37-39). Look at verses 37-39. “‘O 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, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” In this verse, Jerusalem refers to the chosen people. Jerusalem represents the nation Israel or the people of Israel. Israel is God’s covenant people through Abraham. Israel is God’s firstborn son. As much as God loved his people Israel, God blessed them. But they did not maintain God’s blessing and did not keep God’s words.
Jerusalem was the holy city where the temple of God was. God had a great hope of making this holy city into the Bible study headquarters of the whole world. Isaiah prophesied concerning this. Isaiah 2:1-3 says, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Here we learn God’s hope for his own people to be raised as Bible teachers and shepherds and missionaries so that they might teach the word of God to the peoples of all nations. But the Pharisees despised God’s hope for them and neglected to carry God’s holy mission given to them. Instead of seeking God’s glory and honor, they were self-seeking, seeking their own honor and glory, and seeking to satisfy their own greed. Still, Jesus taught them the word of God in order to help them to repent of their sins. But they were unrepentant before the word of God. They made Jerusalem a stronghold of Satan, in which many prophets were persecuted and killed. That was why Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.”
Look at verse 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.’” The day will come when the children of God will welcome the Second Coming of Jesus, saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” as the crowds did at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It is the day when the new heavens and new earth will come. It is the day when our Lord will admire those who endured all the sufferings of the saints. On the other hand, it is the day of judgment to those who rejected the love of God.
Let us not be as self-glory seeking, greedy, blind, unrepentant and wicked as the Pharisees. Let us have the same attitude as that of Jesus. Let us serve God and others humbly and sacrificially as Bible teachers and shepherds and become truly great in the sight of God.