Matthew 23:1-39
Key Verse: 23:37 “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.”
1. Why does Jesus tell the crowds and his disciples that they must do what the Pharisees say, but not what they do? (1-4) How did the Pharisees exalt themselves? (5-7) In what ways must Jesus’ disciples be different from the Pharisees? (8-12)
2. How did the Pharisees’ teaching shut the door of the kingdom of God? How did their vow-making show their materialism and greed? (13-22)
3. How did their petty concerns further reveal their spiritual blindness? (23-24) What does it mean to strain out a gnat and swallow a camel? What makes the inside dirty? (25-28)
4. Why did the Pharisees build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous? (29-32) Why does Jesus send prophets, wise men and teachers to the religious leaders even though they persecute and kill them? (33-36)
5. How did Jesus express his love and longing for God's people in spite of their rejection of God’s love? (37-39)