Matthew 23

 Matthew 23:23-36 

Jesus pronounced 7( or 8 if we count verse14)  "woes" against the Pharisees and scribes - seven things that grieved the Lord and would result in judgement.  The first 4 were in the previous post.. here are the rest:

Woe # 5  (v 23-24) The scribes and Pharisees made a big show of their "tithing".. even to the point of tithing "mint and dill and cummin".   Yet, their hearts were so far from the God they were professing to honor, that they neglected "justice and mercy and faithfulness", which Jesus calls "the weightier provisions of the law."  He compares that to straining a gnat and swallowing a camel!  They were "blind guides" leading the people to forget the true character and heart of God.  For this they were condemned. 

Woe # 6 ( v25-28)  Again Jesus exposed the shallow, vain, useless rules that the Pharisees demanded while they were living sinful lives.. "full of robbery and self-indulgence"..  Theirs was a religion that did not go below the surface.. they needed to get their hearts clean.. then the rest of their lives would be clean too.  To emphasize this more fully, Jesus adds the illustration of a "white-washed tomb" - beautiful on the outside but "full of dead men's bones.. "   The appearance of righteousness is not enough.. for God looks at the heart.. and theirs were filled with "hypocrisy and lawlessness." 

Woe #7 (v29-36)  This final pronouncement reveals the true hypocrisy and guilt of the scribes and Pharisees.. for they made a big fuss over the  "tombs of the prophets" and they claimed that they would never have done what their father's had done..  while.. they were at the same time planning on killing Jesus..  They would continue to persecute and kill His followers.. They would continue to reject the Truth and in doing so would  "fill up" the measure of guilt of their fathers. These men, unless they repented, would carry "the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah.".. from the first  martyr to the last prophet in the Old Testament. 

What do we need to learn here as we listen to the voice of our Shepherd, Jesus?  Outward behavior that covers inward sinfulness is Not  acceptable to God in any way, shape, or form.  We do not want to be blindly following rules and doctrines and theories that supposedly lead us to God.. We want to know God.. to know His Truth.. to walk in His Light.. to find His salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.. for only then can we have pure hearts, cleansed from all unfaithfulness.. all hypocrisy.. all lawlessness. For it is only when our hearts have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus will we truly serve God. 

Father in heaven,  lead us in Your paths of righteousness.  We seek You and know that when we do we will find You.. for that is Your promise. We desire to walk in faith, in righteousness, in truth, and purity. Fill us with Your Spirit, so that by Your Presence we will be all that You have called us to be - sons and daughters of the Most High God who Is and Was and Is to come. Glory to Your Name. Amen!