“WARNING: Religious Pretenders!”
(Matthew 23:1-36)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
August 9, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 23:1-36
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’ 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 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, so that the outside of it may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? 34 This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.
Introductory Comments:
Have you ever been in a moment where things are cordial between people, or maybe even fun, and then all of a sudden something changes? Perhaps one of your children says something disrespectful to their mother. Perhaps a coworker takes things too far with a joke. Perhaps two football players continue the physicality a little too long after the play is over. The atmosphere can change in these situations very quickly, can’t they?
Well, in today’s passage we’re going to see a change in the temperature of the interactions with Jesus and the religious leaders of the day.
We’re continuing our series in the book of Matthew, called “God’s Fulfilled Promise.” As we prepare to get into today’s passage, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. Let’s pray together.
(prayer)
Here we are at the beginning of Matthew 23 and we’re going to cover 36 verses today, so buckle up! At this point, Jesus seems to have reached the level where He’s heard enough. Now, He’s about to bring the thunder, so to speak. He’s going to bring accusations against the scribes and Pharisees that will paint a picture of how He really feels about them.
The famous pastor of yesteryear, J. Vernon McGee, says that these are some of the most scathing words to come from the lips of our Lord.
Yet, one cannot help but see some lessons for the modern church as well. One cannot help but see warnings for modern religious pretenders.
David Platt says, “By all accounts, Matthew 23 is a difficult text. It’s not difficult to understand, as most people can grasp what Jesus is getting at in this passage. But this text is difficult in that its message is especially penetrating and convicting.”
So, as we look into this passage, let us consider these warnings for the preservation and spiritual health of our own hearts, minds, and lives.
Let us look now at these two warnings found in Matthew 23. First, . . .
I. Warnings of religious pretenders (vv. 1-12) [on screen]
Jesus, the religious leaders, and those who are listening are more than likely gathered in the temple courts with the crowd and the disciples listening in as Jesus and the religious leaders interact with one another.
Now, Jesus addresses the crowds and His disciples directly. As He does so, He offers some warnings. Look now with me, at Matthew 23:1-12. Let’s see what Jesus has to say:
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 You are not to be called instructors either, because you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Notice in verses 2 and 3 that Jesus speaks of the Pharisees and scribes having some sort of authority.
He says that they are seated in the chair of Moses, which means that they have the authority to teach the people on behalf of God. In fact, we learn later that in history some of the synagogues would have an actual seat where the teacher would sit and teach with authority called, “The Seat of Moses.” This might be the equivalent today of something like the pulpit in the modern church.
So, Jesus implies that there is a certain amount of honor and respect that should be paid to religious leaders and teachers.
Then, Jesus basically says in verse 3 to do as the scribes and Pharisees say, but don’t do as they do. Now, some think that maybe Jesus is being sarcastic here. They say that perhaps Jesus didn’t want people to do what the Pharisees said. However, I’m not convinced of that. Generally speaking, Jesus wasn’t there to fight against Judaism. Jesus was there to fulfill Judaism.
So, Jesus first establishes that the presence of religious leaders, in and of itself, is not wrong. However, Jesus does have some concerns about the religious leaders of His day and He’s not afraid to share those concerns.
The end of verse 3 gets into the heart of Jesus’ concern with the scribes and Pharisees. He says, “ . . . they don’t practice what they teach.”
The main problem with the scribes and Pharisees is that they are religious pretenders. They are hypocrites! We’ll see in these coming verses that Jesus is going to give us all the nitty-gritty details about how these men are religious pretenders!
Notice these accusations that Jesus levels against them (you may want to jot these down):
First, notice their unfair hypocrisy. Jesus says in verse 4, “They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.”
Second, notice their prideful showing-off. Jesus says in verse 5, “They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.” These phylacteries and tassels were part of their religious attire. Here’s a picture to show how they may have looked. [show picture on screen] The religious pretenders thought if they made their phylacteries look really large and their tassels look really long then people would be impressed with how religious they were.
Third, notice their selfish honor-seeking. Jesus says in verses 6 and 7, “6 They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.”
The basic point of these first four accusations is that the religious leaders thought a lot of themselves and they wanted others to think a lot of them as well.
Following the citations of the religious pretenders’ prideful behavior, Jesus offers a quick corrective.
Basically, this comes down to three main points:
First, we are not to seek honor for ourselves. Jesus says we are not to be called by special titles. We’ll talk more about this in Digging Deeper on Wednesday, but the point is not that you can’t use these titles, but that we aren’t to seek these titles for ourselves in order to be honored. We are to give honor to God and His Messiah first and foremost, not seek it for ourselves.
Second, Jesus says that we are to serve others. The antidote to religious pretending is spiritual servanthood. That’s worth repeating: the antidote to religious pretending is spiritual servanthood. Rather than being all about ourselves, we should be all about others.
Third, Jesus says to humble ourselves. We are not to be full of pride like the religious pretenders. We are, instead, to be filled with humility and let God exalt us in His timing.
So, we have here these warnings of religious pretenders. Don’t be like them. Don’t let them influence you and teach you. Church, you should not be led by self-serving religious leaders. Be careful! If I ever become a pastor that is led by pride, please go find another church or please find another pastor. I hate pride and arrogance and you should as well.
Be careful when it comes to religious pretenders.
Second, we see . . .
II. Warnings for religious pretenders (vv. 13-36) [on screen]
Jesus not only warns His disciples and His listeners about the religious pretenders, He also warns the religious pretenders about themselves. As He does so, He uses a format that is similar to the prophets of the Old Testament. Jesus pronounces seven different woes upon the scribes and Pharisees. Saying, “Woe to you,” is sort of like saying, “May God condemn you.” Jesus is condemning the scribes and Pharisees for certain things. The gloves are off and Jesus is leveling verbal attacks against the religious pretenders.
These woes can be broken up into four sections, three pairs and one stand-alone. So, let’s look at these different woes and what Jesus says:
First, look at verses 13-15:
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!
These first two woes can be categorized as setting up spiritual roadblocks for others.
You see, the scribes and Pharisees were part of the religious leaders of Israel. They should have been leading people closer to God. However, instead, Jesus says that they, “shut the door to the kingdom of heaven,” and make people, “twice as much a child of hell.”
They should genuinely be leading people closer to God, but instead, they are just pretending.
Next, look at verses 16-24.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’ 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
This third and fourth woe have to do with improper spiritual prioritization.
You see, the religious rulers of the day had set up loopholes in taking oaths so that folks could get out of an oath that they didn’t want to keep. You could swear by the temple and get out of it, but not if you swore by the gold of the temple. Jesus said that this is nonsense! The temple represents God; the altar represents the worship of God. Any vow that is made in connection with God should be kept.
Further, they were concerned about the specific letter of the law-keeping of the tithe of something as small as their herb garden. Yet, they have neglected these major traits of a follower of God such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Jesus said this was like straining a gnat out of your drink then swallowing a whole camel!
The religious leaders should have prioritized that which was most important when it comes to following God. Instead, they were just pretenders.
The third section is verses 25-28.
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 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, so that the outside of it may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
This fifth and sixth woe have to do with spiritual hypocrisy.
The religious leaders appeared to be spiritual, they appeared to be followers of God. In reality, they were filthy and dying on the inside. They were like a coffee mug that’s been washed on the outside but is full of mildew and dust on the inside. They were like a tomb that was beautiful on the outside, but on the inside is full of death.
The religious leaders were supposed to be genuinely filled with godliness on the inside, but instead, they were just pretenders.
Last, in terms of the woes, look at verses 29-32.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!
This seventh woe has to do with spiritual persecution.
The religious leaders claimed to love and support the prophets and messengers of God. They claimed that they would not have been like those Jewish leaders of the past who persecuted the messengers of God. Yet, Jesus says instead that they are descendants of those who murdered the prophets and would follow in the same footsteps of their ancestors.
The scribes and Pharisees should have supported the work of God’s sent ones, but instead, they were just pretenders.
Finally, Jesus offers this striking condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees. Look at verses 33-36.
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell? 34 This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.
This scathing description that He uses is the same used of John the Baptizer towards the religious leaders. He calls them. “Brood of vipers.” Basically, He’s saying they are snakes and they are children of snakes.
Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees are just as guilty as those evil pretenders of the past and that judgment awaits them as well.
Jesus levels these warnings directly for the religious pretenders. If there is any hope for them, they must heed these warnings.
Concluding Thoughts:
Church, we must also heed these warnings, both from religious pretenders and for religious pretenders.
Why should we heed these warnings? Well, let our bottom line help us with answering that question. Here’s our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Religious pretending leads straight to hell. [on screen]
(repeat)
Jesus said in verse 33, “How can you escape being condemned to hell?” Church, we must take these warnings seriously!
The author of the InterVarsity Press commentary on this passage says this: “I suspect that much of what passes for Christianity today is little more than human religion with the name of Jesus tacked onto it, because like most of the religion of Jesus’ contemporaries, it has failed to transform its followers into Christ’s servants passionately devoted to his mission in the world.”
Folks, our only hope to escape hell, enter the kingdom of God, and live with God forever is found in Jesus and His ways. We must truly follow Jesus!
Challenge yourself to live out this passage in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Identify my potential areas of religious pretending. [on screen]
This is where we need to look at ourselves, church. We must not take in this chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and think of it just as a history lesson or a scathing condemnation of the scribes and the Pharisees. We must be willing to look at ourselves and allow the Word of God to cut to our hearts.
Are we pretending by setting up spiritual roadblocks for others? Are we pretending by having improper spiritual priorities? Are we pretending by being spiritual hypocrites? Are we pretending by bringing persecution on the true servants of God rather than supporting them?
Take some time this week and seek the Lord on these matters.
2. Submit to genuine discipleship. [on screen]
Do you really want to be a disciple of Jesus or do you just want to pretend? That’s a question for all of us.
Are we really sold out to justice, mercy, and faithfulness? Are we really sold out to loving God and loving others, as we learned a few weeks ago?
Will you submit to genuine discipleship, rather than pretending? Take some this week and think through that.
3. Demonstrate genuine discipleship. [on screen]
Do you want to know the best way to kill an imitation? Let the real thing go on display!
So, this week demonstrate genuine discipleship!
Lead others to Jesus, prioritize true spiritual treasures, put others first, be committed to God, and love and support those who serve God.
Closing:
In all this, let us commit as First Baptist Church Bartow to not be spiritual pretenders. Let us commit to be genuine God-followers.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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