Warnings to Hypocrites Part 1
Kingdom Come (Matthew) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Designing your perfect home
Designing your perfect home
Do you ever think about what your perfect home would be like?
If you could design a home from scratch, money not an issue, and make it exactly like you would want it.
I don’t know about you, but many of the ideas I would have would come from the the things I don’t like about my current house.
It would be on a nice quiet street, not a load, busy one.
It would have a lot more counter top space in the kitchen, and NO BREAKFAST NOOK.
And it would have an indoor pool that cleaned itself and a basketball court (because mine doesn’t have those either ;)
The optimal and ideal are often shaped by the flaws in what we already have.
It is true in the cars we drive, the jobs we have, and even how we raise our kids and live as a family.
I know we all have said at some point, “I will not do/say that when I have my kids!”
Here in chapter 23, Jesus is painting a picture of His house by pointing out the spaces that aren’t going to be in the new one.
Matthew 23:13–39 (CSB)
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.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See, 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’!”
Who are we going to be?
Who are we going to be?
Jesus has been talking a lot about hypocrisy in the last few chapters.
A hypocrite is someone who “puts on a false face” (a mask) and pretends to be what he or she is not.
He has been confronting the religious leaders in Jerusalem who have deemed Jesus as a threat and are trying hard to get Him out of their hair.
In chapter 23, Jesus turns to the crowds that have been following Him and His faithful disciples and begins to call out the hypocrisy of the 2 most influential Jewish groups among the ordinary people in Jerusalem, the Scribes and the Pharisees.
It’s likely many of the religious leaders had already left at this point based off how chapter 22 ended.
So Jesus isn’t so much confronting them, rather Jesus seems to be more concerned with the crowds and disciples knowing who these Scribes and Pharisees were and where they stand with God.
Jesus is warning the people “Don’t be fooled into thinking these men are worthy of following, they are just a bunch of fakes.”
He calls them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, snakes and a brood of vipers (like really nasty snakes all hanging out in a big mess together).
This is very much a warning to the crowd, the disciples, and the religious leaders still listening against hypocrisy.
But Jesus is also painting a picture, or designing a house by pointing out the flaws and frustrations in the current one.
Like my breakfast nook, Jesus is saying “In my new house (His people whom are now call the Church) this will not be present.
We need to see this as a warning to us, but also as an opposite description of who Jesus wants us to be.
1) A GRACIOUS and WELCOMING people. (13-15)
1) A GRACIOUS and WELCOMING people. (13-15)
The scribes and Pharisees were a harsh, legalistic, and judgmental people.
They didn't invite people to know God personally, but to know Him as a judge that they must prove themselves worthy to.
John Piper defines legalism as “the conviction that law-keeping is the ground for our acceptance with God — a failure to be amazed at grace.”
They didn't see God as loving, slow to anger, kind, and welcoming.
They saw Him only as mighty, holy, and demanding.
And they saw themselves as the doorkeepers/bouncers for who can get close to God (enter His Kingdom).
Jesus is calling them out for “shutting the door of the kingdom in people’s faces” through their rigid and overbearing systems of laws.
And that is the oddest part, their view of God, which was the source of their self-righteousness and legalism, also kept them from really knowing Him and having a relationship with Him.
They not only kept people from entering, but also kept themselves outside the door as well.
Jesus has been showing all those watching and listening a better way...the way.
And He has been showing them to true heart of God and His desire for His people.
We have gotten glimpses throughout the gospel of who Jesus is and who He is creating US (His people, the church) to be.
Jesus had compassion for the crowds
36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.
He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, welcomed the rejected, forgave the sinful, and preached a message of hope to those willing to believe in Him.
He came not for the well, but for the sick.
12 Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.
Jesus wants a church that embraces Him and His way of life.
A people that knows and promotes Grace as we have experienced in Christ.
A people who invite lost and hurting souls to hear about a God who loved them by dying for them to free them from the condemnation of their sin.
A people that welcomes everyone and invites them to find new life in Jesus.
Is that the God you know? Are you that kind of Christian? Are we that kind of church?
2) A FAITHFUL and GENEROUS people. (16-24)
2) A FAITHFUL and GENEROUS people. (16-24)
The scribes and Pharisees were serious about the law...at least the parts that they thought most important.
Jesus points out three areas they were really serious about.
Oath taking: they were very particular about what people could and could swear on.
Arguing oaths made by swear on the Temple were meaningless. You should rather swear on the gold in the Temple and that would be valid.
Tithing- They were really serious about giving their 10%, even down to the smallest of herbs.
Jesus had already called them out for the way they boasted in their giving back in the sermon on the mount.
Purity Laws: He also briefly points out how seriously they took the purity laws, even running their wine through strainers in order to keep from swallowing a gnat, which would have been unclean.
Don’t misunderstand Jesus here.
Tithing matters. Telling the truth matters. What you do with your money and your mouth matters.
But they were intensely focused on these and yet were basically ignoring God's commands to love and care for the needy.
Jesus is painting a picture of people who have “completely lost [their] sense of proportion.” They were majoring in minors.
They looked for every conceivable reason not to help the poor, oppressed, and needy and looked down on Jesus for sitting with sinners, instead of having compassion on them (Mark 2:16).
They despised Jesus for healing a man’s withered hand, instead of wanting to see him healed (Mark 3:5–6).
They cursed Jesus for casting a demon out of another man, instead of rejoicing that he was finally free (Matthew 12:22–24).
Jesus isn't downplaying obedience and righteousness. He is saying the same thing God spoke through Isaiah hundreds of years earlier (Isaiah 1:11-17 )
Isaiah 1:11–17 (CSB)
11 “What are all your sacrifices to me?” asks the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who requires this from you— this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies— I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.
14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.
He is saying what John applies to the church years later (1 John 3:16-18 )
16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
Jesus desires us to be a people who live faithful lives of obedience to His Word and His ways.
And He desires us to be a people to generously cares for those around us.
You might be a great American Christian, but are you the faithful, compassionate, and generous follower that Jesus desires?
How has knowing Jesus transformed the way you love and serve others?
3) A GENUINE and HUMBLE people. (25-28)
3) A GENUINE and HUMBLE people. (25-28)
The scribes and Pharisees were known as Godly people.
Presenting themselves as righteous, pious, and deeply spiritual, but Jesus is pointing out the true nature of their hearts.
In the springtime before the Passover, it was the custom to whitewash the roadside tombstones so no one coming into Jerusalem would mistakenly touch a tomb and be rendered unclean for the seven days of the feast (Numbers 19:16).
The scribes and Pharisees looked like those tombs. Outwardly they looked so beautifully clean. Inwardly they were unclean—dead, decaying, putrid.
Jesus’s words would have been outrageous for the people to hear and incredibly risky for the Pharisees to have learned about.
These guys were the best of the best. The teachers of the law, the holiest and righteous among those in Jerusalem.
And yet Jesus is saying “it is only a cover for how dirty, dark, and dead you are in your hearts.”
The warning to us should be as obvious as the images: watch out for keeping up outward appearances and yet neglecting inward holiness.
It’s not that our outward appearance doesn’t matter; it’s that it matters less than inward holiness.
If we make every effort to cover our sin and hide our need, we clearly have not understood the gospel, and we have not embraced grace.
Pharisees believed they were right with God because of how good they presented themselves, but they walked in darkness (1 John 1:6).
Those of us who follow Jesus, we know if we confess our sin that “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Who are you really?
Are you one way when you are at church and around other believers, and yet you are totally different when you walk into work on Monday?
Who are you when no one is watching?
How does your faith in Jesus influence how you treat people you interact with throughout your day?
How does it influence how you spend your money and organize you time?
How does it influence your marriage and how you treat your spouse on good days and bad days?
How does it influence your relationships with people at school and what you do or don’t do with you BF or GF when no one is around?
The world is crying out for a genuine witness!
A people who are real, authentic, humble, honest, and bold enough to be who God has called us and saved us to be.
Who are we going to be?
Who are YOU going to be?
