Let God See The Plumbing

The fact it, folks – as Jesus said we have one Rabbi. The rest of us are brothers. I am no better and no higher than any one of you and neither is any other pastor or elder or person of power in the church. Yes, you should respect your elders in the sense of being open when they speak God’s wisdom and cooperating in the work God is doing through them. But remember – he who wants to be first among you should be the servant of all. That is why here at Living Waters, the concept of servant-leadership is a key value we try to follow at all times.

So now Jesus launches into a series of "woes". There are seven of them here. Woe is a term of coming judgment but also sadness because the hearer will not repent. Jesus condemns the Pharisees in the harshest tones – calling them hypocrites.

13 "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.

The first "woe" involved the fact that the Pharisees put up so many rules that were impossible to fulfill that it would seem impossible to be able to reach God.

15 "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.

We shouldn’t look at cults and false religions like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses and think there must be something right in what they say just because of their zeal in winning converts. Truth is truth, folks, and lies are lies, no matter how loudly or persistently you tell them. Often what attracts people to these cults is our built in predilection for legalism. We like rules to follow because it makes us feel good and makes us feel that God must approve of us. That’s simply not how it works. God loves us because of Jesus and nothing we can do will make Him love us more or less.

16 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ’If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ’If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it

The people of the day would often swear by something to make their promises appear more believable, I guess. But they made up elaborate systems to get around their promises.

Don’t make rash promises.

Don’t bargain with God – "Oh God if you’ll give that Ferrari I’ll pray for four hours a night." Don’t do things or say things that you later want to find a way out of.