A few years back I did a remodeling project at my house - the carpenter did much of the work but I cut costs by doing the plumbing myself. After putting in a bathroom over our garage the area was covered up by sheetrock. One day as I was walking to my car I felt a drop of water hit my eye. I thought nothing of it until it happened again. When I looked up I noticed water dripping from a seam in the ceiling.
That led to an expensive plumber’s visit and now my garage has several exposed areas where you can see the plumbing in the wall. Sometimes our lives are like that - on the surface everything looks great, but underneath there are leaks and a real mess. It’s not until something comes along to reveal the problem that we see it and then can deal with it.
In our study through Matthew, Jesus does the revealing to a group of very self assured Pharisees - and does some revealing about our characters as well.
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
(Verses 1-4) Jesus had respect for those in authority – as should we. That goes for pastors and elders – but also for those in civil authority – the police, and those who run our communities, state, and nation.
However – we obey man’s laws and do as they say as long as it does not violate God’s laws. Jesus is saying that religious leadership is important, when used correctly – not like the Pharisees.
And – Just because someone in authority does not live up to God’s standards doesn’t mean God is bad or that we should just throw away Christianity just because there are hypocrites in the church. You know the saying – if you find a perfect church don’t join it or it won’t be perfect anymore. God’s the only One who is perfect – and He sometimes, all the time it seems, uses imperfect men to bring His perfect message to His people.
5 "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ’Rabbi.’
Phylacteries were leather containers holding Scripture verses. They were apparently an attempt to literally follow Deuteronomy 6:6-8.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
What God meant was that His Word should become a part of us – of our thinking and our doing. The Pharisees made the straps wider to be noticed. They made the tassels long on their robes in response to Deuteronomy 22:12.
And finally they loved to be called "rabbi" which means "teacher." But in context was a title of reverence – it was the position they loved, not teaching God’s Law.
8 "But you are not to be called ’Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ’father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ’teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Jesus is not saying there shouldn’t be teachers or fathers – but He is saying that we shouldn’t get up on a pedestal putting ourselves above others, nor should we let anyone else puff us up into an exalted position.
(Verses 5-12) Who are you a Christian for?
Don’t fall into the Pharisees’ trap – they did everything either to give out an impression of holiness or receive an expression of reverence.
Don’t show off your spirituality. We do it by speaking in high-church terms – seeing how many times we can use the word "exegesis" in a single conversation. We do it by our look – instead of down in the trenches compassion we have this look that says "my, you aren’t trusting God enough, are you? I wonder what’s wrong with you?" We do it by carrying around fat Bibles but having thin prayer lives. And we do it by taking advantage of maturity or position to get other people to look up to us. In our modern age, image has become more important than character.
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.
And don’t focus on the minor things while neglecting the major.
Be careful that your standard for a "good Christian" doesn’t involve cultural mores rather than true Biblical values. Some folks make a big deal out of whether someone dances or watches movies – but when it comes to selfless giving attitudes and making ourselves the servants of all – we pay no attention.
23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
This one goes along with the woe before. There was no specific requirement for the Jews to tithe herbs – but the Pharisees took God’s law on tithing agricultural products to the extreme – while at the same time paying no attention at all to what really matters to God – mercy, faith, love.
We can fall into the same trap – we are so careful to give exactly 10 percent (and there’s nothing wrong with the principal of tithing, don’t get me wrong) but then we won’t spend a minute helping someone in need or we condemn someone so quickly for violating some Christian cultural rule.
25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you 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 and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
To the Pharisees, external correctness was more important than internal purity. They did indeed wash kitchen utensils and inside were terribly unclean where it counts.
The whitewashed tombs may have referred to the practice of putting whitewash on the tombs at the Passover so pilgrims wouldn’t accidentally make themselves unclean by going inside – or the practice some had of decorating tombs to make them look beautiful. The application, though is obvious – a good life that is not redeemed on the inside but looks good on the outside is still dead. You can make yourself look great by external behavior, but it is internal renewal by the blood of Jesus that makes us truly clean.
(Verses 25-28) Remember – you are a Christian first on the inside – then on the outside.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We’re all just clay pots that God has put His Spirit into. We need to stop focusing on the outer stuff – the rough ceramic edges that show through – and instead focus on letting the treasure show through.
Don’t be a shiny gold urn if all that’s inside is ashes. I’m not saying to purposefully let all the gunk inside you just hang out all over the place – but be true to yourself and true to letting God work His new life in you. The problem with the Pharisees is that they believed their own press clippings. They thought the exterior veneer or righteousness went all the way down to the core – and it didn’t.
When I had plumbing problems at home I had to cut away the wallboard to get at the pipes underneath. Outside, for the most part, everything looked great, except when the toilet wouldn’t turn off, then you’d see the telltale signs of trouble spreading across the garage floor. Just ‘cause the surface of your life looks great doesn’t mean that you are free of leaks underneath.
The point is: let God have access to your plumbing.
Next Jesus turns his attack on what the Pharisees were planning to do to Him – because, as I mentioned, it is only by being redeemed by the blood of the Lamb that we can be clean – it is how we treat Jesus that matters eternally. And these guys are Jesus’ enemies.
29 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ’If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
Without going into great detail – Abel was the first martyr, a God-lover killed – and Zechariah was the last one mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, which ended with 2 Chronicles. I think perhaps the point here is that all of those on God’s side that were murdered has been building up to this point – when you kill God’s Messiah.
And Jesus words did come true as early church leaders were flogged and chased out of cities by the Jews. Then in 70AD destruction came upon Jerusalem because of their actions. But it is to a specific group that Jesus aims His judgment. As always, Jesus loves His people and wants anyone who will to come to Him.
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. 38 Look, 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.’"
Jesus came to save – that is always His heart – but to those who are unwilling to let Him save, only destruction awaits. One day the Jews will see that Jesus is the Messiah – they will repeat the words of Psalm 118 that we read about a few weeks ago at Jesus triumphal entry – "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." But then they will truly realize what they did in turning their backs on the Savior.
Conclusions
Self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, and unrepentance. Those are the themes of this chapter. The Pharisees thought they were pure because they practiced an external form of obedience to made-up rules. Don’t think you are pure through obedience – you are only pure because Jesus makes you pure.
This led them to self-sufficiency. Sometimes positions of power, prestige, and wealth lead to an attitude that "I don’t need God, I don’t need anything." Nothing could be further from the truth. We need to rely on our Savior for everything.
Finally, unrepentance. When called on the carpet, the Pharisees, and much of Jerusalem and the Jewish people would not turn around. Don’t be stubborn – when God calls you on the carpet admit it, go to Him and make it right.
But we also need to know that it is not a condemning and judging God that we go to – but a loving Lord who desires nothing more than to gather us up and heal us from the inside. When we fail we don’t need to feel condemned.
Let me conclude by sharing Romans 7:14-25
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Let Jesus get at the plumbing of your life – through a willing openness to let His Word and His Spirit delve into areas you never wanted uncovered. Remember He is the loving and caring Jesus who will forgive and heal, not expose and condemn.
