A Study by Scott Sperling Matthew 23:13-24 - “Woe to You”, Pt. 1 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.  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. 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. 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.” Earlier   in   this   chapter,   Jesus   advised   His   disciples   on how   to   respond   to   the   religious   leaders   of   the   time,   the teachers   of   the   Law   and   the   Pharisees.      He   warned   His disciples,   “Do   not   do   what   they   do,   for   they   do   not practice   what   they   preach”   (Matt.   23:3).      Here,   in   these verses,   Jesus   speaks   directly   to   the   religious   leaders, severely     admonishing     them.          Sadly,     it     is     this admonishment   of   the   religious   leaders   which   is   the   last address to the general public by Jesus. Throughout     His     ministry     on     earth,     Jesus     was extremely    patient    with    evil-doers,    quick    to    extend grace    to    sinners.        So,    His    harsh    words    here    come somewhat   as   a   surprise.      “He   came   to   bless,   and   loved to   bless;   but,   if   His   wrath   be   kindled,   there   is   surely cause   for   it”   [Henry].      We   see   here   the   hatred   Jesus   has for    hypocritical    religious    leaders,    those    who    lead astray   people   who   are   trying   to   live   a   godly   life.      Those who   are   in   positions   of   leadership   in   the   church   must surely   take   this   admonishment   to   heart,   and   redouble their efforts to present a godly example to their flock. Jesus   begins:      “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”    (vs. 13).      The   primary   purpose   for   ministers   of   God’s   word is   to   lead   people   to   God.      The   religious   leaders   whom Jesus   was   admonishing,   rather   than   leading   people   to God,   were   “shutting   the   kingdom   of   heaven   in   men’s faces.”       Jesus   seems   to   be,   here,   speaking   specifically   of the   religious   leaders’s   rejection   of   the   Messiah.      They rejected   the   Messiah,   thus,   they   themselves   “did   not enter” ,    and    they    discouraged    others    from    accepting Jesus   as   their   Messiah,   thus,   they   did   not   “let   those enter   who   were   trying   to.”       “These   religious   teachers ought    to    have    set    men    in    general    the    example    of promptly      and      joyfully      entering      the      Messianic kingdom,    but    they    actually    prevented    others    from entering” [Broadus, 469].  It   is   a   grievous   thing   when   religious   leaders   “shut   the kingdom    of    heaven    in    men’s    faces.”         Sadly,    this happens   quite   a   lot,   even   today,   when   Christians   focus on    condemnation     (as    the    Pharisees    did),    rather    than salvation .      There   is   a   lot   of   sin   in   this   world.      There   are plenty   of   things   to   condemn .      However,   the   best   way   to get   rid   of   sin,   is   to   turn   people   to   God,   to   get   them   to wash   away   their   sins   by   the   blood   of   Jesus,   and   to   let His Spirit work in their lives. Jesus   continues:      “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”   (vs.   15).      It   seems   the   religious   leaders were    evangelists,    of    sorts.        However,    they    weren’t seeking,    in    their    evangelism,    to    turn    people    toward belief   in   the   truth   of   God’s   Word.      Rather,   they   were seeking   to   “convert”    them   to   their   own   cause.      “They did   this   from   no   desire   to   benefit   men’s   souls   in   the least,   or   to   bring   them   to   God;   they   only   did   it   to   swell the   ranks   of   their   sect,   and   to   increase   the   number   of their   adherents,   and   their   own   importance”   [Ryle,   303].     “Their    converts    retained    the    essential    faults    of    the heathen,    and    took    on    the    faults    of    the    Pharisees” [Broadus,   470].      Evangelism   is   only   a   good   thing   if   the purpose   of   the   evangelism   is   to   lead   people   to   God’s truth.      There   are   many   evangelists   in   the   world,   who lead   people   away   from   God’s   truth.      They   will,   like   the Pharisees,    receive    a    “woe    to    you”     from    Christ    on judgment day. Jesus   continues :      “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.’   You   blind   fools! Which   is   greater:   the   gold,   or   the   temple   that   makes the   gold   sacred?   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.’   You   blind men!    Which    is    greater:    the    gift,    or    the    altar    that makes   the   gift   sacred?   Therefore,   he   who   swears   by the   altar   swears   by   it   and   by   everything   on   it. And   he who   swears   by   the   temple   swears   by   it   and   by   the one   who   dwells   in   it.   And   he   who   swears   by   heaven swears   by   God’s   throne   and   by   the   one   who   sits   on it”     (vss.    16–21).        The    religious    leaders,    who    were supposed   to   be   teachers   of   the   Law,   lacked   respect   for the   Law   of   God,   as   seen   in   these   verses.      They   made   a mockery   of   the   laws   that   said   that   men   were   bound   by oaths.      They   allowed   oaths   to   be   broken,   under   certain semantic   conditions.   “Our   Lord   condemns   the   subtle distinctions    they    made    as    to    the    sanctity    of    oaths, distinctions     invented     only     to     promote     their     own avaricious   purposes”   [JFB,   V-109].      “It   is   preposterous to   think   that   God   is   going   to   be   concerned   with   the precise   form   of   words   a   man   uses   in   swearing   an   oath, so   that   He   would   take   seriously   an   oath   sworn   by   the gold   of   the   temple,   but   would   not   regard   an   oath   by the   temple   itself   in   the   same   way.      To   maintain   such   a distinction    is    both    foolish    and    blind.       Anyone    who does   so   takes   insufficient   notice   of   the   fact   that   God demands   complete   truthfulness   in   His   people   so   that any   pledge   is   to   be   discharged.      We   cannot   escape   any legitimate    pledge    by    quibbling    about    the    form    of words   in   which   the   pledge   is   expressed,   oath   or   not” [Morris,    581].        The    purpose    of    oaths    was    to    give assurance    to    the    receiver    of    the    promise    that    one’s word   would   be   kept.      The   purpose   of   oaths   was   not   to allow    loopholes    to    be    devised    to    make    it    easier    to break   promises.      Any   such   use   of   God’s   Law   is   absurd and   blasphemous.      It   shows   a   lack   of   respect   for   God’s truthfulness.      Do   they   think   they   are   fooling   God   with evasive semantics?  Jesus   continues:      “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.      You   blind   guides!      You   strain   out   a   gnat   but swallow   a   camel”    (vss.   23–24).      Here   Jesus   chides   the religious   leaders   for   making   a   show   of   holiness,   while “neglecting   the   more   important   matters   of   the   law.”      They   made   a   show   of   their   holiness   by   publicly   tithing their     smallest     possessions,     even     the     spices     they received.        It    was    easy    to    (supposedly)    prove    their holiness   in   this   way.      In   their   eyes,   this   was   objective , measurable    proof    that    they    obeyed    God’s    law.        But God   wants   obedience,   not   only   in   the   objective    matters of   the   law   (such   as   tithing),   but   also   in   the   subjective   matters     of     the     law,     such     as     justice,     mercy     and faithfulness.      “To   be   just   to   the   priests   in   their   tithe, and   yet   to   cheat   and   defraud   everybody   else,   is   but   to mock   God,   and   deceive   ourselves”   [Henry].      To   be   seen as   a   just   man,   or   as   a   merciful   man,   or   as   a   faithful man,   requires   not   just   one   objective   act   of   obedience   to God,   but   a   life-long   way   of   life,   lived   in   obedience   to God.      This   is   much   more   difficult,   and   in   these   “more important   matters   of   the   law” ,   the   religious   leaders failed. Many    people    mistakenly    perceive    that    God    wants material    gifts,    and    that    material    gifts    will    cover    a multitude   of   sins.      This   faulty   perception   is   the   result, in   many   cases,   of   the   over-emphasis   given   by   many ministers   of   God’s   Word   to   the   importance   of   giving material   gifts   to   the   church.      Many   ministers,   in   effect, say    “Give    money    to    our    church,    and    God    will    be pleased   with   you.”      Such   a   message   is   un-Biblical,   and misrepresents    God    as    a    money-grubbing    mercenary.      Through    the    prophet    Micah,    in    the    Old    Testament, God   expressed   His   desire   that   people   live   a   holy   life, over    His    desire    that    they    give    gifts    to    the    church:      “With   what   shall   I   come   before   the   Lord   and   bow down   before   the   exalted   God?      Shall   I   come   before Him    with    burnt    offerings    with    calves    a    year    old?      Will   the   Lord   be   pleased   with   thousands   of   rams, with   ten   thousand   rivers   of   oil?      Shall   I   offer   my firstborn   for   my   transgression,   the   fruit   of   my   body for   the   sin   of   my   soul?      He   has   showed   you,   O   man, what   is   good.      And   what   does   the   Lord   require   of you?      To   act   justly   and   to   love   mercy   and   to   walk humbly with you God”  (Micah 6:6–8).  ———————————————————————— Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Gospel According to Matthew.  New York: Charles Scribner Publishers, 1861.  Broadus, John.  Commentary on Matthew.  Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1886. Calvin, John.  Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke.  3 Vols.  Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1846. (Originally published in Latin in 1555).  Carson, D. A. “Matthew” from The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII, ed. by Frank Gaebelein.  Grand Rapids:  Zondervan, 1984. Clarke, Adam. The New Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Vol. I.  New York:  G. Lane & C. B. Tippett, 1846.  (Originally published in 1831).  Dickson, David. A Brief Exposition of the Evangel of Jesus Christ According to Matthew. Cornhill, U.K.:  Ralph Smith, 1651.  Exell, Joseph S. and Henry Donald Spence-Jones, eds. The Pulpit Commentary. Vols. 33 & 34. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Henry, Matthew.  An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testament.  Vol. IV.  London: W. Baynes, 1806. (Originally published in 1710). Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David.  A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.  Glasgow:  William Collins, Queen’s Printer, 1863. Lange, John Peter, ed. and Philip Schaff, trans.  A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical.  New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1929. Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 1992. Ryle, J. C.  Expository Thoughts on the Gospels:   Matthew.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1857.  Spurgeon, Charles.  The Gospel of the Kingdom:  A Popular Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew.  New York: The Baker and Taylor Co., 1893. Thomas, David. The Genius of the Gospel:  A Homiletical Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew.  London:  Dickinson & Higham, 1873.   ------------ All of these books, those in the public domain, can be downloaded free of charge from:  http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com