Seven times in Matthew 23 (verses 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, and 29), Jesus uses the phrase “What sorrow awaits you.” In most of these statements, he’s directing these words to “teachers of the religious law and … Pharisees.” For Jesus to repeat this condemnation seven times shows how important it was to him.
Six times Jesus calls the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees hypocrites. Five times he refers to them as blind. He calls them snakes and sons of vipers. He gives specific examples for why he refers to them as such.
Where did he find fault with them?
- They shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces
- They won’t go in themselves and don’t let others enter either
- They cross land and see to make one convert and then turn theat person into twice the child of hell they themselves are
- They say it means nothing to swear by God’s Temple, but that it’s binding to swear by the gold in the Temple
- They say that to swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the gifts on the altar is
- They are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from their herb gardens and ignore the more important aspects of the law – justice, mercy and faith.
- They strain their water so they won’t accidentally swallow a gnat and yet they swallow a camel
- They are careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but leave the inside dirty
- They are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside and filled with impurity on the inside
- They look righteous, but inwardly their hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness
- They build tombs for the prophets their ancestors destroyed.
Following this we see the yearning of Jesus’ heart to gather Jerusalem’s children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but they won’t let him.
Tomorrow, we’ll read Mark 13.
Until next time…
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