“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,” Jesus said to the crowds and His disciples, “so do whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
Jesus exposed their hypocrisy. A hypocrite hides behind a mask. He shows one face but camouflages his real self. What you see is not what you get with a hypocrite. He dresses for success, hands you a polished resumé, and smiles to show off his straight, white teeth. Credentials and trophies proclaim his wins, but he never mentions his losses or that half his medals are stolen valor. Jesus merely pointed out the Pharisees’ fake façade.
Jesus spoke with authority and not as the scribes and teachers of His day. No one could have spoken like He did to those scribes and Pharisees unless he had moral authority and judicial authority. Jesus had both. He sinlessly followed the law of Moses perfectly, and the Father gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the judge of all mankind, so when He pronounces woes, they have judicial weight.
We count seven woes in Matthew 23:
| #1 | 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. |
By this, Jesus explained they, even as circumcised Jews, were not in God’s kingdom. Worse, they were keeping others out of the kingdom through their false living.
| #2 | 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. |
See how hard the false teachers work to win souls to their side. Why do they toil so? Jesus said they loved the high seat, to be seen as leaders, to be in positions of power and authority, to be recognized and applauded. That’s what they desired, and that was their only reward. Judgment would follow. They were sons of hell.
| #3 | 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. |
They were playing games with God. They crossed their fingers behind their backs when they made promises and then said, “Haha! I didn’t really promise!” God does not abide such foolishness and duplicity. Also, they made rules for exactly which oaths counted and which did not! Jesus simply taught that all things belong to God and come from Him, so if you swear by anything God will hold you accountable to your word. Duplicity will be damned.
| #4 | 23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! |
Jesus created this cartoon image in our minds: a man carefully filtering his morning tea to make sure he swallows no small unclean critter accidently. Then he bites a chunk off his camel steak—the camel being the largest of the unclean animals. Jesus’ point? Priorities were upside down and backwards. Should we be careful with the “smallest” of God’s laws? Absolutely! But focusing entirely on the “smaller” and less-weighty matters of the law while disregarding and overlooking the heavier matters is outlandish. If our priorities are straight, the lighter matters of the law will fall into place. But when priorities are out of balance, we glibly proclaim ourselves righteous while abusing family members, giving into fleshly indulgences, and following selfish desires. After all, we went to church on Sunday, prayed, and ate the Lord’s Supper. After all, we know how to properly interpret the “end times” passages. After all, we can argue the finer details on adultery and divorce laws.
| #5 | 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. |
You look good. Stylish haircut. Pretty dress. Wide smile. You shake hands and give hugs and say sweet words. Maybe yesterday you watched an R-rated movie with a thousand curse words and several nude scenes, but you keep your language G-rated around Christians so they know you are a good person. You are trying to figure out how to sue a rich neighbor or develop some other get-rich-quick scheme, but you meekly depend on God in front of the church. You are not getting away with this. Again, priorities must be right—first clean the inside (the heart and the mind); then the outside will follow and be clean.
| #6 | 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. |
If people knew the hypocrite’s real life, they would be shocked, but he has an excellent game face. He thinks he’ll never be found out. But Jesus sees right through his thin exterior to the rotting chasm inside. It’s ugly and it stinks. No one wants to be around the authentic him, which is why he hides it. It won’t be a secret forever. In fact, the hypocrite stands condemned before God already.
| #7 | 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. |
The best thing we can do is identify with our forefathers as sinners just like them. Own our issues, our weaknesses, our wickedness. Confess it and expose it, and by all means, stop presenting ourselves as something we are not! We hurt ourselves and everyone around us by doing that.
These woes apply to our generation just as they did to the scribes and Pharisees of the first century. Would Jesus say this to you or me? Let us dwell on this a while.