May 21, 2025
This chapter records what Jesus said to the religious elite of His day. It contains the seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23. My comments are inserted into the text that follows.
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice”.
In most evangelical churches today, the pastors, teachers, and scholars tell Christians that they can’t consistently “do and observe whatever they tell you.” Why is that? Because all Christians, even Spirit-filled ones, are taught that they are born with a sinful nature that will never be conquered in this life. We come to Christ in our sins, we live our lives as children of God in our sins, and we die in our sins. That is the gospel of the modern evangelical church, as it rebukes Jesus Christ for instructing His followers to obey God’s laws. They seem oblivious to what they are actually doing. They are creating Christians, like themselves, who will live as hypocrites, “For they preach, but do not practice.” And the saddest fact of all is that some of these leaders do not even tell their members to “do and observe” the law of God. What do you think awaits them?
“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”.
How many pastors, teachers, and Christian leaders are full of pride? Some of them act like Hollywood actors, more focused on drawing attention to themselves and becoming famous than on leading sinners to repentance from sin and a life of holiness in Christ. They do not seem to believe what the word of God says, that all those who exalt themselves will be humbled. They do not seem to believe that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. They think that only unrighteous Christians, like themselves, do inherit the kingdom of God, in direct contradiction to the word of God. They teach that all born-again Christians remain unrighteous in actual practice, and that any Christian claiming to be free from the practice of sin is a liar and the truth is not in them.
Matthew now takes us into the seven woes pronounced by Christ on these false prophets, teachers, and leaders. This is the first woe.
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”.
Misery loves company is the expression that comes immediately to mind. These blind guides are not content to die in their sins all alone, they must take others with them as if God will change His mind if there is a large group of unrepentant sinners knocking at the gates of heaven. In Romans chapter 1:32 is this word, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Woe to you pastors, teachers, scholars and leaders who shut the kingdom of God to others because you lack the courage to preach the truth. Apparently, they also do not believe God even while they profess to have great faith in Him. The second woe follows.
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”.
Evangelical pastors, leaders and teachers repudiate the conditions of salvation and pretend to “birth” as many unrepentant “Christians” as they can, in order to fill their churches with unsaved “Christians.” These falsely converted “Christians” are repeatedly told that they are safe and secure in their ongoing life of sin. They are never warned to “go and sin no more.” Under this constant brainwashing they are hardened and no longer teachable. The third woe follows.
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”.
In this commercial enterprise known as the Christian Church, the blind are leading the blind. Things are upside down. Priorities are mixed up. What was once considered evil is now considered good, and what was once considered good is now considered evil. In the early Church, before Augustine, obedience to God was considered a requirement for being called a Christian, but not today. Most of these churches are ruled by the golden rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules. Their size, reach, and fame have blinded their eyes to all their ungodly compromises of the truth of God’s holy word. The gospel they preach promotes continued rebellion against God rather than genuine repentance toward God. The fourth woe follows.
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!
This woe seems not to apply to today’s churches, as many of them teach that the law has been abolished. Forget tithing, forget obedience, forget holiness, forget righteousness (unless it is of the fictional imputed kind), and forget that you are not your own and have been bought with a price. Forget all that and strive for “your best life now” and the healing and financial prosperity that the children of the King should have. Today, justice, mercy, and faithfulness have all been twisted and mostly redefined. The fifth woe is next.
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”.
Woe to you, pastors, teachers, and scholars who teach that all Christians will always remain hypocrites. You clean up the outside with church attendance, some Bible reading, captivating worship music, large buildings with lots of options to entertain the masses, knowing that is how to grow the church and increase the cash flow. Because you do not believe or teach that the inside of the cup (the heart) can actually be made clean and free from the pollution of sin, you focus only on the trapping or a form of godliness, but you deny the power thereof. Woe to you, says the word of God, for teaching Christians that the best they can do in this life is a Romans 7, wretched man or woman experience. You believe and preach that Jesus saves us “in” our sins and not from our sins. The sixth woe follows.
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”.
This naturally draws attention to the prior woe, for it has the same message. I must admit that this reminds me of the rituals of churches and the pomp and ceremony that usually accompany their services. Form over substance is what comes to my mind. That is the best you will get in most evangelical churches, which teach and believe that Christians will always continue to sin, as a way of life, in this world. The final and seventh woe follows.
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. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation”.
The evangelical church system as a whole and praise God for all exceptions, is massive in proclaiming their allegiance to the Word of God, while, at the same time, they teach rampant unbelief in that very Word. Jesus came to save us from sin, but they do not believe it. They think and teach that Jesus saves us “in” our sins and that sin will always be something Christians continue to practice or do. Any humble man or woman of God who might teach that there are conditions to salvation, such as repentance from sin and faith in Christ, are heretics at best or a Pelagian who thinks he or she can work their way into heaven at worst, according to these folks. In that way, they build the tombs of the prophets and murder (the reputations) those sent by God to teach the way of the truth. What follows are the closing words of Jesus.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, 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.’” J
Jesus continues His lament over Jerusalem and its people, who will soon find out that He was trying to save them from the coming judgment of God. They failed to recognize the day of their visitation from God, like most people before them, and after them, and even today. Anyone who dares confront the compromise of the religious system of the day is regarded as an enemy. Things have not changed much over the centuries, and each new generation builds the tombs of the prophets by rejecting them and their message of repentance from sin and holiness toward God. Despite what many Christian leaders tell you today, you have a choice. You can serve the God of the Word, or you can listen to the false teachers and perish. Your house need not be desolate. Jesus came to save you from your sins, not in your sins. Matthew 1:21.
