In Matthew 23:13-26, we examined the first 5 of 7 pronouncements of woe by Jesus upon the scribes and Pharisees.
Woe is a pronouncement of doom or disaster on a person or thing: not in a spiteful or vengeful way but rather a judicial pronouncement against these hypocrites, blind guides/fools/men. These spiritual leaders epitomized the spiritual condition of the vast majority of Israel.
Jesus pronounced the 1st woe against these religious leaders for refusing to enter the kingdom and actively shutting the door to it in other’s faces. The 2nd woe was for such zealous attempts to proselytize ending with wicked results: devastating harm. The 3rd woe was pronounced for such flagrant misuse of their words before God, illogically making some vows valid and other vows invalid, depending on the words used or not used. And yet, every oath, from least to greatest, involves God and His throne and so is binding. The 4th woe was for giving their greatest attention to the precise tithing of food seasonings … all while they abandoned the weightiest matters demanded by God: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Through such misguided foolishness, they strained out the “gnats” of their precision with lesser things, all the while swallowing the “camel” of failing on the greatest things.
And the 5th woe was uttered against them for cleaning the exterior of their outward appearance/works: the appearance of holiness. And yet on the inside, their inner character was rotten from preying upon others to satisfy their inner sinful desires while pretending to be outwardly holy and righteous. Jesus commanded them to first focus on the inner man: moral cleanness, inner purity of heart, and the rest would take care of itself.
Listen to last week’s teaching on Matthew 23:13-26 below.
https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestfellowship/sermons/332324946572/
