Matthew 23:13 - 39
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] [b]
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 you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that 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 anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone 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 tenthof your spices—mint, dill and cumin. 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.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, 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.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. The Pharisees make people twice the sons of hell as they are. That's quite an indictment! What did they do?
2. Why did Jesus say that the Pharisees shouldn't neglect tithing on spices?
3. When will Jerusalem say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"?
http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2013/03/children-of-hell-and-sons-of-heaven.html says:
ReplyDeleteI've been pondering three things- pastors, elders, and leaders of the faith that shut the door of heaven in people's faces (Matthew 23:13); second, children of hell that emerge from a false system Matthew 23:15), and third, what it means to be a child of God in the global body. (1 Corinthians 12:12). Children of hell vs. sons of God.
The first time, they dragged Jesus away to stand in front of Annas. However, Annas wasn't the High Priest at the time. Annas had been pressured to step aside due to becoming too powerful. Annas was sort of like the Godfather, taking a cut of all the Temple money exchange action and the sales of the beasts for worship. (more here). He didn't have the position, but he had the power. So Jesus was dragged to Annas first.
Not only were the moneychangers robbing the people, but history records that excessive prices were being charged by those who were selling animals used in Temple sacrifice.
The greedy priests would take advantage of the travelers who brought an animal for sacrifice by fallaciously declaring it unfit, or with blemish, and order them to buy another animal at the temple grounds for an exorbitant price. If the Jews who brought money had Gentile coins, it meant the coin had a pagan image on it and were told they had to exchange the money for clean Jewish money. Of course, the exchange rates were sky-high.
Even many of the high priests during the first century seemed to have given up their love of God for the love of money. Most notably the High Priest whom Jesus was brought before, Annas, along with his five sons who succeeded him to that position. The Temple sacrifice during their reigns can best be summed up by the words “The Marketplace of the family of Annas.” (Or in other translations, "The Bazaars of Annas").
Josephus states:
“The high priest, Annas, (after he had been relieved from his office) to some degree, was respected and feared by the citizens, but in a bad way; for he loved to hoard money. He became good friends with Albinus, and of the newly installed high priest. He did so by offering them bribes; he also had wicked servants, who associated with the most vilest sort of characters, and went to the thrashing-floors, and took the tithes that belonged to the priests by force, and beat anyone who would not give these tithes to them. So the other high priests that followed him as well as his servants acted likewise, without anyone being able to stop them; so that some of the priests, those who were old and were being supported with those tithes, died for lack of food.” A matter of fact, Jewish history records that these High priests who walked the temple courts during the first century, were despised by the majority of the people for their brutality and hunger for money."
Annas, Caiaphas and their ilk for generations had shut the door of heaven in people's faces by behaving in these and other grossly selfish and carnal ways. They sought the best seats at the banquet table (Matthew 23:6). They hogged the most prominent seats in the synagogue. They colluded in murder plots against Jesus. (Mark 3:6). Not even life was sacred to them, and least of all the Sinless One's life who came to bring them life!
http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2013/03/children-of-hell-and-sons-of-heaven.html (continued):
ReplyDeleteIn that way, they shut the door of heaven against the people.
Can you imagine the people, laboring under the onerous Laws, struggling to come up with a gold zuz to pay for two pigeons? Knowing they were going to get ripped off as they crossed the temple grounds to go and try to find some peaceful place to worship? Imagine what you feel like after only suspecting once like you got ripped off. You get angry and if you're not careful you get bitter. These people knew it and they knew there was nothing they could do about it.
He sees a widow come by and she puts two coins in, the only two she had, to go home and die. And He turns to His disciples and says, ‘This temple is coming down, not one stone upon another.’” And the point is this, any system that devours widows and takes their last two cents is corrupt, is coming down.... The desolation is still going on today, folks. And I think that last little moment when He saw that system eating the very last two pennies of that widow, He said, “That’s it.” So I say to you, “Woe to you prosperity preachers who take the widow’s money to buy your ten-thousand-dollar a night hotel room and your hundred-thousand dollar a month jet. Jesus feels about your system just like He felt about that.
Others didn't give up like the widow did, but instead joined the corrupt system. They became sons of hell, figuring, "they're doing it, why not me? I want some action, too..." For example, we know the tax collectors took more than their share.
However, we see the ultimate example of the legacy of the greedy Pharisees making sons of hell twice as bad as they are, in the crowd that called for Jesus's death.
This bunch of people who had received grace, food, healing, and teaching, who followed Jesus and clamored for Him every day, crowds pressing close, now called for His death at the first opportunity. Children of hell indeed.
These emergent, prosperity preaching, seeker hispter pastors are making people into children of hell. The children of hell are despondent, in despair, looking for hope in an open door to heaven, but all they are getting is ripped off as the Pharisees make merchandise of them and exploit them with false words and then they shut the door of heaven in their face.
No wonder Jesus condemned them with woes!
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice/2012/05/18/the-witness-of-the-sons-of-hell/ says:
ReplyDeleteWe become sons of hell when we devote our lives to locking people out of the kingdom of heaven.
But there is a tremendous danger to which the Pharisees bear witness, and I’m flabbergasted at the way that Christians who claim to be “Biblical” seem to have blotted the Pharisees entirely out of their Bibles. Most of what Jesus says in the four gospels occurs in the context of arguing with the people he called sons of hell. His witness cannot be detached from their counter-witness. Christians’ lives should not only be an emulation of Christ, but also a contrast to the Pharisees who opposed Him. The Pharisees show that God’s law without Christ’s atonement does not suffice. Jesus’ cross saves us from being “sons of hell” who lock others out of heaven just as much as it saves us from being “children of wrath” whose slavery to sin locks us out of God’s glory. The more Christians act like sons of hell, the more they show themselves to be unsaved.
The peril to which the sons of hell bear witness is the intoxicating attraction of locking others out of the kingdom of heaven. It gives us an extraordinary sense of power to feel that we have the authority to damn other people. And it makes sense that a “gospel” which accentuates clear “us” and “them” categories between elect and damned would be attractive to people who are bewildered by the confusion of navigating a religiously pluralistic society. But once we are seduced by the power of damning others, it’s hard to escape the gravity of the black hole that creates. The way that sons of hell prove their worth and fidelity to God is through their zeal to damn. It becomes no longer sufficient to damn homosexuals, Palestinians, illegal aliens, or people of other religions. Christians who are unwilling to damn others must be damned themselves, as well as Christians who are willing to associate with other Christians who refuse to damn. I wish I were creating a straw man here, but I’ve actually watched religious leaders use the homosexuality issue primarily as a guilt-by-association tactic, accusing each other not of being homosexuals or blessing homosexuality, but of associating with Christians who have inadequately expressed their condemnation of homosexuality. This profoundly bitter fruit has been an enormous witness in my life and the lives of many young evangelicals like me who have been shaped permanently by this age of culture wars.
Part of what I accept as an evangelical Christian is that everything I need to know is in the Bible. But it’s not as straightforward and self-evident as many Christians would like it to be. Luke 6:44 tells me that “each tree is recognized by its fruit.” The Pharisees who argued with and ultimately crucified Jesus were zealous students of the Hebrew scriptures, but the way they applied what they learned made them into sons of hell and a counter-example God gave us to avoid. When Christians pay attention to the witness of the sons of hell, we can be made “competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/4157/did-jesus-endorse-tithing-for-all-when-addressing-the-pharisees says:
ReplyDeleteSo, was Jesus implying that all his followers tithe? Or was he only speaking specifically to the Pharisee who was trying to live under the law?
Actually, I don't know of any Christian denomination or individual that tithes according to the Torah of Moshe. Tithing (עישור) is a relatively complicated process in Judaism, and of course, it's hardly (if at all) practical without a Temple. If Jews cannot tithe without the Temple, then Christians certainly cannot.
With that being said, the general concept behind tithing is support of a ministry. As the Levites ministered in the Temple, and had no particular city or inheritance to lay claim to, they were thus supported by the other Israelites. Christians support the ministry of their pastors and particular churches which likewise serve God and His people.
To be specific, not a single soul tithes according to the Torah since the destruction of the Temple. Therefore, one does not need to look for a verse to support tithing because the endeavor is futile.
On the other hand, if we're talking about the general idea of fiscal support for the ministers of God, then yes, there is a biblical basis for its current practice. Churches freely gave to Paulos in order to support his ministry (cp. 2 Cor. 11:8-9; 1 Cor. 9:6-18). One could not have expected Paulos to have a day-to-day occupation when he was traveling around the region preaching the gospel, could he?
Paulos wrote, "Even so, the Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14), and he declared that he had the authority to not work (1 Cor. 9:6).
So, was Jesus implying that all his followers tithe? Or was he only speaking specifically to the Pharisee who was trying to live under the law?
Actually, the Prushim did not have a choice to obey the commandment to tithe and "live under the Law." They were living in the economy of the Old Covenant, under the παιδαγωγός of the Torah of Moshe, so they were obligated to tithe, for God explicitly commanded it.
Jesus' criticism of the Prushim concerns their "hypocrisy" --- focusing on mitzvot kalot ("light commandments") while neglecting the mitzvot chamurot ("heavy commandments") (cp. Matt. 5:19). They were most scrupulous in tithing and focusing on the mitzvot kalot, but they would pervert justice, lack faith, and be merciless towards the laity.
Who does the pronoun "you" refer to??
One might assume that all Christians are being referred to, but I believe this to be erroneous exegesis. It is clear that Jesus, like those whom he was speaking to, was born "under the Law" (Gal. 4:4). It's hardly realistic for a Christian today to assume that Jesus implored us to tithe. 1) We're not born under the Law, and 2) we live in an economy of grace (Eph. 3:2). It's absolutely imperative that the relevance of the Torah of Moshe is considered. To the Prushim, it was absolutely relevant; to us, it is essentially irrelevant. Christians, whether Jew or Gentile, keep the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2), not the Law of Moshe. Indeed, there is a saying in Midrash Kohelet Rabba that "the Law that man learned in this world is vanity in the presence of the Messiah's Law."
As the Old Covenant passed away, so did the Law of Moshe.
http://truthforfree.com/html/article_tithingmatthew23.html says:
ReplyDeleteJesus was BORN while full obedience to the Mosaic Law was required of Jews; Jesus LIVED while full obedience to the Mosaic Law was required; and he was KILLED while full obedience to the Mosaic Law was still required from Jews! The time-context of Matthew 23:23 is Law and not the New Covenant of grace for the Church.
Gal 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Jesus was telling his disciples about the sins and the woes he was placing on the Old Covenant Pharisees. He was not addressing the church under the New Covenant. Verses 2 and 3 are crucial for a correct understanding of verse 23.
Matt 23:1-2 Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
Jesus was condemning the scribes and Pharisees because of their high position as interpreters of the Law. This is the context of verses 2-12 before the woes on them begin. He is speaking TO his disciples ABOUT the dishonesty of their interpreters of the Mosaic Law. He is not discussing matters relating to the New Covenant church. He is “abasing” or “humbling” them with 8 woes from verses 12-36.
Follow the word, “you.” It is absolutely clear that the “you” of Matthew 23:23 is the “scribes and Pharisees”! “You” neither refers to Jesus’ disciples nor to the church! The scribes and Pharisees were the ones sitting in Moses’ seat –not his disciples. They were the ones interpreting the Law –not his disciples.
http://www.goodnewsarticles.com/Apr09-1.htm says:
ReplyDeleteThe crowds greeted Him with great fanfare, proclaiming and embracing Him as their Messiah. They believed He was coming to establish the kingdom of God in Israel RIGHT THEN. To them, this meant freedom from the Romans, and a return to Israel’s former glory.
You have to realize that at this point in time, there was NO expectation or concept of a Savior who would die for the sin of the world. To the Jews, the Messiah was a Jewish Messiah. He would set up God’s kingdom in the temple, and from there restore Israel to the glory of days past. THAT was it. Few of these people had a frame of reference for anything more.
Even the disciples of Christ were under the impression that the kingdom preached by Jesus was to be a physical one. They expected Jesus to enter the temple in Jerusalem and proclaim Himself Messiah. Again, they had no frame of reference for a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men FIRST – nor for the death and resurrection that was necessary to make this possible.
Notice that just a short time later, after He entered into Jerusalem, that Jesus pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem, indeed, upon all of Israel. In fact, when He entered the temple, He overturned their tables – a significant and highly symbolic acts. He says that their house is left to them desolate. In other words, there was NOTHING left for God to salvage or work with. They had drifted that far away, in their hearts, from God. And then He makes this statement: "You shall not see Me henceforth until you shall say, ‘Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord."
Had not the people just SAID that very thing? Yep. The celebration of His entry into Jerusalem had barely died out, and the echoes of those very words were still in the air. But Jesus acts as if none of it had happened. He acts as if those people had not said, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Instead, He pronounces judgment. And He says they will not see Him again UNTIL they utter those very words – words that they had just proclaimed with great celebration. What is going on here?
As noted, Jesus pronounced a terrible judgment upon Israel. But once we realize that this WAS the Truth, it kind of makes all the celebration of His entry into Jerusalem ring a bit hollow, doesn’t it? Indeed, the fact that Jesus pronounced such a judgment upon Israel has to mean, that despite the words, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" – that despite those words – that Israel in general didn’t really mean them. For if they HAD meant those words, there would have been no need for a pronouncement of judgment. Their house would NOT have been desolate. It would have been filled with the presence of God.
The vital thing to see here is that for these words to be real, they must be a voluntary expression of my heart’s desire for God to come and do His will to His glory. This isn’t a religious exercise. It isn’t me saying what I think God wants to hear. It isn’t obedience under threat of punishment. Rather, it is actually me ASKING God to come – REALLY asking Him because I truly WANT Him. It is me praising the fact that He will.
In reality, if the people who celebrated that day had truly MEANT their words, then when Jesus was on trial, and when He was crucified, they would have protested and continued to embrace Him. But they did NOT. One wonders how many who welcomed Him that day were also in the mob who demanded His death – because they realized He was not going to do what they expected. We don’t know. But we DO know that His own disciples, while they did not directly betray Him as did Judas, did desert Him. And Peter denied Him.
http://www.goodnewsarticles.com/Apr09-1.htm (continued):
ReplyDeleteSometimes when Christian people proclaim, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord," – or whatever we say in our hearts that equals that – we don’t actually realize what we are asking. Are we prepared for TRUTH? For the will of God? No matter what? No matter the cost? What if we invite Christ to come into our lives in that way and He must turn over all of our tables? Often that is the case.
I don’t think the most Christian people are prepared for Truth. I sometimes wonder how many really want it at all.
But you see, ALL OF THAT is something that hinges on whether we will lose ourselves into His hands. If we won’t, we will NOT experience Him in that way, indeed, we won’t even KNOW or have a frame of reference for what we are missing. You can do little more than merely TALK about resurrection if you haven’t actually died. You can memorize the above verse about needed to lose your life all you want. But the question is, when God brings the opportunity, will we lose it? We cannot FIND the Truth, and His LIFE, any other way.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, those people thought He was coming to give them what they wanted – yes, God’s kingdom – but THEIR way, according to THEIR understanding. Thus, when Jesus died in order to bring God’s kingdom GOD’S way, most of them would not accept it. They were not willing to LOSE themselves to God.
Today Christians are being taught to welcome Jesus into their lives as Lord – but on THEIR TERMS, and not according to the Truth.
Thus, Peter, when we was trying to get Jesus to avoid the Cross, and bring in the kingdom ANOTHER way, was actually being used of Satan at that point to try to tempt Jesus. Peter, in his ignorance of the Truth, was being a mouthpiece for another gospel – that of Satan himself.
After rebuking Peter by saying, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for you savor not the things that be of God, but those that be of men," which partly defines the gospel of Satan – it savors the things of man, rather than of God – Jesus cuts right to the point. He says, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
Here was have the TWO gospels. The gospel of Satan states that we should possess our lives for ourselves. Not necessarily in a sinful, rebellious, or immoral way. But maybe even in a GOOD and religious way.
The true gospel of Jesus Christ, which Jesus stated to Peter that day was that we must LOSE our lives in order to FIND HIS. The gospel of Satan suggests that we must save our lives in order to FIND HIS – and that it is the will of God to help us do so. Of course, the reason why people fall for this deception is that it seems frightening to lose your life. But if we only realized it, what we are losing is worthless. What we will find is priceless. But we will never see this unless we believe it.
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p100402.pdf says:
ReplyDeleteThese are examples of Space Prophecies that occur at a particular location. The location is the city of
Jerusalem. They are also Time Prophecies. They occur within a particular time frame. In these passages
certain events must happen before the prophecies take place and other events will occur after they take
place.1 At some unknown time future to us at Jerusalem, prophesied events will take place that will surprise
the world.
What then are Luke 34–35 and Matthew 21:37–39 saying? First, they both prophesy the destruction of
Jerusalem which occurred in 70 AD. Then the focus changes from the destruction of 70 AD to a prophetic
event that takes place later.
In these passages Jesus prophesies future people of Jerusalem will recognize who Jesus was when
He first came in the 1st century.
Then they will announce their recognition by publicly declaring that He is the “Blessed” one “that
comes in the name of the Lord.”
The people of Jerusalem will make that declaration before Christ returns to this earth.
Christ will not return until they make that declaration and call Him “Blessed.”
The people of Jerusalem will make the same cry again at some future time. In Luke 13:35 and Matthew
23:39 Jesus says that Jerusalem will not see Him again until (1) they acknowledge Him as their Messiah,
and (2) call Him “Blessed.” He will not come before that time. He will not be seen by the people of Jerusalem
until that happens. Before they acknowledge and declare for Him, they must seek after Him.
This is a Time Prophecy future to us. It is a Space Prophecy future to us. Watch Jerusalem. Watch for
a conversion of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) receiving God’s spirit of grace
and supplication upon them so that they will call Jesus “Blessed” as they did at the time of Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem. Jesus said He will not be seen until the people of Jerusalem quote Psalm 118:26 and mean it!