Woe! It's not a word we use in daily language, but in today's passage, Jesus uses it seven times as a warning to these hypocritical teachers of the law. He's warning them with the word "woe" that great and terrible distress will be the consequence of these things He has seen in them. Let's see to it that we are working on these areas in our own lives...
“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." How have we shut the door of the kingdom in people's faces? Perhaps our own hypocritical actions make it difficult for people to want to come to Jesus. We say that we love people, yet we never give of our time or money. We say that we love Jesus, but we don't speak about Him. People are watching us. How I pray that it is never because of me that someone says no to Jesus.
“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." This is why the Bible warns so strongly about the responsibility of people who call themselves leaders and teachers. We need leaders and teachers, but they, especially when it come to teaching The Word, have a greater weight upon them. People become like their teachers! People often become an even greater version of whatever their teacher is and does. In the Pharisees case, they were winning converts all over the world, but the converts would become more of a hypocrite than even their teachers! If we are teachers, leaders, mentors, parents, or in any place of authority, we must make sure that we are not just saying the Word but living it out for those who are watching and imitating us.
“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." I think studying this part might take a little more time than I have this morning in order to look up all the historical truths about swearing by things like the temple or the gold of the temple. But the verse that seems to stick out to me most is "Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?" If there is any quarrel among whose gift is greater, that is so petty compared to He who is greater than any gift, and who even allows us to give any gift. It seems like the Pharisees were giving rankings on how people could "swear by" things, and obviously, that is a man-made law. Instead, may we lead people to follow God's laws, for those are the ones that really matter.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of 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." Here is a matter of focus. Since God says to give a tenth of all we have, we take that sum out of our paychecks, joyfully give it to the Lord, and that's that. But the Pharisees were giving their tithe, then going through their whole houses, including the spice cabinet, and measuring out a tenth of those, too! But that's just silly! If you have tithed from your paycheck, you need not go through the house and be so meticulous about giving a tenth of all your spices, lawn fertilizer, or hair products. So, the Pharisees were so concerned about all of those things, yet they failed to do the most important things, Jesus says, like acting justly, giving mercy, and walking faithfully with God. If we weren't sure before, we know now: these are what God desires most from us. If we aren't focused on that, we are missing the boat completely! And what about that gnat? In those days, to accidentally swallow a gnat would have been unclean. So, they strained all their water, so that they wouldn't possibly swallow a gnat. But again, Jesus says they are focusing on the wrong things. Swallow a stinkin' gnat for cryin' out loud -- but don't swallow this huge camel of unforgiveness or self-righteousness or hypocrisy!
Where are we focused on the wrong things? Are we involved in every last detail of everything in our lives, yet we are ignoring what is really important? It is so easy to get wrapped up in making sure our home is spotless, our bodies are buff, and our kids are perfect, yet we have failed to spend time on what really matters. Today, may we have three goals: acting justly, giving mercy, and walking faithfully with God (as it says in verse 23). Don't worry about the stuff. Worry about the condition of your heart, give attention to it -- focus on that. If we are not careful, we will miss the most important things. Watch out!
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