The Gospel According to
Matthew 23
38 verses≈ 6 min3 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Woes to Scribes and Pharisees
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
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They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.
But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.
The greatest among you shall be your servant.
Matthew 23:11
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
One Teacher
Whiteboard
The teachers of the Law loved their titles. Jesus points every title upward: one Teacher, one Father, one Instructor. That leaves everyone else on the same level: “you are all brothers,” and the only greatness left is to serve.
Reflect
Done to be seen
Jesus says of the teachers of the Law, “All their deeds are done for men to see.” Think about something good you did this week. Who were you hoping would notice? What would it look like to do the same thing if only God saw it?
Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
Matthew 23:17
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
Question
Quick question
They tithed even the herbs in their gardens, and still missed the point.
Which three ‘weightier matters of the law’ does Jesus say they had neglected?
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Matthew 23:36
Lament over Jerusalem
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
0:24
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Matthew 23:39
Pray
Under His wings
After all the woes, Jesus grieves: “how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!” His hardest words come from a heart that wants to gather, not to scatter. Bring Him whatever you have been holding back, and ask to be gathered in.
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Matthew 23
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A verse to carry with you
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
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