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Upbraiding
The Scribes And Pharisees
– Matthew Twenty-Three –
The wrath of that meek and lowly man of
Jesus wanted His disciples to be warned about
these Pharisees and teachers of the law. Their hypocrisy had caused many
unbelievers to be hardened. Jesus lamented that these unbelievers have no hope
of being in His heavenly kingdom. He pronounced several woes on these people
that He identified as "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." He mourned
deeply over the unbelief that He observed in
Woe to those that are religious for the wrong
motives – Matthew 23:1-12: Jesus taught His followers to "observe
and do" what the Pharisees taught as they, "sat in Moses' seat."
They knew and understood the law well enough to explain and teach it to people.
But the warning also followed, "Do not do according to their works: for
they say, and do not do." (Matthew 23:3)
The Pharisees were guilty because they made religion an impossible burden, "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Matthew 23:4) They loaded the people with impossible encumbrances, however they refused to carry those burdens themselves.
These religious leaders became a stumbling
block to the person that wanted to learn and live in God's way. They did this
because their spiritual motives were all wrong: (1) Their works were to be seen
of men (Matthew 23:5), (2) They loved the chief seats (Matthew 23:6), and (3)
Religious titles had a great appeal to them. (Matthew 23:7-10) They were proud
and arrogant. They were haughty and self-righteous, and they had little or no
respect for the common people. Jesus taught them the lesson of true greatness
by saying, "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant."
(Matthew 23:11) Christians should always remember that, "Whoever exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
(Matthew 23:12)
Woe to you scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrites – Matthew 23:13-24: Woes were pronounced because the
Pharisees would not enter the kingdom themselves and hindered those that would
enter. (Matthew 23:13) They did this by perverting what the prophets had
foretold about the Messiah, and then teaching their perversions to people.
Imagine a religion that would allow you to make long prayers and at the same
time steal houses from widows. (Matthew 23:14) They would steal the widows house in the self-righteous pretense that it was for
God.
The Pharisees would go around the world to make a proselyte and
when he was made he was worse than they. (Matthew 23:15) They go out for
converts and bring them under their own evil doctrines and practices of
thievery. Just look around you in our modern day religious orders, the rip-off
artist demand a high price in this day and use much of the contributions on
themselves. Their schemes hammer on your emotions while they steel you blind.
These people quote the scripture, however they never teach the scripture and
are never touched by the scriptures.
The Pharisees even found ways to break their
promises to God. "Whoever shall swear by the temple it is nothing"
(Matthew
More woes for the Scribes, Pharisees, Hypocrites – Matthew 23:25-33: The scribes and
Pharisees were not clean on the inside, in their heart, where it mattered. They
were religiously beautiful on the outside but were very corrupt within. They
pretended to have such respect for all the prophets that their fathers had
killed! They honored the prophets and built their tombs. They would even
garnish their sepulchres. They did all of this but
they were still corrupt on the inside. God wants the outside right, but that
begins with a change from within.
Jesus saw straight through the Pharisees. He
looks at the heart of man! They looked beautiful on the outside but inwardly,
they were full of hypocrisy, envy, haughtiness, lust, and malice. He pictured
the result of the Pharisees religion in these shocking words, "Serpents,
brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" (Matthew
23:33) They rebelled against the
Light of Christ Himself, that He still brings into the world today.
Weeping over the city of
Jesus did not give up on the Jews. He looked
at them with love, mercy, compassion, and a desire that they would repent of
their sins and live godly for Christ Jesus. He compassionately lamented the
fact that
To be a child of God a number of changes must
take place. Faith changes the heart. (Hebrews 11:6) Repentance changes the
life. (Acts
- - - - Charles Box
News & Notes
1. Prayer List: In Need Of Prayers: Linda Bender, Mae Beverly,
Janice Box, Marie Curlee, Chris Duncan, Roy Goodwin, Montine Hardin, Latrelle
Harrell, Evan Hartsell, Billy Heartsill, Mary Jo Hoffman, Jerry Johnson, Wanda
Kyser, Mary Lawrence, Joanna Moore (mother of Greg Moore), Glenn Phillips, Mary
Powell, Jack Queener, Ottey Simno, Ralph Sims, Nell Shanklin, Brenda Stallings
(mother of Kimberly Hittell), Earl Walden (brother-in-law of Elizabeth Perdue),
Mary Williams and Melissa Woodruff. Crowne Health Care: Kathy Johnson, Myrtle
Perdue, and Iva Lou Wright.
2. Baptized Into Christ: Pete and Delois
Smith where baptized this week. Their address is
3. Sympathy Expressed: Our love and sympathy is expressed to James
Alford and his family in the death of his mother, Florence Alford.
4. Wedding Announcement: Miss Donna Paulene Patterson and Steven
Michael Hoffman request the honor of your presence as they are united in
marriage Saturday, the twenty-eighth of July Two thousand and seven at
5. New Grandchildren: Congratulation to: (a) Jennifer and Chip Shealy on the birth of their twin daughters,
Eva Ruth and Sophia Ellen. They were born July 10th. Proud
grandmother is Becky McCreary (b)
Cindy and Shane Arrowood on the birth of their son, Bryson. He was born July 14th.
Proud grandparents are Tim and Trina Croley.
6. Please Pray For: The following people are serving in
7. Mail For Jason Godwin: The only way to
communicate with Jason Godwin is through his e-mail,
jason.e.godwin@us.army.mil. This will be used until he comes home. The mailing
address is no longer any good.
8. Birthdays: Celebrating birthdays this week are: July
25th Tricia Lett, and July 27th Dustin Harrell
and Doris Taylor.
9. Thank You: (a) Dear Walnut Street Family, Thank you all so much
for the wonderful meal you prepared for our family at our time of loss. The
food (of course) was wonderful! Thanks also for the visits, cards, phone calls,
and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate every-thing you all
have done for us!
10.
11. Vacation Bible School A Great Success: VBS
2007 was a great success. A big THANK YOU to all that had a
part in it. God bless you.
12. Margaret Munro’s Birthday Party: Everyone is invited to a
birthday party to celebrate Margaret Munro’s 90th birthday on August
11th from
Christian
The name “Christian” is one, which many in
the world claim. There are those who profess to be Christians just to appear
religious to men. There are those who
assert their Christianity because they possess some type of faith in Christ. And
there are those who declare that they are Christians because they have humbled
themselves before God, and have submitted to His will. “Christ” is the root word
of “Christian,” which by definition means,
“devoted follower, and compliant to the will of Christ.”
In light of this definition, let us look at
some things that a Christian is not, according to the Bible. First, a Christian is not merely a good,
moral person. According to Acts 10:2, Cornelius was a good man. But he and his
household were still in need of salvation…they were not yet Christians
(Acts11:14). There is no reason why a good person should refrain from
submitting to the will of God, yet many will, and they will be lost. Secondly, a Christian is not just any religious person. When Paul
addressed the Areopagus, he commented, “I perceive that in all things you are
very religious” (Acts
A Christian is a new creature in Christ (John 3:3-5). He is living a new life in Christ (Colossians 3:1-10). He is a part of God’s kingdom (Colossians
- - - - Darrell Powell
A godly
person prays often even if he doesn’t want anything.
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)