Matthew 23:23-36, Seven Woes Continued

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Comments

The scribes and Pharisees ignored the godly attributes of faithfulness, mercy, and justice by focusing on tithing every garden herb and straining gnats! They failed to distinguish between internal purity and external ritual correctness. Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” so that his hearers would avoid them. Since a person became unclean upon touching a tomb, they were whitewashed during Jerusalem temple festivals so people would notice and avoid them.

These men proved themselves to be sons of the worst of their forefathers. They would soon kill The Prophet (Jesus). While Abel and Zechariah were the first and last martyrs of the Old Covenant, Jesus’ bloody death would bring in a new covenant. The coming of Jesus, and his rejection by his own people, brought Israel’s rebellion to the point where judgment could no longer be delayed. They would be the last generation of the Old Covenant.

Prayer

My Lord and my God, take me from all that keeps me from thee.

My Lord and my God, grant me all that leads me to thee.

My Lord and my God, take me from myself and give me completely to thee.

(Nicholas of Flue, 1217-1487)