Final Wake-up Call
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them upon people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all these deeds to be seen by others." Matt. 23:1-5, ESV.
The verbal climax of Jesus' struggle with the scribes and Pharisees takes place in Matthew 23. Up to this point, He has done all He can to wake them up, but to no avail. Now the time for soft words and roundabout tactics is over. In His love, Jesus now makes a frontal assault. His time is running out, and they still have not heard Him.
Matthew 23 falls into three sections that run along a unified theme. Verses 1 to 12, given in the third person, present five characteristics for which Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees. But before presenting them, Jesus highlights the importance of the office of the scribes and Pharisees. They "sit on Moses' seat" (verse 2). That is, they have the high privilege and responsibility of teaching God's Word to His people. It is in the light of that sacred and weighty role that we must view their shortcomings. Their faults are all the more serious because of their position.
Before looking at the negative characteristics described in this chapter, we need to recognize that not all Pharisees were bad as those portrayed here. The Pharisees themselves had some of the same condemnations for their less-responsible fellows as did Jesus.
Another thing we should keep in mind is that Christian leaders and lay-people often emulate the traits of the Pharisees. While the Pharisees formed a historic party in Judaism, their spirit is rooted in human nature. Thus we Christians need to read the criticism of Matthew 23 with ourselves in mind.
Whenever we fail to practice what we preach (verse 3), are unwilling to carry out in our own lives what we prescribe for others (verse 4), love the show-off value of our religious accomplishments (verse 5), revel in honorific titles and in being shown respect (verses 6-10), and fail to realize that our ministry is a call to sacrificial service rather than an exalted status (verses 11, 12), we are acting as the worst of the Pharisees rather than follower of Jesus.
Help me, Lord, to come to grips with my own shortcomings in the light of Your life and Word.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you--but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them upon people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all these deeds to be seen by others." Matt. 23:1-5, ESV.
The verbal climax of Jesus' struggle with the scribes and Pharisees takes place in Matthew 23. Up to this point, He has done all He can to wake them up, but to no avail. Now the time for soft words and roundabout tactics is over. In His love, Jesus now makes a frontal assault. His time is running out, and they still have not heard Him.
Matthew 23 falls into three sections that run along a unified theme. Verses 1 to 12, given in the third person, present five characteristics for which Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees. But before presenting them, Jesus highlights the importance of the office of the scribes and Pharisees. They "sit on Moses' seat" (verse 2). That is, they have the high privilege and responsibility of teaching God's Word to His people. It is in the light of that sacred and weighty role that we must view their shortcomings. Their faults are all the more serious because of their position.
Before looking at the negative characteristics described in this chapter, we need to recognize that not all Pharisees were bad as those portrayed here. The Pharisees themselves had some of the same condemnations for their less-responsible fellows as did Jesus.
Another thing we should keep in mind is that Christian leaders and lay-people often emulate the traits of the Pharisees. While the Pharisees formed a historic party in Judaism, their spirit is rooted in human nature. Thus we Christians need to read the criticism of Matthew 23 with ourselves in mind.
Whenever we fail to practice what we preach (verse 3), are unwilling to carry out in our own lives what we prescribe for others (verse 4), love the show-off value of our religious accomplishments (verse 5), revel in honorific titles and in being shown respect (verses 6-10), and fail to realize that our ministry is a call to sacrificial service rather than an exalted status (verses 11, 12), we are acting as the worst of the Pharisees rather than follower of Jesus.
Help me, Lord, to come to grips with my own shortcomings in the light of Your life and Word.
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