Wrong Ways to "Play Church"
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves....Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Matt. 23:15-24, RSV.
The second section of Matthew 23, running from verses 13 through 32, Jesus presents in the second person. He enumerates the condemnations in this section in the form of seven "woes." In addition the segment calls the scribes and Pharisees "hypocrites" (play actors) six times and "blind" five times. At this point the confrontation of Jesus with the Jewish leaders has reached fever pitch. Even though He uttered His words in love, it is impossible to avoid their pointedness.
Here, as we noted earlier, before we get too critical of the ancient Jews, we need to realize that their faults tend to be a common characteristic of those who like to "play church," whether they be laity or clergy. The seven woes teach us that a great deal of difference exists between playing church and living the religion of Jesus.
The first woe deals with the failure of entering the kingdom while at the same time blocking others from entering (verse 13). Jesus, of course, had in mind the actions and words of the Pharisees that kept their follower from developing a faith relationship with Him. But the modern church still has its quota of such activity. The restricting can result from discouraging others through playing the role of the hypocrite, by perverting the teaching of Scripture, or by living a loveless life. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much skill or dedication to be a stumbling block to others.
The second woe focuses on those self-sacrificing types who do all they can to convert people to their legalistic ways. The upshot is that such converts wind up more miserable than before they encountered the missionaries' perverted view of religion (verse 15).
The final woe (verses 29-32) hits directly at the "monument keeping" of much organized religion. The greatest monument to true religion is not some celebration of the major religious events and personages of the past, but the spirit of the prophets living in our own lives in the present.
Sobering indeed are the ways good, sincere, religious people can go wrong. The seven woes are a call to self-examination and rededication for each of us.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves....Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Matt. 23:15-24, RSV.
The second section of Matthew 23, running from verses 13 through 32, Jesus presents in the second person. He enumerates the condemnations in this section in the form of seven "woes." In addition the segment calls the scribes and Pharisees "hypocrites" (play actors) six times and "blind" five times. At this point the confrontation of Jesus with the Jewish leaders has reached fever pitch. Even though He uttered His words in love, it is impossible to avoid their pointedness.
Here, as we noted earlier, before we get too critical of the ancient Jews, we need to realize that their faults tend to be a common characteristic of those who like to "play church," whether they be laity or clergy. The seven woes teach us that a great deal of difference exists between playing church and living the religion of Jesus.
The first woe deals with the failure of entering the kingdom while at the same time blocking others from entering (verse 13). Jesus, of course, had in mind the actions and words of the Pharisees that kept their follower from developing a faith relationship with Him. But the modern church still has its quota of such activity. The restricting can result from discouraging others through playing the role of the hypocrite, by perverting the teaching of Scripture, or by living a loveless life. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much skill or dedication to be a stumbling block to others.
The second woe focuses on those self-sacrificing types who do all they can to convert people to their legalistic ways. The upshot is that such converts wind up more miserable than before they encountered the missionaries' perverted view of religion (verse 15).
The final woe (verses 29-32) hits directly at the "monument keeping" of much organized religion. The greatest monument to true religion is not some celebration of the major religious events and personages of the past, but the spirit of the prophets living in our own lives in the present.
Sobering indeed are the ways good, sincere, religious people can go wrong. The seven woes are a call to self-examination and rededication for each of us.
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