February
3rd Matthew
23
Christ condemns leaders
1:
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2: Saying,
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3: All therefore
whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye
after their works: for they say, and do not. 4: For they bind heavy
burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders;
but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5:
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad
their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6: And
love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, 7: And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men,
Rabbi, Rabbi. 8: But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9: And call no man your father
upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10:
Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11: But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12: And
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall
humble himself shall be exalted. 13: But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are
entering to go in. 14: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make
long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea
and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16: Woe unto you, ye
blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is
nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a
debtor! 17: Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or
the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18: And, Whosoever shall swear
by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that
is upon it, he is guilty. 19: Ye fools and blind: for whether is
greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20: Whoso
therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things
thereon. 21: And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and
by him that dwelleth therein. 22: And he that shall swear by heaven,
sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of
mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of
the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and
not to leave the other undone. 24: Ye blind guides, which strain at a
gnat, and swallow a camel. 25: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26: Thou
blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27: Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited
sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within
full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28: Even so ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity. 29: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish
the sepulchres of the righteous, 30: And say, If we had been in the
days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in
the blood of the prophets. 31: Wherefore ye be witnesses unto
yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the
prophets. 32: Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33: Ye
serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell? 34: Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of
them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from
city to city: 35: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed
upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of
Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the
altar. 36: Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon
this generation.
Christ
weeps for Jerusalem
37:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not! 38: Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate. 39: For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth,
till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Christ
gives a general warning regarding the religious leaders of his day.
He says they are, all talk but no action. They are uncaring; they are
full of self importance. They love prestige. They love being called
Rabbi. They make it difficult for men to enter the Kingdom. They play
at religion. They are greedy for money that should be given to the
poor. They are blind yet they insist on leading the blind. They are
twisted in their thinking. They think only of little things but
ignore the big things. They are petty. They are full of wickedness
while pretending to be holy. They are like whitewashed tombs which
look all clean outside but inside they stink. They glory in their
heritage yet they confess themselves to be the sons of murderers.
They are snakes. They are guilty of murder. They are waiting the
judgment of God. What a warning Christ gives.
- What were the religious leaders of Christs day like?
- How might we avoid being like them today?
- How did Christ feel for his capitol city and the people there?
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