Matthew 23:13, 15-39

Matthew 23:13, 15-39 NIV

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in peopleʼs faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by Godʼs throne and by the one who sits on it.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

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This heart wrenching monologue from Jesus to the Pharisees is explosive. As I read it I hear His utter pain, frustration and dismay over the hardness of their hearts. The term translated as "woe" is an expression of grief. Another translation might use the word "alas". The idea is that Jesus feels sad for these men. "How sad for you" might be an appropriate translation.

Often when we use the word woe, it's more like a warning or condemnation. It's easy to read Jesus as angry and totally blasting His opponents in a slew of outbursts against them. Perhaps that is exactly what is happening. I've read this passage that way for years. Is Jesus putting a curse upon the Pharisees? "Sadness and misery be your lot" might be another way to read the term.

To understand what Jesus is saying, and perhaps feeling, the context in which the word is used will guide our interpretation. Hosea gives us a good idea of the use of the word woe in writing about Israel.

“Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me” (Hosea 7:13)

Clearly the tone of judgment is present in this use of the word woe. Jesus' use is very similar. He sounds a lot like the prophet Hosea, which is a variance on the name Yeshua or Jesus. What is the most telling of Jesus' feelings toward the Pharisees at the time can be seen in the following verses.

"...you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
...on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Matthew 23:15, 28, 33 NIV

Jesus says these men are children of hell, full of hypocrisy and wickedness, and condemned to hell. That's pretty scathing. I'd say Jesus is certainly pronouncing judgement upon this group. The question for me is, "Does Jesus pronounce judgments with righteous hot anger or with sadness and pity?" To answer that question I need to read Jesus in the context of the whole bible.

The first thought that comes to mind is the suffering servant imagery in Isaiah. This passage has been adopted by Christians as a prophecy about messiah.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53:5, 7 NIV

The tenderness and humility of Christ is reflected here.

Now let's look at Jesus' teachings earlier in Matthew. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you, to not return evil for evil but to turn the other cheek.

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:39, 44 NIV

And upon the cross Jesus asked for our forgiveness, including the very men who were behind His crucifixion.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

In Matthew 23 Jesus refers to His opponents as blind fools and blind guides. Might Jesus pity them rather than hate them? Though the rhetoric here seems hateful to our sensibilities, let us remember the man Jesus. He was capable of showing anger, but more often than not He was full of compassion, love and mercy.

As I read this prophetic lament for the hypocritical Pharisees, I choose to read it in a tone of sad admission of the consequences to come. Jesus sighs in deep sadness for these men and pronounces their doom. It is not Jesus who is cursing them. They've condemned themselves by shutting Christ out.

Jesus predicts that they will kill and flog and persecute Christian teachers and prophets that He will send in His name. The Acts of the Apostles confirms that is what happened. The apostles were killed and persecuted, beaten and imprisoned for their testimony about Christ. But this is merely the way Israel has always behaved. Israel is a mirror to all humanity. We all deny Christ by shutting the door to His kingdom and choosing the world instead. By doing so we add to the number of people in the way of those trying to get into the kingdom. For the kingdom of heaven is among us, not simply a happy ever after land.

I could go into each of the seven woes and their meaning, but they seem fairly clear to understand. What's important is to hear the warning. What's important is to pray for those who are lost like these men in the gospel of Matthew. What's important is that you find your way into the kingdom of heaven by avoiding the behavior and blindness of the Pharisees.

Open our eyes, Lord, and give us hearts that trust in You. Amen.