{"id":850,"date":"2024-09-13T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=850&2024"},"modified":"2024-09-10T18:00:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T00:00:20","slug":"the-pharisee-trap-matthew-23-1-36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/the-pharisee-trap-matthew-23-1-36\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pharisee Trap: Matthew 23:1-36"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 23:1-36 (NASB)<\/div>

1<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2<\/sup>\u00a0saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;<\/span> 3<\/sup>\u00a0therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things<\/em> and do not do them.<\/em><\/span> 4<\/sup>\u00a0They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as<\/em> a finger.<\/span> 5<\/sup>\u00a0But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *<\/span>I.e. small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the left arm and forehead for religious purposes<\/span>phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.<\/em><\/span> 6<\/sup>\u00a0They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,<\/span> 7<\/sup>\u00a0and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.<\/span> 8<\/sup>\u00a0But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.<\/span> 9<\/sup>\u00a0Do not call anyone<\/em> on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.<\/span> 10<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is,<\/em> Christ.<\/span> 11<\/sup>\u00a0But the greatest among you shall be your servant.<\/span> 12<\/sup>\u00a0Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.<\/span><\/p>

13<\/sup>\u00a0“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.<\/span> 14<\/sup>\u00a0[*<\/span>This v not found in early mss<\/span>Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.<\/span>] <\/p>

15<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.<\/span> <\/p>

16<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that<\/em> is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’<\/span> 17<\/sup>\u00a0You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?<\/span> 18<\/sup>\u00a0And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that<\/em> is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’<\/span> 19<\/sup>\u00a0You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?<\/span> 20<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both<\/em> by the altar and by everything on it.<\/span> 21<\/sup>\u00a0And whoever swears by the temple, swears both<\/em> by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.<\/span> 22<\/sup>\u00a0And whoever swears by heaven, swears both<\/em> by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.<\/span> <\/p>

23<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.<\/span> 24<\/sup>\u00a0You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!<\/span> <\/p>

25<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.<\/span> 26<\/sup>\u00a0You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.<\/span> <\/p>

27<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.<\/span> 28<\/sup>\u00a0So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.<\/span> <\/p>

29<\/sup>\u00a0“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,<\/span> 30<\/sup>\u00a0and say, ‘If we had been living<\/em> in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding<\/em> the blood of the prophets.’<\/span> 31<\/sup>\u00a0So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.<\/span> 32<\/sup>\u00a0Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt<\/em> of your fathers.<\/span> 33<\/sup>\u00a0You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?<\/span> <\/p>

34<\/sup>\u00a0“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,<\/span> 35<\/sup>\u00a0so that upon you may fall the guilt of<\/em> all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.<\/span> 36<\/sup>\u00a0Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.<\/span><\/p>

Read Matthew 23:1-36<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

During Jesus\u2019 warning statements to His followers and the crowd regarding the religious leaders, He concludes by drawing our attention onto an interesting statement that reveals a profound insight into human nature. By sharing this statement, Jesus in many ways incriminates everyone in all history who has ever displayed a similar \u201cself-righteous\u201d attitude like these religious leaders had done.<\/p>\r\n

Matthew shares Jesus\u2019 caution towards and against the scribes and Pharisees by saying, \u201cWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, \u2018If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.\u2019 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 29-31)<\/p>\r\n

In this challenge, Jesus essentially puts words in the scribes\u2019 and Pharisees\u2019 mouths, and then He uses those words to discredit their position. However, while this might sound like an underhanded tactic, the only way Jesus could have successfully pulled this off is if this was a legitimate reflection of the attitude these religious leaders had. By claiming they would have acted differently than their fathers, they are subtly associating themselves with the actions of those who went against God\u2019s will many centuries and generations ago.<\/p>\r\n

A few verses later, Jesus emphasizes all the wrong that these leaders are associating with by saying, \u201cTherefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 34-35)<\/p>\r\n

The claim the scribes and Pharisees were making highlights a trait that most, if not all, humans exhibit. This trait is thinking that we would act differently than someone else if we were placed in the exact same circumstances that they were in. If we were raised in the same way they were raised and if we were placed in the exact same decision they faced \u2013 all without knowing the outcome \u2013 we maybe would choose something different, but we are fooling ourselves to think or say that we definitely would act differently. There is truly no way of making an accurate comparison between what happened then vs. what we would do knowing what we know.<\/p>\r\n

This understanding highlights how the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus\u2019 day had a very \u201cself-righteous\u201d attitude, and it is this attitude that Jesus is challenging them on. For us living today, pushing back at this characteristic of human nature will help us remain humble and more Christ-like, and it is only by letting the past be the past that we will ever be able to truly move into the future.<\/p>\r\n

God sent Jesus to the earth to help us know Him better, and even though these religious leaders rejected Jesus, they did so because they had a flawed view of God and a self-righteous attitude. While it\u2019s easy for us to fall into the same trap, focusing on Jesus is the only way for us to beat the trap and truly be free.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During Jesus\u2019 warning statements to His followers and the crowd regarding the religious leaders, He concludes by drawing our attention onto an interesting statement that reveals a profound insight into human nature. 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