1 “Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees” Matthew 23:1333 Message by Michael J. Barnard June 7, 2015 Teaching Aim: To see the connection between “the eight Beatitudes” at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and “the eight woes” at the end. To understand it is not outward religion that saves us, but repentance from sin on the inside and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, this should be evidenced by the way we live our lives. (See Eph. 2:810) DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD’S WORD (BIBLE STUDY) Part I: The Pharisaical crime of keeping others from entering the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 23:1315) 1. The Old Testament speaks of two specific kinds of oracles: “oracles of weal” (blessing) and “oracles of woe” (doom). What kind of oracle did Jesus use in “the eight beatitudes” found in Matt. 5:110? What kind of oracle does He use throughout Matthew 23? 2. What does Jesus call the scribes and Pharisees in verse 13? What is a “hypocrite”? (See Dictionary) According to Jesus, what were these socalled religious leaders doing to those who followed their teachings? How does verse 13 contrast the first beatitude in Matt. 5:3? Were the scribes and Pharisees headed to heaven themselves, or were they headed someplace else? How should we apply this teaching of Jesus to our lives today? 3. Verse 14 is missing from many modern Bible translations, however it is found in both Mark 12:3840 and Luke 20:4647. What should the scribes and Pharisees have been doing for the widows in mourning? (See Exod. 22:2224; Deut. 10:1718; Isa. 1:17) What were they doing instead? How does verse 14 contrast the second beatitude in Matt. 5:4? What was wrong with the lengthy prayers of the scribes and Pharisees? What does Jesus teach us about the topic of hell in verse 14? 4. Today we don’t see Jewish evangelistic crusades on TV; for the most part the Jewish people stay to themselves and have become isolationists. What can we learn from verse 15 about the Pharisees of Jesus’ day? What form of religion were they evangelizing the people to? Are some modern evangelists and TV preachers leading people to a false Christianity today? If so, how? How does verse 15 contrast with the third beatitude in Matt. 5:5?
4
Embed
DD Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees - 1 PartIII:It’snotwhatisontheoutsidethatcounts,butwhatisontheinsideandtowhomwe live%our%lives%for%(Matt.%23:25"31)!...
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
“Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees” Matthew 23:13-‐33
Message by Michael J. Barnard June 7, 2015 Teaching Aim: To see the connection between “the eight Beatitudes” at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and “the eight woes” at the end. To understand it is not outward religion that saves us, but repentance from sin on the inside and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, this should be evidenced by the way we live our lives. (See Eph. 2:8-‐10)
DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD’S WORD (BIBLE STUDY) Part I: The Pharisaical crime of keeping others from entering the kingdom of heaven (Matt.
23:13-‐15) 1. The Old Testament speaks of two specific kinds of oracles: “oracles of weal” (blessing) and “oracles of
woe” (doom). What kind of oracle did Jesus use in “the eight beatitudes” found in Matt. 5:1-‐10? What kind of oracle does He use throughout Matthew 23?
2. What does Jesus call the scribes and Pharisees in verse 13? What is a “hypocrite”? (See Dictionary)
According to Jesus, what were these so-‐called religious leaders doing to those who followed their teachings? How does verse 13 contrast the first beatitude in Matt. 5:3? Were the scribes and Pharisees headed to heaven themselves, or were they headed someplace else? How should we apply this teaching of Jesus to our lives today?
3. Verse 14 is missing from many modern Bible translations, however it is found in both Mark 12:38-‐40
and Luke 20:46-‐47. What should the scribes and Pharisees have been doing for the widows in mourning? (See Exod. 22:22-‐24; Deut. 10:17-‐18; Isa. 1:17) What were they doing instead? How does verse 14 contrast the second beatitude in Matt. 5:4? What was wrong with the lengthy prayers of the scribes and Pharisees? What does Jesus teach us about the topic of hell in verse 14?
4. Today we don’t see Jewish evangelistic crusades on TV; for the most part the Jewish people stay to
themselves and have become isolationists. What can we learn from verse 15 about the Pharisees of Jesus’ day? What form of religion were they evangelizing the people to? Are some modern evangelists and TV preachers leading people to a false Christianity today? If so, how? How does verse 15 contrast with the third beatitude in Matt. 5:5?
2
Part II: A misguided understanding of God and His Law (Matt. 23:16-‐24) 1. What does Jesus call the scribes and Pharisees in verse 16? Why? Verses 16-‐22 talks about making
promises by swearing oaths never intended to be kept. What was so hypocritical about these oaths? Have you ever said jokingly, “I swear to God” while having no intention of meaning it literally? Why is it wrong to bring God into it? Will God hold you accountable for using Him as your witness? (See 1 John 1:9) How does verse 16 contrast with the fourth beatitude in Matt. 5:6?
2. According to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees tithed right down to the tiny vegetation in their gardens,
was there anything wrong in doing this (vs. 23)? Does Jesus condemn them for their tithing? What percentage of Christians do you think tithe today on a regular basis? Why do you think so few “Christians” tithe?
3. Some of the scariest words in the Bible are found coming from the lips of Jesus in Matt. 5:20, what
are they? We look down on the scribes and Pharisees today because of their hypocrisy, but are we any better? At least they tithed. The problem with the Pharisees was the kind or “righteousness” they relied upon, what did they rely upon? Whose righteousness are we to rely upon today as born-‐again Christians? (See Rom. 3:21-‐22; 2 Cor. 5:21)
4. According to Jesus, what had the scribes and Pharisees neglected (vs. 23b)? (See vs. 14) How does
verse 23 contrast the fifth beatitude in Matt. 5:7? What does Jesus call these individuals as a result (vs. 24)? What had Jesus earlier said would happen to blind guides and those who followed their leading? (See Matt. 15:14)
5. According to the Book of Leviticus, what was among the smallest of the unclean creatures? (See Lev.
11:20-‐23,41)? What was the largest unclean animal living in Israel? (See Lev. 11:4) What is the meaning of the word “hyperbole”? (See Dictionary) How is Jesus using hyperbole here to make His point? What are some of the gnats that bother us in the lives of other Christians? What camels are you allowing in your own life?
3
Part III: It’s not what is on the outside that counts, but what is on the inside and to whom we live our lives for (Matt. 23:25-‐31)
1. What does Jesus criticize the scribes and Pharisees for doing in verse 25? According to Jesus, what was making these so-‐called religious leaders filthy on the inside? How does verse 25 contrast the sixth beatitude in Matt. 5:8? What does Jesus call the Pharisees in verse 26? Why is this an accurate description of what they were doing? What are the Pharisees instructed to do in verse 26? How do these instructions apply to our lives today?
2. What are the scribes and Pharisees compared to in verse 27? Do you think the harsh attacks of Jesus
made any points with the phony religious leaders? What did His attacks lead to? Why is the description in verse 27 especially appropriate? What will happen to those who get too close to false teachers and are touched by their corrupted teachings?
3. Although the scribes and Pharisees were very religious on the outside, what can we learn about them
inside from the teaching of Jesus in verse 28? Is it still possible for Christians to be phony with their religion today? If so, how?
4. What hypocritical act does Jesus confront the scribes and Pharisees on in verse 29? Was there
anything intrinsically wrong with building tombs for the prophets and taking care of their graves? What made there actions wrong?
5. Who had these prophets come to testify about (vs. 30)? Had the religious leaders accepted their
message? What were they plotting to do at the very moment they honored the prophets? (See Mark 3:6; Luke 22:1-‐2) How does verse 30 contrast with the seventh beatitude in Matt. 5:9?
6. In what way were the scribes and Pharisees witnesses against themselves (vs. 31)? How were they no
better than “their fathers”? Who were their fathers? How does verse 31 contrast with the eight beatitude in Matt. 5:10?
4
7. What image does Jesus use in verse 32 to illustrate the wickedness of the Jewish religious leaders throughout the history of Israel? What would the scribes and Pharisees do to finish filling this cup of wickedness?
8. What does Jesus compare the religious leaders to in verse 33? Who is the chief serpent in the Bible?
(See Gen. 3:1) How were the scribes and Pharisees connected to him? How do the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees relate to the poisonous bite of a serpent? Are false teachers still spewing their poison to unsuspecting victims today? How can we protect ourselves from this? What does Jesus say will happen to these false teachers as a result (vs. 33)? Why do you think so many churches do not teach about hell today? Who taught about hell more than anyone else in the Bible?
9. Have you received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? If not, why not repent and do so in prayer right
now? MINER’S CORNER ~ Manna to live by! • There are degrees of punishment in hell; the scribes and Pharisees will be punished according to their
sin. • Christians should examine the words and lifestyles of those teaching them. • Man tends to be impressed by external religion; God looks at the heart. • We need to be very careful when swearing to God; He will hold us accountable for the vows we make,
especially when we make them in His name. • God desires that we live out our Christian faith in a manner that glorifies Him. • Every Christian should examine himself or herself asking: “Why do I do the things that I do?” “What is
the motivation of my heart, to please God or to please man?” “Am I being a religious hypocrite?”