Title: Woe to You (Matthew 23:13-28)
While preparing the sermon, I was surprised to read the tone of Jesus speaking in the text. Jesus has a tender heart as he said, “Come to me and learn, for I am meek and humble of heart.” However, in today's text, Jesus is the word that begins and ends with woes. In Matthew 23, Jesus says seven times, “Woe to you Pharisees, hypocrites!” These words express the deep bitterness of Jesus. It is a negative exclamation. If an ordinary person had said this, they might have overlooked it. But what Jesus said is a terrifying warning that judgment will come upon them. Today's text is very frightening and profound.
How did the Pharisees come to be called hypocrites?
First, they lost the presence of God. The beginning of the people of Israel began with the presence of God. Wherever Abraham went, God was with him and he accompanied Jacob. In all the wars and especially in the wilderness, the people of Israel were with him as a pillar of cloud and fire wherever they went. The presence of God is the greatest characteristic of the people of Israel. So are we today. The presence of the Holy Spirit of God with us should be our greatest feature.
However, the Pharisees tried their best to keep the law, but they lost the presence of God and became believers who only held on to the outer shell. Losing the presence of God is equivalent to saying that worship is dead. It means that we can no longer hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. It's like forgetting to live every moment with God's guidance. It means living without God. You can feel it even more through the words of verse 25, “The outside of the hospitality is clean, but the inside is full of greed and debauchery”. There are rituals and forms of worship. There are also patterns of fasting and prayer. But God is not in that heart. Instead, it is full of greed and debauchery. To them, Jesus referred to them as “whitewashed tombs.” When John the Baptist first met Jesus, who came to this earth, he knew the grace of God that came upon him. He recognized that he was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. But the Pharisees did not see the Lamb of God. Their eyes were closed. He was very zealous in his religious life, but he had no eyes to see what God was doing. spiritually dead.
Acts 23:11 records what happened after Paul was tormented before the heavenly commander and justice, “That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Be of good cheer, just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” ” Everyone said to Paul that he had a plague and that he was going to die. But Paul, who experienced God's presence that night, heard God's voice. No matter how difficult our circumstances, we can live if we find that the living God is in our lives. The reason the Pharisees hypocrisy is because they have lost the presence of God. They commit a great sin because of hypocrisy, “You shut the gates of the kingdom of heaven before men, neither you enter, nor those who are about to enter” (verse 13). Not only did they not know Jesus who came to this earth because of their closed eyes and heart, but they also prevented others from meeting Jesus.
how are we Are we experiencing God's presence in our daily lives? Are you listening to God's voice? Do we realize that Jesus is interceding for us with groanings that cannot be uttered? I earnestly pray that through the season of Lent, you will be more aware of God's presence and your sensitivity to hearing God's detailed voice will be restored.
Second, focus on people.
The greatest characteristic of the Pharisees is that they are conscious of people. “In order that all our deeds might be shown to men” (verse 5). Not only people, but also the material people possessed had a heart. If they made an oath with the temple, nothing would happen, but if they swore with the gold of the temple, they would keep it. They were just trying to be right to people on the outside. When you focus on people other than God and focus on the place of people, you become like a Pharisee. When we value people's opinions more importantly, we become hypocrites.
The Southern California Church of Love is placed in a prominent location. This is because there were people who, although inconspicuous, communicated with God wherever they were, prayed in the closet, woke up at dawn, and served without name or light. People who eat out eat out and leave one day. But those who look to God do not blame the environment. If you focus on people instead of focusing on God, you will surely fall. When we receive approval from God, we are satisfied with everything. Are we focusing on God today? Aren't we not focusing on God because we are conscious of people every time we go to church? God demands our gaze upon you.
How can I quit eating out? How can I avoid hearing the warning “Woe to you”? It should ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit every day. As we daily seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to focus on God, hear His voice, and experience His presence. The secret that we can become a glorious church, a church that does not change with the passage of time, and a church that is used more and more as the number of members increases is to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit daily.