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NASB | Matthew 23:13 ¶ "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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 23:13 ¶ "But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so. [Luke 11:52] |
Bible Question:
Brethren, In Matthew 23 we have the 7 woes (actually 8 woes) against the scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites. Does this only apply to the religious order of the Jews 2000 years ago? Could this describe the splintered church of today? If not, defend the division we have. If so, what do we do? Grace and peace to us all in Christ Jesus, charis |
Bible Answer: No and very much so. The 7 Woes (actually 8 as you stated) are and admonition to Christian leaders of 2000 years ago. However you can definitly apply it today and learn from them. I will take them one by one and explain. Woe 1) "You shut the kingdom of heaven in mens faces." How many dirty, smelly, unkept or drunk persons enter into the church who are turned away from the church or the fellowship of the church? v. 13-14 Woe 2)(this is considered by many to be a woe) "They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers." the needy are still being oppressed in todays society. Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 Woe 3) "You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,..." Some converts are taught to keep their focus on the rules and works but miss God and the idea of grace altogether. This makes them as legalistic as those who taught them. Also many of the leaders of that day sought out new converts more to gain merit than to lead those to Christ. v.15 Woe 4) to the blind guides. "You say, if anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing......" The leaders of those days encouraged lieing and taught them that an oath was more binding than your word. Blind guides place their focus on the wrong things. v. 15-22. Woe 5) "You give a tenth of your spices... but you neglect the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness." The Pharisees would strain out the a small sin such as not tithing the right amount but would then wallow the camel (gross ethical sins,lack of mercy, etc.) How many do you know who focus on the trivial things but ignore the important matters? v. 23-24 Woe 6) You clean the outside of the cup but on the inside they are full of greed and self indulgence." Cleansing the outside of the cup refers to traditional ritual purification. They made these rituals conspicuous. These people appear religious on the outside but inside the focus is on purely self. v. 25-26 Woe 7) "You are like white washed tombs"...on the outside people can appear to be righteous but on the inside they are vindictive, unforgiving, selfish, and mean spirited. v. 27-28 Woe 8) "You build tombs for the prophets......." The Pharisees made a great show of honoring the prophets their ancestors murdered, swearing they would of never done it but they were when they were while the were stoning and putting to death those who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. These people see what one person does and say they would never do it but they end up doing the same thing. v 29-32 (all verses taken from the New International Version.) All of the things that Jesus admonished them about are quite alive in our churches today. I think that there is definitly something to learn here and they can be applied to our lives today. Jesus gives us here examples of the way Satan can sneak up and devour us without us knowing it. What are our true motives today for the things we do? |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 23:13 | Author | ||
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charis | ||
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kalos | ||
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charis | ||
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prayon | ||
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charis | ||
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charis | ||
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Hank | ||
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prazn | ||
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Norrie | ||
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Gr8fulgramm |