WEBVTT

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 Now, I imagine that there are not many occasions that preachers ask congregations to turn to Matthew 23.

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! And that's partly because as it was read, I don't know whether you picked it up, it is a blistering passage.

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 It is one of those times in the Gospels where Jesus speaks in an extraordinarily fiery way.

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 And there are words at which you and I can't hide from them this morning.

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 And we don't come to Matthew 23 with a sense of eagerness.

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 Oh, I love this passage. This is one that really warms the heart.

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 Because these words burn and they scorch.

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 And as we saw last week at the start of chapter 23, they're particularly aimed at religious leaders.

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 Religious leaders.

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 And you'll notice how in verse 27, Jesus describes that religion.

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 Can you just look down there with me?

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 What's their religion like?

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 He says, your religion is like a tomb full of dead men's bones.

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 But dead religion is a perennial problem and it's always a problem.

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 It's got a long history throughout the whole history of the Christian church.

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 And dead religion reappears in different forms.

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 And so if I say dead religion, what do you think of?

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 You probably think of, going to a church like this, a high degree of ceremonial.

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 A really detailed liturgical correctness.

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 Maybe you think of those words, liberal theology.

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 Ethically careless.

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 But the Pharisees remind us that it is possible to be full of zeal.

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 Full of enthusiasm.

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 To be a stickler for moral correctness.

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 To be an orthodox believer.

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 And yet still to represent dead religion.

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 Because dead religion is not a matter of the clothing that it wears.

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 So it may well be high and ceremonial.

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 It may be smells of bells.

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 It may be very trendy.

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 It might be real.

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 It may be emotionally supercharged.

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 It may be lively.

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 It may be right-wing.

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 It might be left-wing.

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 It might be evangelical and orthodox.

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 But actually, if it's a dead body, it doesn't matter what it's dressed up on.

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 I think it's it.

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 Because if it's a dead body, no matter whether it's in a tracksuit or whether it's in a three-piece suit,

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 it's still a court.

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 Heretical or orthodox.

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 And dead religion may have many forms.

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 It may have a form of godliness.

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 But the New Testament tells us that it denies the power of that godliness.

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 Dead religion may defend the deity of Jesus Christ.

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 Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

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 But it never displays the glory and the beauty and the attractiveness of Jesus Christ.

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 Dead religion may speak the loaves of the Holy Spirit.

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 But it never displays the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

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 And in this chapter, which as I've said is a burning and blistering chapter,

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 Jesus rails against the Pharisees.

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 He treats dead religion with great seriousness.

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 He exposes it openly.

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 And you can't ignore it.

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 His language is that of a funeral lament.

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 Do you notice that word that came up sometimes?

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 Woe.

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 Woe to you.

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 And they kind of introduce what Jesus is saying.

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 It's a word that expresses a kind of mourning for the dead.

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 One scholar has said there's a mix of compassion and condemnation as Jesus says it.

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 And here it is probably Jesus pronouncing impending judgment.

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 Judgment is coming woe on you.

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 And the word occurs seven times.

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 But there are five, I think, identifiable emphasis that Jesus makes.

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 Where Jesus focuses on areas where dead religion shows itself.

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 That I think is helpful for us.

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 So let me touch on them.

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 First of all, in verse 13.

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 It focuses on the influence of this dead religion on the lives of others.

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 Dead religion on the lives of others.

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 In verse 13.

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 Jesus is speaking about first of all.

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 What is the influence of dead religion on the lives of others?

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 That spiritual influence.

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 That spiritual impact upon the lives of other people.

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 These Pharisees, they are representatives of this dead religion.

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 What is the effect that it has on other people?

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 And so what he's saying here is that they are a hindrance, not a help.

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 He's saying that these people, they are very, very eager.

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 They're very religious.

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 And yet they have no spiritual experience themselves.

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 Because they never truly entered the kingdom of heaven.

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 And you notice how he says it.

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 You've never entered the kingdom yourselves.

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 And you get in the way of those who want to get in.

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 And it couldn't be more serious.

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 So let's look.

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 Let's see how they've done it.

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 Let's go to Matthew chapter 12.

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 And we've been there, remember?

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 Matthew chapter 12.

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 And look at verse 22.

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 And you notice you get this great illustration of what Jesus is talking about.

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 And it's these very Pharisees who stand in the doorway and they block people from entering in.

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 So Matthew 22.

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 And verse 12.

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 No.

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 Matthew 22.

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 That is right, isn't it?

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 Yeah.

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 And I'm looking at Matthew chapter 23.

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 So that's not very helpful, is it?

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 But it's Matthew chapter 22.

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 And verse 12.

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 Is that right?

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 I've got two different verses written down here.

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 That's very helpful, isn't it?

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 Here we go.

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 It's 22.

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 That's right the first time.

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 Matthew 12, 22.

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 You all there?

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 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and made to us brought him and Jesus healed him.

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 So the man spoke and saw.

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 All the people were amazed and said, can this be the son of David?

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 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, it is only by Beelzebul.

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 It's only by the devil.

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 The prince of demons.

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 That this man casts out demons.

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 Do you notice something that has awakened these people?

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 They're pressing towards Christ.

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 They're asking, is this the Messiah?

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 Should we not be going to him?

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 Isn't this the man we've been expecting?

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 And notice what happens.

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 They say, no, he's done it by the devil.

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 In other words, they stand in the door and they say, no, you will not come to Christ.

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 These people are beginning to wonder and ask, could this be the Messiah in front of them, as it were?

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 And the Pharisees slam the door in their face.

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 Because dead religion has a terrible influence on those who are genuinely seeking Christ.

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 Here's the second thing.

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 The second thing is, it focuses on the effect of these people's witness.

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 Just look at verse 15 of Matthew chapter 23.

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 Matthew chapter 15.

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 Look at what it says.

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 It says, and woe to you.

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 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.

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 Because you travel across sea and land to make a single proserite.

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 And when he becomes a proserite, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourself.

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 It's incredible, isn't it?

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 It's so strong.

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 And you have to tend to ask, what on earth can these people who've got dead religion, what can they witness to?

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 What can they speak about?

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 Surely, these dead religion people, they have got no evangelistic zeal.

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 But they do.

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 And these people are so eager to recruit, they travel over land and sea for a single convict.

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 But of course, what do they want to win them to?

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 What they want to win them to is a dead religion like their own.

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 They do not make them Christians, followers of the Lord Jesus.

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 They make them Pharisees.

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 And what often happens is that when people are won over to something, they become even more zealous, don't they?

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 None so zealous as a convert.

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 And when these people are won over to the Pharisees, they become more pharisaical than the Pharisees themselves.

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 You make them twice as much a son of hell, Jesus says.

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 And so here's a lesson, and we can't avoid it.

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 That if today you are a half-hearted Christian,

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 if you're a Christian who lives with one foot in the world,

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 with one foot in the kingdom of God, as it were,

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 what you bear witness to is compromised Christianity.

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 If you've got reservations of the authority of the Bible,

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 and your influence is brought to bear on other people who are seeking to know God,

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 what you will do is you will make people like yourself.

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 We really hate to talk about this.

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 But it's so true, isn't it?

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 It's a law written into nature.

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 The Bible teaches about it,

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 right from the very start of the Bible,

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 in the book of Genesis.

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 It's carried right the way through.

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 You might not have spotted it.

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 There's a law written into nature,

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 and it's this.

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 It's called the bringing forth law.

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 Do you know that law?

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 So you go to Genesis 1 and 2,

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 and you'll see that written into creation,

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 is this.

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 They brought forth everyone after its kind.

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 That's how it reads.

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 And if you go through Genesis 1 and 2,

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 do it this afternoon.

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 Look at it.

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 It reads again and again.

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 They brought forth after their kind.

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 So you see it in nature.

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 Humans bring forth...

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 Humans.

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 Animals bring forth...

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 Animals.

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 Apple trees bring forth...

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 Apple trees.

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 It's one of the great illustrations Jesus uses,

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 doesn't he?

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 He says,

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 when does a man...

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 When he says,

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 does a man gather figs from...

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 grapes?

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 Of course he doesn't.

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 You don't go to a grape tree...

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 and get figs, do you?

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 You don't go to your apple tree

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 and pick off a pear.

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 You've got to your apple tree,

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 you get an apple.

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 And Jesus is saying,

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 everyone brings forth after its kind.

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 And that's really,

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 really important.

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 And if we wanted to,

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 we could go over the recent history

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 of this country,

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 and we could see,

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 what does dead religion bring forth?

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 It brings forth dead religion.

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 Dead religion produces specimen of itself.

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 Half-hearted Christianity produces what?

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 Half-hearted Christianity.

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 And the principle applies in all sorts of ways.

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 The third area that Jesus concentrates on

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 is the result of their teaching,

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 the influence of their lives,

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 the effect of their witness,

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 and the third area that Jesus

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 is the result of their teaching.

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 So that's in verses 16 to 22.

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 Can you see it?

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 The paragraph begins,

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 woe to you blind guides.

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 It's first of five times in the chapter

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 that Jesus speaks about the Pharisees being blind.

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 And the serious thing about what Jesus is talking about

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 is not their blindness itself.

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 The serious issue is

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 that these people

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 are religious guides for other people.

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 You can imagine it, can't you?

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 You want someone to guide you somewhere,

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 and yet they're blind.

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 They're unable to see.

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 It's so dangerous, isn't it?

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 It's like getting into the car

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 and somebody was blind and saying,

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 could you direct me the way to your house?

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 There's no people that tell you, eh?

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 It's exactly Jesus' point.

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 In verses 13 and again in 15,

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 they're described not as Pharisees there,

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 but as teachers of the law.

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 Woe to you, verse 13, teachers of the law.

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 15, woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees.

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 And Jesus identifies a mark

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 in verses 16 to 22 of dead religion.

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 And it's simply this.

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 It avoids the implications of the truth.

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 The implications of the truth.

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 And more than once,

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 you've come across it.

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 The Pharisees played a game.

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 And it was a dreadful and disastrous game.

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 It was a game with words.

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 You can see it in our passage.

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 Where they would enter into an oath,

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 kind of serious pledge, a promise.

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 And they would say, I swear.

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 And you find out what we can swear by.

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 So that what we swear by,

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 we're not held to.

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 So they worked out a whole lot of things.

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 And they said, we swear by the temple.

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 But if we swear by the temple,

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 it doesn't bind us.

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 To keep true and keep faith.

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 With what we promised.

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 We don't have to keep it.

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 But if on the other hand,

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 we swear by the gold on the temple,

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 well that does bind us.

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 And you think to yourself,

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 as I said this week,

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 this is madness.

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 It's ludicrous.

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 We laugh at it, don't we?

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 How ridiculous this is.

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 It's in verse 18.

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 They say, if anyone swears by the altar,

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 he is nothing.

00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:23.440
 But if anyone swears by the gift

00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:24.139
 that is on the altar,

00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:25.139
 he is bound by his oath.

00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:28.139
 And she says, you blind men.

00:14:29.699 --> 00:14:32.679
 Because the whole point of it

00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:34.559
 was to avoid the implications

00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.840
 of the truth and truth-telling.

00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:39.819
 And they used to teach this.

00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:43.980
 And we said, how ridiculous.

00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:47.699
 But then let me ask you,

00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:50.819
 are there plain teachings of the Bible?

00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:54.580
 And the implications of which

00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:57.900
 you are determinedly avoiding

00:14:57.900 --> 00:14:59.879
 in your life?

00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:05.379
 Are there plain truths in the Bible?

00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:08.460
 The implications of which

00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:10.720
 you are declining to take seriously?

00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:14.040
 And by your word,

00:15:14.180 --> 00:15:15.379
 and by your example,

00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:18.240
 you teach other people the same.

00:15:20.420 --> 00:15:22.320
 Because a mark of dead religion

00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.100
 is that it seeks to avoid

00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:26.060
 the implications of the truth.

00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:29.660
 And that is, isn't it,

00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:30.740
 enormously solemn?

00:15:33.560 --> 00:15:35.899
 Because the blind guy who does that,

00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:37.100
 Jesus elsewhere says,

00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:38.259
 he will land in a ditch

00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:39.639
 along with those who he leads.

00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.379
 And it would be worthwhile,

00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:44.620
 I think, spending a little time

00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:45.460
 on this this week.

00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.040
 Because this is not some exercise

00:15:50.040 --> 00:15:51.420
 that we're following

00:15:51.420 --> 00:15:53.060
 that ends when we go through

00:15:53.060 --> 00:15:53.820
 those doors.

00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.259
 It would be worth our while

00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:56.100
 this week pausing

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:57.200
 and saying to ourselves,

00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:58.940
 before God,

00:15:59.060 --> 00:16:00.279
 are there implications

00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:02.580
 of the teaching of the Bible

00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:04.220
 which I'm deliberately avoiding?

00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:07.019
 And I'm avoiding them

00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:07.840
 not because the Bible

00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:08.899
 doesn't teach them,

00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:10.939
 but because of cultural pressure.

00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:13.759
 Or because I just

00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.959
 don't want to obey them.

00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:18.220
 It's a mark of dead religion.

00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:20.959
 Here's the fourth thing.

00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:22.120
 It's the focus of their interests.

00:16:22.199 --> 00:16:23.579
 Look at verses 23 to 28.

00:16:25.819 --> 00:16:27.179
 And you notice there's two things

00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:29.079
 that mark their religious hypocrisy.

00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.100
 Number one,

00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.000
 they major on minors.

00:16:35.800 --> 00:16:37.100
 They major on minors.

00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:37.900
 Or to put it another way,

00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:39.280
 they magnify,

00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:41.620
 they magnify the insignificant

00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:43.240
 and they minimize the essential.

00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:46.139
 Do you notice that in verse 23?

00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:48.820
 Wote you scribes and Pharisees,

00:16:48.900 --> 00:16:49.200
 hypocrites,

00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:50.480
 for you tithe mint

00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.280
 and dill

00:16:52.280 --> 00:16:54.180
 and cumin.

00:16:57.960 --> 00:16:59.020
 And yet you've neglected

00:16:59.020 --> 00:16:59.940
 the weightier matters

00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:00.420
 of the law.

00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:02.780
 Justice,

00:17:03.040 --> 00:17:03.280
 mercy

00:17:03.280 --> 00:17:04.120
 and faithfulness.

00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:05.680
 You know about

00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:06.299
 I'm tithing

00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:06.980
 in the Old Testament

00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:08.740
 where you give a tenth

00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:09.740
 of what you have.

00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:12.080
 And I've been willing

00:17:12.080 --> 00:17:12.600
 to tithe

00:17:12.600 --> 00:17:13.559
 all their possessions

00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:14.559
 as part of their obligation.

00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:18.220
 And she says to them,

00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:18.899
 how

00:17:18.899 --> 00:17:21.240
 how much

00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:22.700
 do spices

00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:23.819
 take up of your life?

00:17:25.419 --> 00:17:26.059
 How much

00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:27.319
 part of your life

00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:28.059
 do spices

00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:28.879
 occupy?

00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:31.740
 What part of your wealth

00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:32.960
 consists of spices?

00:17:35.159 --> 00:17:36.159
 Unless you're really unusual.

00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:37.500
 Spices don't play

00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:38.740
 a major part in my life

00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:39.460
 and even yours.

00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:43.480
 But they were meticulous,

00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:43.919
 these guys.

00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:44.920
 They were meticulous

00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:46.180
 about mint

00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:47.820
 and dill

00:17:47.820 --> 00:17:49.300
 and cumin.

00:17:51.560 --> 00:17:52.120
 She says,

00:17:52.580 --> 00:17:53.340
 but you've neglected

00:17:53.340 --> 00:17:54.460
 the weightier matters

00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:54.980
 of the law.

00:17:55.060 --> 00:17:55.340
 Justice,

00:17:55.539 --> 00:17:55.800
 mercy,

00:17:56.100 --> 00:17:56.640
 faithfulness.

00:17:58.279 --> 00:17:58.880
 And you should have

00:17:58.880 --> 00:17:59.980
 practiced the latter

00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:01.380
 without neglecting

00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:01.740
 the former.

00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:03.880
 You blind guides.

00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:05.519
 You strain on a gnat.

00:18:06.060 --> 00:18:06.900
 A little gnat.

00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:08.340
 But you swallow

00:18:08.340 --> 00:18:09.000
 a massive camel.

00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:10.680
 And again,

00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:11.259
 it's Jesus'

00:18:11.860 --> 00:18:12.840
 ridiculous illustration,

00:18:12.840 --> 00:18:13.320
 isn't it?

00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:15.860
 And it tells you

00:18:15.860 --> 00:18:17.120
 that Jesus has a sense

00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:18.220
 of the ridiculous

00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:19.140
 in his teaching.

00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:20.600
 You strain up a gnat,

00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:22.620
 which is a tiny insect.

00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:24.000
 You swallow a camel.

00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:27.680
 You incline to major

00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:28.600
 on minors

00:18:28.600 --> 00:18:31.080
 to magnify the insignificant

00:18:31.080 --> 00:18:32.620
 and minimize the essential.

00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.660
 It's a mark of dead religion.

00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:37.880
 But you notice

00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:38.519
 what Jesus

00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:40.140
 speaks about.

00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:41.740
 And we come to practicality.

00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:42.720
 Here we come to the bread and butter.

00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:43.900
 Verses 25 to 28.

00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:45.640
 They emphasize the external

00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:48.060
 but they're careless

00:18:48.060 --> 00:18:48.800
 about the hidden

00:18:48.800 --> 00:18:49.720
 world of the heart.

00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.180
 Woe to you,

00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.140
 teachers of the law,

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:53.839
 verse 25,

00:18:54.100 --> 00:18:55.440
 for you clean the outside

00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.059
 of the cup

00:18:56.059 --> 00:18:56.660
 and the plate,

00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:57.259
 but inside

00:18:57.259 --> 00:18:58.339
 they're full of greed

00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:00.000
 and self-indulgence.

00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:03.339
 You blind Pharisee,

00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:04.259
 first clean the inside

00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:04.640
 of the cup

00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:04.960
 and the plate

00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:05.620
 and then the outside

00:19:05.620 --> 00:19:06.600
 also may be clean.

00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:13.459
 Jesus uses this word

00:19:13.459 --> 00:19:14.039
 so often,

00:19:14.139 --> 00:19:14.319
 doesn't he?

00:19:14.379 --> 00:19:14.740
 Hypocrite.

00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:15.639
 So many times.

00:19:17.399 --> 00:19:19.039
 Hypocrite is just an actor

00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.219
 who played a part.

00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.139
 That's what it meant

00:19:21.139 --> 00:19:21.779
 in Jesus' day.

00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:23.919
 It was somebody

00:19:23.919 --> 00:19:25.419
 who pretended

00:19:25.419 --> 00:19:26.559
 to be somebody

00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.559
 who he was not.

00:19:29.439 --> 00:19:30.899
 Nobody was expecting

00:19:30.899 --> 00:19:33.099
 him to be the person

00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:34.279
 he was pretending to be.

00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.579
 You go and see a play

00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:38.240
 and you go round

00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:39.059
 the back of the stage

00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:39.579
 afterwards

00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:40.859
 and speak to the actor,

00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:43.119
 you don't expect him

00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:44.220
 to still be playing

00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.200
 the role he was playing

00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:46.079
 on stage to you.

00:19:46.139 --> 00:19:46.859
 That would be ridiculous.

00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:49.859
 You know very well

00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:50.899
 it's not Hamlet

00:19:50.899 --> 00:19:52.160
 who you've gone to see.

00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:54.460
 It's Joe Glott.

00:19:57.399 --> 00:19:58.420
 But he was pretending

00:19:58.420 --> 00:19:59.019
 to be someone

00:19:59.019 --> 00:19:59.759
 wasn't he on stage

00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:00.619
 and the better

00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:02.200
 his performance was

00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:03.299
 the better hypocrite he was.

00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:04.559
 That's the sense.

00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:07.019
 And it's a mark

00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:08.700
 of your dead religion

00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:10.519
 when your outward image

00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:12.460
 is something different

00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:14.500
 from what's underneath.

00:20:16.379 --> 00:20:16.980
 And God knows

00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:17.579
 how much I need

00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.099
 to apply this

00:20:18.099 --> 00:20:18.859
 to my soul.

00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:22.819
 When your outward image

00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:24.099
 bears no relation

00:20:24.099 --> 00:20:25.059
 to your inward states

00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:26.279
 then you're spiritually dead.

00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:29.659
 That's what Jesus is saying.

00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:32.860
 Ten religion

00:20:32.860 --> 00:20:33.540
 has one more thing.

00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:34.060
 So we've seen

00:20:34.060 --> 00:20:34.660
 the influence

00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:35.360
 of their lives,

00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:36.700
 the effect of their witness,

00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:39.019
 the result of their teaching,

00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:40.400
 the focus of their interest

00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:41.060
 and lastly

00:20:41.060 --> 00:20:41.880
 the illusion

00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:43.080
 of their self-assessment.

00:20:43.540 --> 00:20:44.759
 Let me verse 29 to 36.

00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:49.160
 He says

00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:50.380
 woe to you teachers

00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:52.500
 of the law.

00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:56.039
 You say

00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:57.019
 if we lived

00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:58.240
 in the days

00:20:58.240 --> 00:20:59.180
 of our fathers

00:20:59.180 --> 00:21:00.299
 we would not have

00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:00.960
 taken part with them

00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:01.660
 and shed in the blood

00:21:01.660 --> 00:21:02.099
 of the prophets.

00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:05.519
 They look at the tombs

00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:07.400
 of the old prophets

00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.500
 of the past

00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.859
 the godly men

00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:11.779
 of the past

00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:12.420
 in the Old Testament

00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:14.099
 whom God has sent

00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:16.019
 and they say

00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:16.740
 this is dreadful.

00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:18.920
 If we'd lived

00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:19.599
 in their time

00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:20.960
 we would have never done

00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:22.120
 what people did

00:21:22.120 --> 00:21:22.599
 then.

00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:25.000
 And they were

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.059
 pretending themselves.

00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:29.400
 They were so

00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.039
 self-deluded

00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.519
 weren't they?

00:21:31.900 --> 00:21:32.759
 Because we know

00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:33.140
 through reading

00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:33.720
 Matthew's Gospel

00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:34.240
 that actually

00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:34.759
 at this point

00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:35.420
 they were plotting

00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:36.160
 and planning

00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:37.620
 the death

00:21:37.620 --> 00:21:38.480
 of the one

00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:38.759
 who was the

00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:39.319
 greatest prophet

00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:39.819
 of all.

00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:42.980
 They were self-deluded.

00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:46.579
 And do you remember

00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:47.380
 what we saw last week

00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:48.339
 that really important

00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:49.480
 point that hypocrisy

00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.000
 it begins by deceiving

00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:51.640
 others

00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:52.519
 but it ends

00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.160
 with us deceiving

00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:53.740
 ourselves.

00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:54.680
 And here is

00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:55.339
 an example of it.

00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:55.819
 They deluded

00:21:55.819 --> 00:21:56.339
 themselves.

00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.079
 And dead religion

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.079
 hypocrisy produces

00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:01.940
 not just blindness

00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:03.059
 in other spheres

00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:04.160
 but it produces

00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:05.000
 blindness in how

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.019
 we view ourselves.

00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:08.799
 And Jesus points

00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.079
 that out

00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:09.339
 doesn't he

00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:10.140
 in verse 34

00:22:10.140 --> 00:22:10.779
 he says

00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:11.380
 therefore I send

00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:11.860
 you prophets

00:22:11.860 --> 00:22:12.460
 and wise men

00:22:12.460 --> 00:22:13.200
 as scribes

00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:14.059
 some of whom

00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:14.700
 you will kill

00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:15.299
 and crucify

00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:16.120
 some of which

00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:16.960
 you will flog

00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:17.779
 in your synagogues

00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:18.380
 and pierce

00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:19.180
 from town to town.

00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:20.600
 And you read

00:22:20.600 --> 00:22:21.200
 the book of Acts

00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:21.539
 and you see

00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:22.000
 that's exactly

00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:22.500
 what happened.

00:22:24.840 --> 00:22:25.600
 What were they doing?

00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:27.380
 They were doing

00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:28.079
 exactly what

00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.819
 their forefathers

00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:29.319
 were doing

00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:31.400
 which was a mark

00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:32.039
 of dead religion

00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:32.940
 in most generations.

00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.799
 It's very simple

00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:37.039
 isn't it?

00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:37.700
 You can tell me

00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:38.539
 they're trying

00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:39.400
 to silence God.

00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.380
 That's what

00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:42.740
 they were doing.

00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:45.960
 And so there

00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:46.600
 is dead religion

00:22:46.600 --> 00:22:47.100
 so how will

00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:47.820
 Jesus respond

00:22:47.820 --> 00:22:48.200
 to it?

00:22:49.660 --> 00:22:50.500
 By flaying

00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:51.340
 them with words?

00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:52.220
 Well

00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:52.740
 not really

00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:53.120
 ultimately.

00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:55.200
 There's that

00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.180
 word woe

00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:56.759
 isn't there?

00:22:57.280 --> 00:22:58.040
 A sense of

00:22:58.040 --> 00:22:58.980
 infinite sadness

00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:00.240
 but it's

00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:00.800
 crystallised

00:23:00.800 --> 00:23:01.440
 in verse 37

00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:02.100
 look at Jesus

00:23:02.100 --> 00:23:02.660
 response

00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:03.420
 in verse 37.

00:23:05.420 --> 00:23:06.040
 He says

00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:07.200
 O Jerusalem

00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.720
 Jerusalem

00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.200
 the city

00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:11.879
 that has killed

00:23:11.879 --> 00:23:12.680
 the prophets

00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:14.299
 and stoned

00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:15.240
 those who sent

00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:15.920
 to it.

00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:17.899
 And here it is

00:23:17.899 --> 00:23:18.220
 he says

00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:19.019
 how often

00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:19.599
 will I have

00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:20.279
 gathered your

00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:21.339
 children together

00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.059
 as a hen

00:23:23.059 --> 00:23:24.159
 gathers her brood

00:23:24.159 --> 00:23:25.259
 under her wings

00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:27.379
 but you

00:23:27.379 --> 00:23:28.559
 were not willing.

00:23:31.899 --> 00:23:32.240
 That's all

00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:32.659
 for the first time

00:23:32.659 --> 00:23:33.019
 this week.

00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:33.980
 The repetition

00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:34.379
 there.

00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:34.980
 Can you see it?

00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:35.659
 Verse 37.

00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:37.859
 O Jerusalem

00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:39.519
 Jerusalem

00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.399
 And you've

00:23:42.399 --> 00:23:42.700
 heard that

00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:43.019
 repetition

00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:43.619
 before haven't

00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:43.819
 you?

00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:46.119
 I've

00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:46.339
 heard it

00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:46.539
 in some

00:23:46.539 --> 00:23:46.759
 of your

00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:47.240
 homes

00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:47.759
 and at

00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:47.879
 your

00:23:47.879 --> 00:23:48.500
 families

00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:51.220
 in times

00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:52.799
 of heartbreak

00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:54.759
 and you

00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:55.159
 could see

00:23:55.159 --> 00:23:56.279
 some family

00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:56.759
 and something

00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:57.339
 has happened

00:23:57.339 --> 00:23:57.960
 and they

00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:58.500
 say don't

00:23:58.500 --> 00:23:58.720
 they

00:23:58.720 --> 00:23:59.180
 O

00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:02.399
 whatever

00:24:02.399 --> 00:24:02.799
 the name

00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.079
 is

00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:03.460
 O

00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:03.899
 whatever

00:24:03.899 --> 00:24:04.240
 the name

00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:04.599
 is

00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:06.839
 and they

00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:07.279
 repeat the

00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:07.539
 name

00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:07.819
 and they

00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:08.240
 say what

00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:08.500
 have you

00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:08.899
 done?

00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:12.059
 Jesus used

00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:12.439
 that again

00:24:12.439 --> 00:24:12.740
 and again

00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:13.000
 to me

00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:13.279
 he said

00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:13.519
 O

00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:14.059
 Martha

00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:15.039
 Martha

00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:17.539
 he said

00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:17.879
 O

00:24:17.879 --> 00:24:18.639
 Simon

00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:20.299
 Simon

00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:22.680
 and the

00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:22.879
 risen

00:24:22.879 --> 00:24:23.440
 glorified

00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:23.839
 Christ

00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:24.139
 says

00:24:24.139 --> 00:24:24.440
 O

00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:25.119
 Saul

00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:26.119
 Saul

00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:29.599
 and maybe

00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:30.039
 this morning

00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:30.799
 in verse 37

00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:31.680
 you need to put

00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:32.339
 your own name

00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:32.740
 in there

00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:36.160
 and maybe

00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:36.640
 you need to put

00:24:36.640 --> 00:24:37.059
 your name

00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:37.539
 in there

00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:38.880
 and Jesus

00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:39.859
 says how

00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:40.680
 often

00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:42.460
 would I

00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.180
 have gathered

00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:43.759
 you

00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:45.700
 but you

00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:46.359
 were not

00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:46.859
 willing

00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:51.160
 and so

00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:51.900
 by God's

00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:52.420
 grace

00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:53.259
 and the

00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:53.700
 Lord Jesus

00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:54.660
 outstretched

00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:55.539
 arms

00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:57.539
 that great

00:24:57.539 --> 00:24:58.379
 cry of his

00:24:58.379 --> 00:24:59.019
 soul

00:24:59.019 --> 00:25:01.039
 intends that

00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:01.579
 this morning

00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:02.359
 you should lay

00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:03.339
 aside all your

00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:04.059
 unwillingness

00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:04.700
 and all your

00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:05.619
 stubbornness

00:25:05.619 --> 00:25:06.420
 and all your

00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:07.139
 hypocrisy

00:25:07.139 --> 00:25:09.859
 and let him

00:25:09.859 --> 00:25:11.200
 gather you

00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.659
 under the

00:25:12.659 --> 00:25:13.220
 shadow of his

00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:13.579
 wings

00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:16.420
 and find

00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:17.159
 reality

00:25:17.159 --> 00:25:19.799
 not deadness

00:25:19.799 --> 00:25:20.139
 there

00:25:20.139 --> 00:25:22.139
 let's pray

00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:22.580
 a

00:25:22.580 --> 00:25:22.580


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