WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.719 There is an unseen odorless threat to families in our city. 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:08.519 It's called carbon monoxide. 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:15.280 Carbon monoxide is a gas produced by fossil fuels, burning fossil fuels, 00:00:15.380 --> 00:00:20.760 whether that's a car or a kerosene heater or your gas grill. 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:26.500 If you've got a furnace or a boiler in your basement that uses natural gas, 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:29.719 it produces carbon monoxide. 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.719 And what you need to know about carbon monoxide is if a furnace or a boiler isn't vented right, 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:42.280 the carbon monoxide gas can build up in your home, it can make you sick, it can even kill you. 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:46.060 And so they've invented these carbon monoxide alarms. 00:00:47.519 --> 00:00:56.359 There is another unseen odorless threat to your family and to our church family. 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:58.760 It's called hypocrisy. 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:03.659 In 1995, DC Talk, they were around back then. 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:07.739 DC Talk released Jesus Freak. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:13.219 And on the fourth track of that album is a song called What If I Stumble. 00:01:13.219 --> 00:01:19.379 And it starts with the recording of Brennan Manning saying this. 00:01:20.039 --> 00:01:26.980 The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:31.420 but walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:32.400 He goes on to say, 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:38.380 that's what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. 00:01:41.380 --> 00:01:44.400 But it's just not those... 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:52.380 Our children find our hypocrisy unbelievable. 00:01:55.380 --> 00:02:00.340 Study after study has recently documented young people who have grown up in the church, 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:04.800 churches which profess Jesus as the risen Christ, 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:08.479 churches that hold to the authority of the Bible, 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:09.800 churches, 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:16.879 children from these churches who are leaving the churches in droves. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:19.419 The question is, 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:19.979 why? 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:22.799 Why are we losing our children? 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:31.560 Well, one Christian sociologist has made this convincing argument that young people are leaving 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:36.879 because they're being taught a different version of Christianity than what the Bible teaches. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.419 And he calls it moralistic, 00:02:39.799 --> 00:02:41.280 therapeutic deism. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.400 What that means is, 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:44.219 be good, 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:45.280 be happy, 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:47.139 make sure you pray before your meals. 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:50.719 And what it does is, 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.859 it empties Christianity of the risen Christ. 00:02:57.960 --> 00:02:59.500 And so for us, 00:02:59.579 --> 00:03:03.159 it's hypocritical to profess Jesus as the risen king, 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:08.379 and then to functionally practice some other version of that. 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:11.180 Be good, 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:11.759 be happy, 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:13.659 just make sure you pray before you eat. 00:03:16.079 --> 00:03:18.319 The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus' day 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:20.960 were professing one thing 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.060 and then practicing another thing. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.099 Their unacknowledged, 00:03:27.579 --> 00:03:29.079 unrepentant, 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:30.479 hypocrisy, 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:33.139 misled people 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.500 and it resulted in their judgment. 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:38.899 And that's what we're reading in Matthew 23. 00:03:40.059 --> 00:03:41.379 Matthew 23, 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:42.559 the whole chapter, 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:47.079 is like this giant carbon monoxide detector for your soul. 00:03:48.299 --> 00:03:50.139 It sounds an alarm. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:52.619 Matthew 23 00:03:52.619 --> 00:03:57.239 could very well sound an alarm in your heart this morning. 00:03:57.779 --> 00:04:00.739 It's detecting hypocrisy in you. 00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:03.960 And if it does, 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:06.920 if the Holy Spirit should use His word 00:04:06.920 --> 00:04:09.360 to expose hypocrisy in your heart, 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:11.939 that's a good thing. 00:04:13.320 --> 00:04:14.900 That's God's kindness to you. 00:04:16.340 --> 00:04:18.960 That's to help you see something 00:04:18.960 --> 00:04:21.840 so that you can turn to God in humility. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:27.599 God wants to remove hypocrisy 00:04:27.599 --> 00:04:30.339 and build in us 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:31.339 an integrity 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:33.579 between our profession 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:34.379 and our practice. 00:04:34.719 --> 00:04:35.859 So this morning, 00:04:36.099 --> 00:04:37.979 I'm guessing you may walk away 00:04:37.979 --> 00:04:39.859 feeling sobered, 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:42.639 but you're willing to be humble. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.039 When we come through Matthew 23, 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:47.639 be sobered, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.279 but be willing to humble yourself. 00:04:55.060 --> 00:04:57.959 Matthew 23 can be divided into three sections. 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.759 Jesus makes a contrast 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:02.599 between the hypocrites and the humble 00:05:02.599 --> 00:05:03.759 in verses 1-12. 00:05:04.799 --> 00:05:07.819 And then Jesus drops a bunch of woes 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:09.019 on the hypocrites. 00:05:09.159 --> 00:05:11.699 He condemns them in 13-36. 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:13.139 Seven woes. 00:05:14.039 --> 00:05:15.599 And then at the close of the chapter, 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:17.599 in verses 37-39, 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.859 Jesus speaks this compassionate lament. 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:23.220 Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:28.939 This morning, I'm guessing 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:30.139 you're going to be sobered 00:05:30.139 --> 00:05:32.120 by your own hypocrisy. 00:05:32.960 --> 00:05:35.100 But you should be willing 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:38.480 to come under your wonderful Savior. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:42.139 He delivers us from our own hypocrisy. 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:50.819 If you would open up your Bibles now 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:53.040 to Matthew 23, 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:57.599 I want to point out some things 00:05:57.599 --> 00:05:59.399 in verses 1-12. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:02.300 Then Jesus said to the crowds 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:03.560 and to his disciples, 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:05.180 The scribes and the Pharisees 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:06.339 sit on Moses' seat, 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:08.379 so practice and observe 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:09.399 whatever they tell you, 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:10.899 but not what they do. 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:12.579 For they preach, 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:13.620 but do not practice. 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:14.980 They tie up heavy burdens, 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:15.680 hard to bear, 00:06:15.779 --> 00:06:17.219 and they lay them on people's shoulders, 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:18.480 but they themselves 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:19.579 are not willing to move them 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:20.180 with their finger. 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:21.199 They do all their deeds 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:22.400 to be seen by others, 00:06:22.400 --> 00:06:24.319 for they make their phylacteries 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:25.780 broad and their fringes long, 00:06:25.840 --> 00:06:26.939 and they love their place 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:27.980 of honor at feasts 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:30.139 and best seats in the synagogues 00:06:30.139 --> 00:06:31.900 and greetings in the marketplaces 00:06:31.900 --> 00:06:34.579 and being called rabbi by others. 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:37.339 But you are not to be called rabbi, 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:39.339 for you have one teacher, 00:06:39.339 --> 00:06:41.199 and you are all brothers. 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.459 And call no man your father on earth, 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:45.839 for you have one father 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:46.959 who is in heaven. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:49.060 Neither be called instructors, 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:50.459 for you have one instructor, 00:06:50.599 --> 00:06:51.099 the Christ. 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:53.159 The greatest among you 00:06:53.159 --> 00:06:54.000 shall be your servant, 00:06:54.799 --> 00:06:56.219 whoever exalts himself 00:06:56.219 --> 00:06:57.099 and will be humbled 00:06:57.099 --> 00:06:58.699 will be humbled, 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:00.079 and whoever humbles himself 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:01.899 will be exalted. 00:07:03.159 --> 00:07:04.279 In this passage, 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:05.199 in these 12 verses, 00:07:05.359 --> 00:07:06.399 Jesus makes a distinction 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:07.639 between the hypocrites 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:08.159 and the humble. 00:07:08.779 --> 00:07:10.199 And notice who he starts talking to. 00:07:10.539 --> 00:07:10.939 So remember, 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:12.800 he is in the temple right now. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:14.019 This is Passion Week. 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:15.199 He's a couple days out 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:16.139 from being crucified. 00:07:16.799 --> 00:07:17.899 And so God incarnate 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:18.779 is in the temple, 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:20.159 and he's speaking words 00:07:20.159 --> 00:07:20.899 of judgment. 00:07:22.039 --> 00:07:23.579 And so he says to these crowds 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:24.259 and his disciples, 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:25.599 there are two groups of people. 00:07:26.200 --> 00:07:27.200 There are the hypocrites, 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:29.240 and then there are the humble. 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:30.800 And what characterizes 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:31.500 the hypocrites 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.040 is if you look at verse 3 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:33.840 at the end, 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:35.180 for they preach 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:36.420 but do not practice. 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:37.560 Have you ever heard 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:38.460 the expression, 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:39.700 do what I say, 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:40.620 not as I do? 00:07:40.820 --> 00:07:41.540 Have you ever heard that? 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:44.900 That's what the Pharisees 00:07:44.900 --> 00:07:45.360 were doing. 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:47.260 Hey, do as I say, 00:07:47.340 --> 00:07:48.340 just don't do what I do. 00:07:49.280 --> 00:07:50.180 And Jesus is saying, 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:52.220 hey, insofar as they preach 00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:53.020 God's word, 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:54.180 hey, observe it, 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:55.780 just don't do what they say. 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:57.879 Don't do what they're doing. 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:01.439 There's a huge credibility 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:02.459 gap with that. 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:07.259 And so he points out 00:08:07.259 --> 00:08:08.800 these hypocrites, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.500 the scribes and the Pharisees, 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.620 and then he talks about 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:13.439 this other group, 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:14.019 the humble, 00:08:14.460 --> 00:08:15.819 and we see that in verse 8. 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:16.800 But you, 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:18.480 he's speaking to his disciples, 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.100 but you are not 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:22.800 to be called rabbi. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:24.259 And what marks 00:08:24.259 --> 00:08:25.800 these disciples 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:27.020 are in verse 11, 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:28.840 that the greatest 00:08:28.840 --> 00:08:30.480 among you 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:31.960 shall be your servant. 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:33.500 And then in verse 12, 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:35.539 whoever humbles himself 00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:36.440 will be exalted. 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:39.060 Followers of Jesus 00:08:39.060 --> 00:08:40.240 are marked by humility. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:43.560 And so he distinguishes 00:08:43.560 --> 00:08:44.480 between two groups 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:44.980 of people, 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:46.180 the hypocrites 00:08:46.180 --> 00:08:47.320 and the humble. 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:50.399 Now there's a couple things 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:50.940 I want to draw 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:51.620 to your attention. 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.160 Things that Jesus says here 00:08:54.160 --> 00:08:55.340 that kind of 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:57.080 heighten the contrast. 00:08:57.840 --> 00:08:59.340 What makes them different? 00:09:01.540 --> 00:09:02.980 And so the first thing 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:03.820 I want you to notice 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:06.180 is attention. 00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:07.860 Verse 5, 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:08.520 the hypocrites, 00:09:08.680 --> 00:09:10.020 they do all their deeds 00:09:10.020 --> 00:09:11.220 to be seen by others. 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:13.600 They want to be seen. 00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:15.640 Phylacteries 00:09:15.640 --> 00:09:16.640 were these little boxes 00:09:16.640 --> 00:09:18.020 with scripture in it 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:18.720 that they would tie 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:19.480 on their heads 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:21.259 and they made big ones. 00:09:23.319 --> 00:09:24.299 These fringes, 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:24.980 these tassels, 00:09:25.079 --> 00:09:26.220 they wore on their robes, 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:27.720 they were really long 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:29.480 to get your attention. 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:32.220 They wanted the best seats 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:33.220 at the feasts 00:09:33.220 --> 00:09:34.360 and in the synagogues 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:34.879 because they wanted 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:35.759 to be seen. 00:09:36.819 --> 00:09:37.960 They want to be said, 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:39.679 greeted as rabbi. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:41.439 In Hebrew, 00:09:41.939 --> 00:09:43.759 rabbi means great one. 00:09:44.179 --> 00:09:46.519 Rabbi means my great one. 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:47.579 They wanted to be known 00:09:47.579 --> 00:09:49.159 in the most basic sense 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:50.339 as great, 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:51.539 impressive, 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:52.899 seen, 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:54.679 larger than life. 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:56.739 Wanted to be known. 00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:01.379 Not so the humble. 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:01.979 The humble, 00:10:02.979 --> 00:10:03.219 man, 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:03.919 they're servants. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.079 They lower themselves. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:08.419 They don't want 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:09.059 to be seen. 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:09.599 They want to be 00:10:09.599 --> 00:10:10.319 in the background. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:11.579 They want to help 00:10:11.579 --> 00:10:12.459 other people out. 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:13.679 The Pharisees 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:15.039 were tying up burdens 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:16.059 and not lifting 00:10:16.059 --> 00:10:16.959 a little pinky 00:10:16.959 --> 00:10:17.719 to help. 00:10:18.699 --> 00:10:19.599 Servants don't operate 00:10:19.599 --> 00:10:20.139 that way. 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:22.479 Servants bear burdens. 00:10:22.959 --> 00:10:23.819 They release burdens 00:10:23.819 --> 00:10:26.079 just like the servant said. 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:26.719 Come to me, 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:27.459 all you are weary 00:10:27.459 --> 00:10:28.139 and heavy laden. 00:10:28.939 --> 00:10:29.899 I'll give you rest. 00:10:30.719 --> 00:10:32.000 He bears our burdens. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.440 And so, 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:37.379 there's a distinction, 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:38.559 a contrast here 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:39.500 of visibility. 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:41.860 And just to press 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:42.299 that home 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:43.080 a little bit more, 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:44.200 I want you to look 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:45.720 at verse 8 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:46.740 and 9 and 10. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:47.799 But you are not 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:48.860 to be called rabbi 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:50.379 for you have one teacher 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:51.799 and you are all brothers. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:52.179 So, 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:53.279 this is what Jesus does. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:54.240 Hey, disciples, 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:56.080 don't consider yourself 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:56.779 a great one. 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:58.860 You've got one teacher. 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:01.179 And he draws their attention 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:02.039 to the teacher. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.539 Don't call someone father 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:07.239 for you have one father. 00:11:07.459 --> 00:11:08.679 He draws our attention 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:09.879 to the one father 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:10.559 who is in heaven. 00:11:12.479 --> 00:11:12.799 He says, 00:11:13.099 --> 00:11:14.939 don't be called instructor 00:11:14.939 --> 00:11:16.799 for you have one instructor, 00:11:16.959 --> 00:11:17.679 the Christ. 00:11:18.079 --> 00:11:18.359 And so, 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:19.579 he draws our gaze 00:11:19.579 --> 00:11:20.839 to the one instructor, 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:21.500 the Christ. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:22.379 And so, 00:11:22.459 --> 00:11:23.459 our attention goes 00:11:23.459 --> 00:11:24.379 from being on ourselves 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:26.620 to being on the one. 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:28.519 See those repeated ones? 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:29.779 One teacher, 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:30.939 one father, 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:32.379 one instructor, 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:33.600 the Christ. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:35.080 You know the difference 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:36.159 between a hypocrite 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.019 and a humble person is? 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:40.100 You're focused. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:42.659 Hypocrites say, 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:43.360 look at me. 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:47.019 Humble people say, 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:48.460 look at my God. 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:52.800 There's also another 00:11:52.800 --> 00:11:53.340 difference here 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:54.740 in terms of the contrast, 00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:56.180 a contrast of authority. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:57.080 The scribes 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:57.820 and the Pharisees 00:11:57.820 --> 00:11:59.379 sit in Moses' seat. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:00.519 It's a position of authority. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:00.940 It's like, 00:12:01.280 --> 00:12:02.120 it's like the chair 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:03.220 of the English department 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:04.280 over at Carthage 00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:05.200 or the chair 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.320 of the biology department 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:07.560 over at Parkside. 00:12:07.680 --> 00:12:09.200 It's distinguished positions 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:10.139 of influence. 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:13.400 They want the chair 00:12:13.400 --> 00:12:14.040 of Moses. 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:16.439 They want to be the ones 00:12:16.439 --> 00:12:18.240 who speak authoritatively. 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:20.159 They want to be the ones 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:20.860 who are saying 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:21.699 what matters. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:23.879 Servants, 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:24.980 they are saying, 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:25.779 the humble say, 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:26.039 no, 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:27.259 it's not what 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:28.799 someone says, 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:30.419 it's what my teacher, 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:32.339 my one teacher says, 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:33.480 my one father, 00:12:33.939 --> 00:12:34.980 my one instructor, 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:35.799 the Christ. 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:38.139 So, 00:12:38.579 --> 00:12:39.339 what the Pharisees 00:12:39.339 --> 00:12:39.799 were saying, 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:39.980 hey, 00:12:40.079 --> 00:12:40.959 we're the authorities 00:12:40.959 --> 00:12:41.500 on here. 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:42.379 What the humble, 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:43.699 the followers of Jesus say, 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:44.040 is like, 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:44.300 Jesus, 00:12:44.420 --> 00:12:45.379 you are our authority. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:46.900 Our one authority. 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:47.740 We're all brothers 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:48.300 and sisters. 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:50.320 He is our authority. 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:57.060 We go on to see 00:12:57.060 --> 00:12:58.700 a contrast 00:12:58.700 --> 00:12:59.720 in greatness. 00:13:02.400 --> 00:13:03.400 In verse 11, 00:13:03.520 --> 00:13:04.000 Jesus says, 00:13:04.180 --> 00:13:05.300 the greatest among you 00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:06.320 shall be your servant. 00:13:07.400 --> 00:13:08.500 And what we get a sense 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:09.379 from these hypocrites 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:10.440 is they consider greatness 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:11.200 in terms of 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:12.860 lording it over others. 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:14.139 what other people 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:14.840 think about them. 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:17.200 There's a huge difference 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:17.940 there in terms of 00:13:17.940 --> 00:13:18.759 what greatness is. 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:20.039 God's kingdom 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:21.580 values a different 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:22.700 kind of greatness 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:24.320 than the world's kingdom. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:26.039 Kingdom greatness 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:27.000 is in servanthood. 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:28.960 It's not lording it 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:29.840 over others, 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:31.139 it's coming under 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:32.519 others to serve them. 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:39.059 And so where the hypocrites 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:39.960 were very interested 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:41.039 in position 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:42.539 and what people 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:43.779 said of them 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:45.720 and being recognized 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:47.919 and having the authoritative word, 00:13:48.319 --> 00:13:49.340 those who are humble, 00:13:49.439 --> 00:13:49.740 they're like, 00:13:50.079 --> 00:13:51.240 it doesn't matter, 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:52.679 that stuff doesn't matter 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:53.340 to me 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:55.960 because my king 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:57.620 has the greatest position, 00:13:57.939 --> 00:13:58.279 Jesus. 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:00.019 He is my authority. 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:01.539 It's his place 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:02.539 that I come under 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:03.120 ultimately. 00:14:04.819 --> 00:14:06.480 And it's just not a contrast 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:07.480 in terms of 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:08.919 greatness. 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:10.500 If you look at verse 12, 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.100 there's a contrast 00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:13.439 in terms of outcome. 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:15.179 Whoever exalts himself 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:15.799 will be humbled 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:17.059 and whoever humbles himself 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:17.980 will be exalted. 00:14:18.699 --> 00:14:19.919 Those hypocrites 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:21.919 who exalt themselves now 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.360 will be humbled then. 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:25.699 And those who are humble, 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:27.340 who bring themselves low, 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:29.940 now they'll be exalted then. 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:32.940 And so what we see 00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:33.620 going on here 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:34.700 in verses 1 through 12 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:35.620 is Jesus saying, 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:36.840 hey, there are two groups 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:37.240 of people. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:38.080 There are hypocrites 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:39.600 and then there are humble 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:41.000 and there are some 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.060 significant consequences 00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:44.639 for who you are. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:51.879 And what we see happening 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:53.540 in verses 13 through 35 00:14:53.540 --> 00:14:55.259 is Jesus says, 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:56.600 now here's what's going 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:57.819 to happen to these hypocrites. 00:14:59.819 --> 00:15:00.960 So we've looked at 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:01.679 the contrast 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:02.939 between the hypocrites 00:15:02.939 --> 00:15:03.980 and the humble 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:05.139 in verses 1 through 12. 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:06.519 Let's turn our attention 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:07.919 now to this large section 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:09.759 in verses 13 through 35 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:10.980 where Jesus speaks 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:12.740 seven woes 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:14.039 on these scribes 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:14.899 and Pharisees. 00:15:16.899 --> 00:15:18.539 He is condemning them. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:20.879 Have you heard 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:22.240 the word hangry yet? 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.539 I'm so hangry right now. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:26.799 It's a combination 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:27.879 of you're hungry 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:28.980 and you're angry 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:30.220 at the same time. 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:31.320 It's one of these 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.440 loaded words 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:33.039 that you're like, 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:33.919 yeah, I get that. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:36.740 The word woe 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:38.580 that Jesus repeats 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:40.100 seven times here, 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:42.100 it's a loaded word. 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:43.980 It carries the sense 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:44.720 of regret, 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:46.399 it carries the sense 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:47.259 of sorrow, 00:15:47.560 --> 00:15:48.399 and it carries 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.139 the sense of judgment. 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:51.519 And so what you need 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:52.019 to understand 00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:52.819 is that when Jesus 00:15:52.819 --> 00:15:54.259 speaks these woes, 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:55.340 he's not like, 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:56.740 and I'm giving it to you 00:15:56.740 --> 00:15:57.720 and he's got a smile 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:58.319 on his face. 00:15:58.500 --> 00:15:59.379 You take that 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:00.299 and you take that 00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:01.179 and you take that. 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:03.139 This is grieving him. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:04.699 And we see that 00:16:04.699 --> 00:16:05.600 come out more fully 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:06.659 in the lament 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:07.319 he speaks 00:16:07.319 --> 00:16:08.960 in verses 37 through 39. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:11.179 But what I want you 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:12.059 to see is he speaks 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:13.580 seven woes 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:15.620 upon these scribes 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:16.740 and Pharisees. 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:18.019 We see it 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:19.019 in verse 13, 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:20.720 but it's Total 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:21.000 and Pharisees 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:21.519 hypocrites. 00:16:21.699 --> 00:16:22.399 We see it 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.220 in verse 15, 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:23.980 woe to you 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:24.539 scribes 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:25.179 and Pharisees 00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:25.679 hypocrites. 00:16:25.779 --> 00:16:26.460 We see it 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:27.100 in 16, 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:27.840 woe to you 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:28.879 blind guides. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.159 Woe to you. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:33.039 Verse 23, 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:33.899 woe to you 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:34.399 scribes 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:35.079 and Pharisees 00:16:35.079 --> 00:16:35.559 hypocrites. 00:16:35.699 --> 00:16:36.699 Verse 25, 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:37.579 woe to you 00:16:37.579 --> 00:16:38.100 scribes 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:38.799 and Pharisees 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:39.539 hypocrites. 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:40.659 Verse 27, 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:41.480 woe to you 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:42.039 scribes 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:42.799 and Pharisees 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:43.519 hypocrites. 00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:45.600 Verse 29, 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:47.639 the last woe. 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:48.460 Woe to you 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:51.280 scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 00:16:52.060 --> 00:16:56.580 He's speaking this woe on the leaders of the Jewish people who were 00:16:56.580 --> 00:17:00.920 teaching the people. And he's calling them hypocrites. 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.920 Those people who make a profession 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:08.140 and then their practice doesn't match up. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:13.660 These seven woes 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:16.880 can be paired together. 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.000 Woes one and two have a common theme. 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:24.200 Woes three and four have a common theme. 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.180 Woes five and six have a common theme. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.400 And then woe seven stands all alone 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.299 because it's to stand all alone. 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.840 So let's walk through these woes 00:17:38.840 --> 00:17:42.640 so you get a sense of what Jesus is saying to these hypocrites. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.759 And I'm going to try to bring it to bear on our lives today. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:50.539 Woe number one in verses 13 and 14. 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:52.819 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:55.299 for you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces, 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:59.220 for you neither enter yourself nor allow those who would enter to go in. 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:02.079 And then woe two is woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:06.299 for you travel across the sea and land to make a single proselyte, a convert. 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:08.299 And when he becomes a convert, 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:11.339 you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.759 How are these scribes and Pharisees 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.720 shutting the door of the kingdom on people's faces? 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.639 Verse 13 and 14. 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:22.019 Here's how they're doing it. 00:18:22.399 --> 00:18:25.539 They are denying that Jesus is the Christ. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:26.819 That's how they're doing it. 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:31.500 Remember, the kingdom of heaven is God's saving reign. 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:36.059 To enter the kingdom of heaven is to be saved, to be rescued, 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.299 to come under God's gracious reign. 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:42.400 And what these scribes and Pharisees were doing was 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:46.079 they were shutting the door of the kingdom on people's faces 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.380 because they were denying Jesus as the Christ. 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:53.619 They're false teachers in that sense. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.660 And the hypocrisy of it is 00:18:56.660 --> 00:19:00.279 they actually think that they're teaching the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:03.640 They think they have the right teaching. 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:05.299 And Jesus says, 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:07.940 No, you're misleading people. 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:09.000 It's like this. 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:11.000 Could you imagine walking up to a house 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.160 and Jesus, it's dark outside 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:14.900 and Jesus, the door's open 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:16.480 and there's this glass door 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:17.880 and Jesus is standing there 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:20.380 with this kind of warm glow behind him 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:21.519 and you're walking up and like, 00:19:21.619 --> 00:19:23.759 Man, I want that guy. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.500 And as you're walking up to the door, 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:27.420 this Pharisee walks in front of you, 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:29.740 reaches inside and closes the door 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:31.839 and say, No, Jesus for you. 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:35.480 Slamming the door of the kingdom on people's faces. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:39.299 Woe to. 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:42.000 They go to extreme measures to make a convert. 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:44.980 And what they're converting them to 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:48.579 is not the true meaning of the Old Testament, 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:51.279 but their Pharisaical version of it. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:55.460 Pharisaical version that denies 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:57.100 the true fulfillment of it 00:19:57.100 --> 00:19:58.920 that's found in Christ. 00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:03.079 And so they pile up burdens on people 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:05.140 and they do nothing to help them. 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:08.680 They were making converts 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:10.680 to their version of Judaism 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:11.920 and as a result, 00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:13.400 they're making their converts 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.779 twice the sons of hell as themselves. 00:20:16.860 --> 00:20:18.779 They're teaching people 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:21.579 how to shut the door of the kingdom 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:22.859 on other people. 00:20:25.939 --> 00:20:28.740 Both woes are hypocrisy. 00:20:30.199 --> 00:20:30.960 And what it is, 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:32.819 is it is the hypocrisy 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:34.279 of leading people, 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:36.019 and you're supposed to be leading them 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:36.939 to the truth, 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:39.099 but you're leading them somewhere else. 00:20:43.099 --> 00:20:44.579 Beware, brothers and sisters. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:48.659 This destructive effect of hypocrisy 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:50.960 is not limited to the first century. 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:54.480 It's a 21st century problem. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.140 It's a 21st century parenting problem. 00:20:58.860 --> 00:21:01.040 Why our children walk away from the church? 00:21:02.100 --> 00:21:04.259 Could it be that Christian parents 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:07.180 are professing Jesus as Lord with their lips, 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.460 but Monday through Saturday 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:12.100 they're denying Him by their lifestyle? 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:13.860 So mom and dad, 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:14.960 I've got a question for you. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:18.200 What version of Christianity 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:19.900 are you teaching your children? 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.120 What are you calling your children to? 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.900 Are you actually calling them to Christ? 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:30.680 Or are you calling them 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.819 to a Christless version of Christianity? 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:37.299 Are you just calling them 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:39.960 to live up to a certain way of being? 00:21:40.860 --> 00:21:42.100 Or are you calling them 00:21:42.100 --> 00:21:43.340 to the living Jesus, 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:45.799 who alone can change them? 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.779 We don't want to be training our children 00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:53.859 in a moralistic, therapeutic deism 00:21:53.859 --> 00:21:56.439 because we're going to slam the door 00:21:56.439 --> 00:21:57.659 of the kingdom on their faces. 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:01.259 But do you know what's even worse 00:22:01.259 --> 00:22:02.379 than people, children, 00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:03.379 leaving our churches? 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:07.319 It's if what we model to our children 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:08.119 actually, 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:11.439 which is some kind of version of Christianity, 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:14.320 they actually buy into it 00:22:14.320 --> 00:22:15.860 and then propagate it. 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:19.420 And it's not true biblical Christianity. 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:24.000 We don't want any of that. 00:22:27.840 --> 00:22:29.460 We don't want our children 00:22:29.460 --> 00:22:32.880 holding on to this Christless tradition 00:22:33.600 --> 00:22:34.920 of religion. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.420 We want to call our children 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:40.019 to the living Christ. 00:22:42.300 --> 00:22:44.620 So woe to the scribes and Pharisees 00:22:44.620 --> 00:22:46.180 for the destructive effect 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:48.019 of their hypocrisy on others. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:49.720 And we must be aware 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:51.740 of the effect of our hypocrisy 00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:52.920 on our children. 00:22:53.300 --> 00:22:55.039 And you know what the solution is to that? 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:58.299 We enamor ourselves 00:22:58.299 --> 00:22:59.359 with Jesus. 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:02.500 We deny ourselves 00:23:02.500 --> 00:23:04.980 and follow the living Christ ourselves. 00:23:05.639 --> 00:23:07.659 He is our all in all. 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:09.099 And when that happens, 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:10.460 you have a parent 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:12.539 who's generally trying to follow Jesus 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:15.000 living out in front of their children 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.039 and it actually adorns the gospel. 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:20.000 It's like, okay, 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:20.960 they may not be perfect, 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:21.960 but they're trying. 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:24.559 They talk a lot about Jesus 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:25.640 and it drives me nuts, 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:26.539 but I'll tell you what, 00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:27.180 they're legit. 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:31.200 We want to avoid the whole 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.980 to do as I say 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:34.480 but not as I do business. 00:23:34.840 --> 00:23:36.400 We want to humble ourselves 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:37.420 in front of our children 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:39.600 and live out the faith. 00:23:40.600 --> 00:23:41.519 You know what that becomes? 00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:44.319 A living apologetic 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:45.400 to our children. 00:23:47.120 --> 00:23:49.100 Jesus is really changing us. 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:53.720 Woes 3 and 4 00:23:53.720 --> 00:23:56.559 focus on another effect of hypocrisy. 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.420 We see that played out 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:00.360 in verses 16 through 22. 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:03.319 Woe 3 that is. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.279 Jesus is exposing 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:09.940 a majoring on the minors 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:12.759 to the neglect of what matters most. 00:24:12.840 --> 00:24:14.079 It's classic hypocrisy. 00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:16.200 I'm going to major on the minors 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:18.480 for my personal interest. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:19.599 I'm going to bring in 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:20.860 what's on the peripheral 00:24:20.860 --> 00:24:22.180 and make it central 00:24:22.180 --> 00:24:23.500 because that's my thing. 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:26.259 It's majoring on the minors 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.360 and Jesus exposes it. 00:24:29.120 --> 00:24:30.079 In the first woe, 00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:30.920 as you will see, 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:32.660 he's talking about 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:34.480 swearing and taking oaths. 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:36.360 Woe to you blind guides 00:24:36.360 --> 00:24:37.680 who say if anyone swears 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:38.279 by the temple, 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:38.779 it's nothing, 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:40.059 but if anyone swears 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:41.019 by the gold of the temple, 00:24:41.120 --> 00:24:42.299 he's bound by his oath. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.000 So here's what Jesus 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:44.740 is doing here. 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:46.799 The Pharisees were teaching 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:49.480 the people about the difference 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:51.579 between binding oaths 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:53.399 and non-binding oaths. 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:55.119 A binding oath is an oath 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:55.700 that you swear 00:24:55.700 --> 00:24:56.980 that you've got to follow through on. 00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:58.599 A non-binding oath 00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:00.259 is an oath that you say, 00:25:00.379 --> 00:25:01.200 but it's not really, 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:02.700 you know, important 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:04.440 that you follow through so much. 00:25:06.019 --> 00:25:07.200 And what Jesus says 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:07.740 in this section 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:08.680 is what determines 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:09.440 whether an oath 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.659 was binding or not 00:25:10.659 --> 00:25:12.819 is how you worded it. 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:15.859 So if you swore 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:17.039 by the temple, 00:25:17.679 --> 00:25:18.480 non-binding, 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:19.839 but if you swore 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:21.079 by the gold of the temple, 00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:21.980 binding. 00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:23.899 If you swore 00:25:23.899 --> 00:25:25.460 by the altar in the temple, 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:26.480 not binding, 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:27.740 but if you swore 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:28.539 by the gift 00:25:28.539 --> 00:25:29.359 on the altar, 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:30.159 that's binding. 00:25:32.439 --> 00:25:34.139 You feel the load 00:25:34.139 --> 00:25:35.839 that would have been 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:37.859 building the pile up 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:38.460 happening. 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:39.720 If you're carrying 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:40.500 a backpack, 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:41.599 you're just getting 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.899 dropped rocks in it. 00:25:45.219 --> 00:25:46.319 The hypocrisy 00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:47.619 is that the Pharisees 00:25:47.619 --> 00:25:48.639 were actually training 00:25:48.639 --> 00:25:49.359 God's people 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:50.899 not how to be truthful, 00:25:51.179 --> 00:25:52.500 but how not to be truthful. 00:25:53.379 --> 00:25:54.859 How not to follow through 00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:55.779 on your word. 00:25:55.939 --> 00:25:57.259 That's the hypocrisy on it. 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:01.199 And what God wants 00:26:01.199 --> 00:26:01.839 of his people 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:03.359 is that they do 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:04.279 what they say. 00:26:05.159 --> 00:26:06.139 They're faithful 00:26:06.139 --> 00:26:07.559 to their words. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:09.039 They're true 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:10.740 to their words. 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.579 And so the whole point 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:13.460 Jesus makes early 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:14.339 in the gospel is, 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:16.000 hey, if you speak truthfully 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.299 and follow through on it, 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:18.559 you don't need 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.440 to speak oaths. 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:22.620 So what the Pharisees 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:23.160 have done is 00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:23.980 they built this 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:25.620 elaborate scaffolding 00:26:25.620 --> 00:26:26.839 around God's law, 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:28.519 which they end up 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:29.559 serving instead 00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:30.480 of God's law. 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:32.779 And they lose 00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:34.759 the whole side 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.779 of being truthful. 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.380 So they neglect 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:38.880 the weightier matters 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:39.460 of the law, 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:40.300 truthfulness, 00:26:40.800 --> 00:26:42.480 because they're trying 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:43.200 to get into 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:44.800 the minute details 00:26:44.800 --> 00:26:45.460 of making sure 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:45.840 you're saying 00:26:45.840 --> 00:26:46.580 the right thing. 00:26:47.860 --> 00:26:48.700 Jesus says, 00:26:48.800 --> 00:26:49.580 just be truthful. 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:52.460 In verses 23 and 24, 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:54.340 we see woe for. 00:26:55.340 --> 00:26:57.180 And just like giving oaths 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:59.020 had all this detail to it, 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:01.180 the issue in woe for 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:02.440 was tithing. 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:05.500 The Old Testament 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:06.600 required God's people 00:27:06.600 --> 00:27:07.460 to give 10% 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:08.799 of all their income, 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:10.100 which would include 00:27:10.100 --> 00:27:11.759 the produce of their farms. 00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:13.220 So what we see 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:14.740 the Pharisees doing 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:16.460 in verses 23 through 24 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:18.100 is that they are 00:27:18.100 --> 00:27:21.039 tithing off the smallest 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:21.880 of items. 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:23.980 For you tithe mint 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:25.019 and dill and cumin 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:26.140 and have neglected 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:26.920 the weightier matters 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:27.360 of the law. 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:28.259 Does anybody have 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:29.200 a basil plant 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:30.220 in their yard? 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.400 Basil plant? 00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:32.200 I see that hand. 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:33.180 I see that hand. 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:34.940 Could you imagine 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:36.360 when harvest time 00:27:36.360 --> 00:27:37.680 comes for your basil plant, 00:27:37.800 --> 00:27:39.180 you collect all the leaves 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:39.759 off it, 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:40.600 and you've got 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:42.820 1,200 leaves. 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:44.519 And so what you would do 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.780 in keeping with the Pharisees 00:27:45.780 --> 00:27:46.720 is you would want 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:47.160 to make sure 00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.200 you get 10% 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.720 of those 1,200 basil leaves 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:52.000 and then give it 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:52.880 unto the Lord. 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:54.580 So that would be 00:27:54.580 --> 00:27:56.280 120 leaves 00:27:56.280 --> 00:27:58.519 for just your basil plant. 00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.700 And so what 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:03.859 the Pharisees were doing 00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:04.599 is they were so 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:05.839 preoccupied with 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:06.819 getting down to 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:08.220 the very nitty-gritty 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:09.359 of their areas 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:10.559 and applying the tithe 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:10.980 to it, 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:12.039 they were totally 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:13.200 neglecting the 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:14.400 weightier matters 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:15.180 of the law 00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:16.220 is what Jesus said. 00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:18.539 Justice, 00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:20.319 mercy, 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:22.319 and faithfulness. 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:24.359 Those are all 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:25.539 outworkings 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:26.980 of loving your neighbor 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:28.160 as yourself. 00:28:29.500 --> 00:28:30.860 They were missing it. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:33.779 They were so 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:35.140 detailed 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:36.480 on making sure 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.200 they got their 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:38.319 tithe right, 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:40.519 they were neglecting 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:41.339 their neighbor 00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:42.380 who needed 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:42.980 justice 00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:43.860 and mercy 00:28:43.860 --> 00:28:45.059 and faithfulness. 00:28:48.339 --> 00:28:49.339 What Jesus 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:50.140 is saying here 00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:50.579 is that, 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:50.900 hey, 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:52.519 I desire you 00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:53.740 to show mercy 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:54.819 and justice 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:56.119 and faithfulness 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:57.240 love your neighbor 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:58.799 more than you 00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:00.200 tithe your basil plant. 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:03.339 Tithe away, 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:04.359 but not at the 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:05.099 expense of the 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:05.659 bigger stuff. 00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:08.399 And so, 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:09.220 here's what 00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:10.439 these two woes 00:29:10.439 --> 00:29:10.720 come, 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:12.619 they are neglecting 00:29:12.619 --> 00:29:13.879 the major things 00:29:13.879 --> 00:29:15.559 for being 00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:16.439 preoccupied 00:29:16.439 --> 00:29:17.039 on the minor 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:17.519 things. 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.259 They are 00:29:19.259 --> 00:29:20.480 majoring on 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:21.159 the minors 00:29:21.159 --> 00:29:22.359 at the expense 00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:23.299 of what matters 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:23.859 most. 00:29:24.179 --> 00:29:24.659 That's what 00:29:24.659 --> 00:29:25.419 these woes are. 00:29:25.699 --> 00:29:26.079 That's what 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:26.659 these hypocrites 00:29:26.659 --> 00:29:27.059 were doing. 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:27.859 And that's how 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:28.679 they're misleading 00:29:28.679 --> 00:29:29.299 the people. 00:29:29.979 --> 00:29:30.759 They're training 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:31.500 God's people 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:32.500 to do the same. 00:29:33.979 --> 00:29:34.439 And Jesus 00:29:34.439 --> 00:29:34.839 is saying, 00:29:34.959 --> 00:29:35.259 no. 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:39.299 Now, 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:39.879 there's a warning 00:29:39.879 --> 00:29:40.500 for us here. 00:29:40.639 --> 00:29:41.240 We can become 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:42.179 preoccupied with 00:29:42.179 --> 00:29:42.699 matters of 00:29:42.699 --> 00:29:44.139 secondary importance 00:29:44.139 --> 00:29:44.419 too. 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.319 We can take 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:45.859 things on the 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:46.639 peripheral and 00:29:46.639 --> 00:29:47.179 try to make 00:29:47.179 --> 00:29:47.719 them central. 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:50.039 We major 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:50.399 on the 00:29:50.399 --> 00:29:50.899 minors. 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:52.279 We can 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:53.299 insist on 00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:54.059 finer points 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:54.700 of doctrine 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:55.339 to be 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:56.139 necessary for 00:29:56.139 --> 00:29:56.420 someone to 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:56.659 be a 00:29:56.659 --> 00:29:57.019 Christian. 00:29:59.039 --> 00:29:59.639 I remember 00:29:59.639 --> 00:30:00.319 this one time 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.159 a Christian 00:30:01.159 --> 00:30:01.839 sister came 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:02.740 up and we 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:03.180 met for the 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:03.559 first time. 00:30:03.639 --> 00:30:03.960 She found 00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:04.399 out I was a 00:30:04.399 --> 00:30:04.920 pastor and 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:05.299 she was like, 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:05.799 so what do 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:05.940 you think 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.279 about the 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:06.740 rapture? 00:30:08.659 --> 00:30:09.180 You know 00:30:09.180 --> 00:30:09.359 what was 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:10.039 behind that? 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:11.559 Are you 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:12.119 in or not? 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:13.559 Where do you 00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:14.139 come down on 00:30:14.139 --> 00:30:14.440 this? 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:15.420 Maybe you 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:15.819 know people 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:16.700 who adhere 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.200 to a KJV 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:19.200 only-ism 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:20.779 that the 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:21.279 King James 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:21.960 version is 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:22.600 the only 00:30:22.600 --> 00:30:23.340 inspired 00:30:23.340 --> 00:30:24.220 English version 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:24.580 of the 00:30:24.580 --> 00:30:24.960 Bible. 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:26.960 And within 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.819 minutes of 00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:28.360 meeting them 00:30:28.360 --> 00:30:29.100 they're looking 00:30:29.100 --> 00:30:29.900 at the spine 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:30.160 of your 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:30.660 Bible to 00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:30.980 see what 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:31.240 kind of 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:31.779 version you're 00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:32.400 reading out of. 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:37.500 Does it 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:38.319 matter about 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:39.360 final things? 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:39.840 Oh yeah, 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:40.400 it does. 00:30:41.120 --> 00:30:41.460 Does it 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:41.940 matter what 00:30:41.940 --> 00:30:42.480 version of 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:42.759 the Bible 00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:43.019 you read? 00:30:43.120 --> 00:30:43.360 Yeah, 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:43.900 it's important. 00:30:44.779 --> 00:30:45.220 Is it of 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:45.900 first importance? 00:30:46.180 --> 00:30:46.559 No. 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:47.960 Those things 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:48.700 aren't first 00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:49.180 important. 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:50.220 Here's some 00:30:50.220 --> 00:30:50.600 other things 00:30:50.600 --> 00:30:51.019 that we can 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:51.620 bring in 00:30:51.620 --> 00:30:52.279 from the 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:52.819 periphery. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:54.580 We can 00:30:54.580 --> 00:30:55.340 make first 00:30:55.340 --> 00:30:55.860 importance 00:30:55.860 --> 00:30:56.600 matters out 00:30:56.600 --> 00:30:57.000 of how 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:57.900 you educate 00:30:57.900 --> 00:30:58.500 your children. 00:30:58.860 --> 00:30:59.519 Whether they 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.480 are homeschooled 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:00.819 or whether 00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:01.360 they are 00:31:01.360 --> 00:31:02.019 publicly 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:02.640 educated 00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:03.039 or they 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:03.259 go to 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:03.640 a Christian 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:04.039 private 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:04.360 school. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:05.240 That can 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:05.920 become a 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:06.580 lightning rod 00:31:06.580 --> 00:31:06.900 between 00:31:06.900 --> 00:31:07.360 Christians 00:31:07.360 --> 00:31:08.340 and we 00:31:08.340 --> 00:31:08.860 put a 00:31:08.860 --> 00:31:09.259 lot in 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:09.640 on it. 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:10.720 Here's 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:10.940 another 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:11.240 thing. 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:12.660 Your 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:13.140 entertainment 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:13.680 choices, 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:15.519 your 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.039 vacation 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:16.819 destinations, 00:31:17.120 --> 00:31:17.580 your car 00:31:17.580 --> 00:31:18.140 purchases, 00:31:18.340 --> 00:31:18.700 what you 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:19.100 wear, 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:20.180 how you 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:20.740 worship. 00:31:21.100 --> 00:31:21.620 All these 00:31:21.620 --> 00:31:22.240 things can 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:22.700 come in 00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:22.980 and we 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:23.340 can make 00:31:23.340 --> 00:31:24.140 fights out 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:24.519 of them 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:25.080 while 00:31:25.080 --> 00:31:25.799 neglecting 00:31:25.799 --> 00:31:26.279 the bigger 00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:26.840 things. 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:28.740 Justice, 00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:29.400 mercy, 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:30.460 and faithfulness, 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:31.180 loving your 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:31.660 neighbor as 00:31:31.660 --> 00:31:32.059 yourself. 00:31:34.360 --> 00:31:34.759 And Jesus 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:35.039 says, 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:35.720 woe to the 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:36.240 scribes and 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:36.940 Pharisees for 00:31:36.940 --> 00:31:37.600 the neglect 00:31:37.600 --> 00:31:38.600 of what 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:39.400 matters most. 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:40.140 It costs 00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:40.799 them the 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:41.100 kingdom. 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:41.179 them. 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:43.519 And may it 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.119 be a warning 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:45.259 to us to 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:46.179 steer clear 00:31:46.179 --> 00:31:47.299 from making 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.179 mountains out 00:31:48.179 --> 00:31:48.619 of mole 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:49.019 hills. 00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:50.740 You want to 00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:51.059 know how to 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:51.399 do it? 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:54.519 How to 00:31:54.519 --> 00:31:55.199 keep from 00:31:55.199 --> 00:31:56.019 making something 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:56.519 minor, 00:31:56.980 --> 00:31:57.339 major? 00:31:58.699 --> 00:31:59.559 You keep 00:31:59.559 --> 00:32:00.139 the major 00:32:00.139 --> 00:32:01.019 things major. 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:02.539 And you 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:02.919 know what the 00:32:02.919 --> 00:32:04.719 major-est thing 00:32:04.719 --> 00:32:05.500 of all is? 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:07.180 Jesus. 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.380 Jesus is the 00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:09.880 main thing. 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:11.539 And what we're 00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:12.019 going to do as 00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:12.680 a church is 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.059 keep Jesus in 00:32:14.059 --> 00:32:14.619 all of his 00:32:14.619 --> 00:32:15.500 glory at the 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:16.440 center of all 00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:17.240 that we do. 00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:18.799 He is our 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:19.440 engine. 00:32:20.660 --> 00:32:21.400 And we're not 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:21.660 going to let 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:22.480 anything vie for 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:22.779 that. 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:27.680 When you keep 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:28.319 Jesus at the 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:28.779 center of all 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:31.039 things, you're 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:31.920 enamored by 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:33.839 him and you 00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:34.359 die to 00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:34.920 yourself. 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:36.299 to follow 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:37.900 him, including 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:38.380 your pet 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:39.039 projects. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:42.900 Woes 5 and 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:43.960 6 focus on 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:44.599 yet another 00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:45.799 effect of 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:46.720 hypocrisy. 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:48.740 It's the 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:49.660 effect of 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:51.039 prioritizing the 00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:52.039 external to 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:52.920 the neglect of 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:53.700 the internal. 00:32:54.339 --> 00:32:54.799 And we see 00:32:54.799 --> 00:32:55.299 that in verses 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:57.599 25 through 00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:59.099 26 and 00:32:59.099 --> 00:32:59.920 then 27 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:00.819 through 28. 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:02.759 In both 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.640 situations, what 00:33:03.640 --> 00:33:04.099 you see is 00:33:04.099 --> 00:33:04.400 this. 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:05.620 there is this 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:07.840 external value 00:33:07.840 --> 00:33:09.920 at the cost of 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:10.700 what's internal. 00:33:11.080 --> 00:33:11.900 It's a putting 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:12.900 the external 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:14.300 first and the 00:33:14.300 --> 00:33:15.380 internal second. 00:33:16.040 --> 00:33:16.680 And so in 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:17.759 Woe 5, in 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:18.480 verse 25 and 00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:19.340 26, Jesus 00:33:19.340 --> 00:33:19.940 compares the 00:33:19.940 --> 00:33:20.500 Pharisee to 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:20.940 dishware. 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:22.519 Just as a 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.500 cup has an 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:24.560 outside and an 00:33:24.560 --> 00:33:25.440 inside, a 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:26.480 Pharisee has an 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:27.920 outside and an 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:28.420 inside. 00:33:28.420 --> 00:33:29.420 And the 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:31.200 Pharisees spent a 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:32.820 lot of energy 00:33:32.820 --> 00:33:33.980 making sure their 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:35.039 outsides were 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.759 squeaky clean. 00:33:37.840 --> 00:33:38.840 But what Jesus 00:33:38.840 --> 00:33:40.720 says here is so 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:41.320 important. 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.120 He says, you 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:45.180 blind Pharisee, 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:46.960 verse 26, first 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:48.100 clean the inside of 00:33:48.100 --> 00:33:48.980 the cup and the 00:33:48.980 --> 00:33:49.779 plate that the 00:33:49.779 --> 00:33:51.259 outside also might 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:51.600 be clean. 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:52.580 Who likes chili? 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:53.840 I like chili. 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:56.079 Let's say you 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:56.639 come over to our 00:33:56.639 --> 00:33:57.399 house for chili 00:33:57.399 --> 00:33:58.159 this afternoon. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:00.059 Our dishwasher is 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:01.039 busted, so we 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:01.579 wash it. 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:02.359 And what we do, 00:34:02.439 --> 00:34:03.720 we wash just out 00:34:03.720 --> 00:34:04.779 the outside of our 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:05.759 chili bowls and 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:06.500 then we put these 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:07.500 chili bowls back up 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:08.039 in our cupboard. 00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:09.500 In a week, what's 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:10.039 going to happen? 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:11.920 It's going to be 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:12.340 stinky. 00:34:13.179 --> 00:34:14.279 And if I serve you 00:34:14.279 --> 00:34:15.079 chili out of that 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:15.920 messy chili bowl 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:16.840 next Sunday, you'd be 00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:17.460 like, I don't want 00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:17.819 this chili. 00:34:17.819 --> 00:34:17.900 Okay. 00:34:17.900 --> 00:34:22.380 Jesus says, hey, start 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:24.599 with what's inside and 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:25.700 then the outside will 00:34:25.700 --> 00:34:26.940 follow suit. 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:30.340 Jesus' point, we start 00:34:30.340 --> 00:34:31.079 with the heart. 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:34.019 Gospel ministry starts 00:34:34.019 --> 00:34:34.920 with the heart. 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:37.300 You change the heart 00:34:37.300 --> 00:34:39.099 change will follow 00:34:39.099 --> 00:34:40.200 through with life 00:34:40.200 --> 00:34:40.920 change. 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:43.039 What controls your 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:44.800 heart controls your 00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:45.340 life. 00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:47.639 But only God can 00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:48.299 change your heart. 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:50.779 Woe 6, Jesus 00:34:50.779 --> 00:34:51.900 compares the Pharisees 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:52.659 to whitewashed 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:54.619 tombs that had this 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:55.519 outward beauty. 00:34:56.819 --> 00:34:57.420 Here's the story 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:57.980 behind that. 00:34:58.539 --> 00:34:59.259 Remember, this is 00:34:59.259 --> 00:34:59.900 taking place during 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:00.679 Passover week. 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:02.639 And so you'd have 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:04.000 all these Jews 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:05.659 coming to Jerusalem 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:06.839 to observe Passover 00:35:06.839 --> 00:35:07.239 together. 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:08.719 And so what would 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:09.400 happen a month 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:10.539 before is that 00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:11.460 people would go out 00:35:11.460 --> 00:35:12.819 and whitewash the 00:35:12.819 --> 00:35:13.759 tombs surrounding 00:35:13.759 --> 00:35:14.879 the city of Jerusalem. 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:15.619 Do you know why? 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:17.940 So that those people 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:18.839 who were not familiar 00:35:18.839 --> 00:35:20.519 with the city, they 00:35:20.519 --> 00:35:21.699 would be able to see 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:23.239 tombs and avoid them 00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:25.380 because if a Jew had 00:35:25.380 --> 00:35:27.000 contact with a tomb 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:28.699 or with a dead body, 00:35:28.819 --> 00:35:29.739 they would be unclean 00:35:29.739 --> 00:35:31.179 for seven days and they 00:35:31.179 --> 00:35:32.259 would be out of the 00:35:32.259 --> 00:35:33.559 partay happening in the 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:33.799 city. 00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:36.019 And so what the 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:37.259 practice is, is they 00:35:37.259 --> 00:35:38.359 would whitewash these 00:35:38.359 --> 00:35:39.460 tombs so that people 00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:40.659 could see it to avoid 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:40.920 it. 00:35:40.920 --> 00:35:42.900 And the whitewash 00:35:42.900 --> 00:35:43.680 was a really nice 00:35:43.680 --> 00:35:44.220 whitewash. 00:35:45.380 --> 00:35:46.260 You could see them 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:46.880 from the distance. 00:35:47.180 --> 00:35:48.599 It was just a really 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:49.780 quality whitewash 00:35:49.780 --> 00:35:50.539 being used. 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:53.960 And Jesus' biting 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:55.220 irony here is that 00:35:55.220 --> 00:35:57.539 they are whitewashed 00:35:57.539 --> 00:36:00.000 monuments to dead 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:00.860 people. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:03.360 It's beautiful on the 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:04.680 outside, but on the 00:36:04.680 --> 00:36:06.579 inside, it's rotting 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:06.960 death. 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:07.000 It's rotting death. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:07.079 It's rotting death. 00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:14.320 Jesus is saying that 00:36:14.320 --> 00:36:15.820 these Pharisees, hey, 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:16.659 you guys look great on 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:19.220 the outside, but inside, 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:21.320 you see what he says 00:36:21.320 --> 00:36:21.519 there? 00:36:23.220 --> 00:36:24.240 Here's what he says. 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:28.280 So you, verse 28, so 00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:29.720 you also outward appear 00:36:29.720 --> 00:36:31.659 righteous to others, but 00:36:31.659 --> 00:36:32.800 within you are full of 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:34.700 hypocrisy and lawlessness. 00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:37.639 You're full of deadness. 00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:40.119 And when a Pharisee would 00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:41.599 have heard a criticism 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:43.199 for being lawless, 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:46.480 that's like chief 00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:47.000 offense. 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:48.779 Jesus is saying, hey, 00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:49.759 you think you're 00:36:49.759 --> 00:36:51.199 observing the law, but 00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:52.359 your observance of the 00:36:52.359 --> 00:36:54.159 law is actually lawlessness, 00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:55.059 you hypocrite. 00:36:56.239 --> 00:36:57.460 You're like a whitewashed 00:36:57.460 --> 00:36:58.940 tomb, dead inside. 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:01.639 Biting irony. 00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:05.679 They were blind to this. 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:08.179 So the hypocrisy of 00:37:08.179 --> 00:37:09.299 thinking themselves clean 00:37:09.299 --> 00:37:10.299 and alive when actually 00:37:10.299 --> 00:37:11.179 they were internally 00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:12.960 unclean and dead is what 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.940 Jesus is exposing. 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:16.559 And then calling people to 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:18.019 not pay attention to the 00:37:18.019 --> 00:37:18.779 sin within them. 00:37:20.739 --> 00:37:22.179 It costs them the kingdom 00:37:22.179 --> 00:37:23.739 and it cautions us. 00:37:24.339 --> 00:37:25.980 What Jesus is emphasizing, 00:37:26.359 --> 00:37:28.099 what he emphasizes over and 00:37:28.099 --> 00:37:29.599 over again throughout his 00:37:29.599 --> 00:37:31.559 teaching, we see it very 00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:33.019 much in the Sermon on the 00:37:33.019 --> 00:37:35.000 Mount, is what matters is 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:36.239 your internal posture 00:37:36.239 --> 00:37:37.340 towards God. 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:39.440 The real aim of the law 00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:41.360 is to expose our hearts 00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:42.659 and to aim our hearts 00:37:42.659 --> 00:37:44.679 at God to show us our 00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:45.960 need to be cleansed of 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:47.239 our greed and our 00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:48.800 self-indulgence and to 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:50.199 reveal our internal 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:51.679 deadness to God. 00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:54.780 We're all dead to God. 00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:58.059 But here's what God has 00:37:58.059 --> 00:37:58.320 done. 00:37:58.460 --> 00:38:00.780 By his grace, he offers 00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:02.940 spiritual life to the 00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:04.599 spiritually dead through 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:05.940 the risen Jesus. 00:38:08.500 --> 00:38:09.480 At the heart of 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:11.720 Christianity is a living 00:38:11.720 --> 00:38:13.139 Christ who gives new life 00:38:13.139 --> 00:38:14.000 to dead hearts. 00:38:15.380 --> 00:38:16.579 And so woe to these 00:38:16.579 --> 00:38:17.320 leaders for their 00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:18.980 hypocritical focusing on 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:20.740 the external at the cost 00:38:20.740 --> 00:38:21.700 of the internal. 00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:24.579 These blind guides were 00:38:24.579 --> 00:38:26.800 training their people in 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:28.179 moralism, in behavioralism. 00:38:28.179 --> 00:38:29.019 Behavioralism. 00:38:30.679 --> 00:38:33.440 And they lost the 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:34.579 kingdom as a result. 00:38:36.419 --> 00:38:38.519 And we're cautioned to 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:41.219 say, hey, let's pay 00:38:41.219 --> 00:38:42.119 attention to what's going 00:38:42.119 --> 00:38:42.799 on inside. 00:38:43.799 --> 00:38:45.919 And we cry out to our God 00:38:45.919 --> 00:38:48.139 to change us from the 00:38:48.139 --> 00:38:49.779 inside out. 00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:53.640 The seventh parable, the 00:38:53.640 --> 00:38:54.720 seventh woe, excuse me, 00:38:54.760 --> 00:38:57.540 the seventh woe is unpaired 00:38:57.540 --> 00:38:58.300 with another. 00:38:58.900 --> 00:39:00.140 It stands out and it's 00:39:00.140 --> 00:39:01.160 meant to stand out. 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:04.040 Let me just read it for 00:39:04.040 --> 00:39:04.260 you. 00:39:05.140 --> 00:39:06.100 Woe to you, scribes and 00:39:06.100 --> 00:39:07.540 Pharisees, hypocrites, for 00:39:07.540 --> 00:39:08.720 you build the tombs of the 00:39:08.720 --> 00:39:09.880 prophets and decorate the 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:10.540 monuments of the 00:39:10.540 --> 00:39:12.000 righteous, saying, if we 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:13.180 had lived in the days of 00:39:13.180 --> 00:39:14.240 our fathers, we would not 00:39:14.240 --> 00:39:15.780 have taken part with them 00:39:15.780 --> 00:39:16.620 in the shedding of the 00:39:16.620 --> 00:39:17.560 blood of the prophets. 00:39:18.040 --> 00:39:19.040 Thus you witness against 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:20.300 yourselves that you are 00:39:20.300 --> 00:39:21.279 sons of those who 00:39:21.279 --> 00:39:22.099 murdered the prophets. 00:39:22.539 --> 00:39:23.679 Fill up then the measure 00:39:23.679 --> 00:39:24.440 of your fathers. 00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:26.000 You serpents, you brood of 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:27.639 vipers, how are you to 00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:29.099 escape being sentenced to 00:39:29.099 --> 00:39:29.380 hell? 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:30.940 Therefore I send you 00:39:30.940 --> 00:39:32.000 prophets and wise men 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:32.940 and scribes, some of 00:39:32.940 --> 00:39:34.199 whom you will kill and 00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:35.380 crucify, and some you 00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:36.139 will flog in your 00:39:36.139 --> 00:39:37.360 synagogues and persecute 00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:39.400 from town to town, so 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:40.840 that on you may come all 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:42.039 the righteous blood shed 00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:43.079 on earth, from the blood 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:44.719 of innocent Abel to the 00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:45.820 blood of Zechariah, the 00:39:45.820 --> 00:39:47.759 son of Barakiah, whom you 00:39:47.759 --> 00:39:48.820 murdered between the 00:39:48.820 --> 00:39:49.840 sanctuary, the altar. 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:51.320 Truly I say to you, all 00:39:51.320 --> 00:39:52.200 these things will come 00:39:52.200 --> 00:39:53.320 upon this generation. 00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:55.240 This is the climactic 00:39:55.240 --> 00:39:55.660 woe. 00:39:56.580 --> 00:39:58.320 This is Jesus' last 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:00.640 sentence to statement to 00:40:00.640 --> 00:40:01.559 these Pharisees. 00:40:02.120 --> 00:40:03.120 And what he's basically 00:40:03.120 --> 00:40:04.019 doing is this. 00:40:04.780 --> 00:40:06.200 He's saying, you think 00:40:06.200 --> 00:40:07.680 you are not murderers 00:40:07.680 --> 00:40:09.080 because you're fixing up 00:40:09.080 --> 00:40:10.039 the tombs of the 00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:10.780 prophets that your 00:40:10.780 --> 00:40:12.559 fathers killed, but you 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:14.360 are murderers not all the 00:40:14.360 --> 00:40:14.660 same. 00:40:14.659 --> 00:40:18.879 You are serpents. 00:40:19.879 --> 00:40:22.679 You are brood of vipers. 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:25.379 How will you escape the 00:40:25.379 --> 00:40:26.179 judgment to come? 00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:28.219 That line is almost 00:40:28.219 --> 00:40:30.019 identical to what John the 00:40:30.019 --> 00:40:32.199 Baptist says to them in 00:40:32.199 --> 00:40:33.139 Matthew 3, 7. 00:40:34.399 --> 00:40:35.980 Now it's Jesus saying it to 00:40:35.980 --> 00:40:36.159 them. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:38.940 And what he's saying is, 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:40.480 you hypocrites, you don't 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:42.299 think you're prophet killers, 00:40:42.300 --> 00:40:43.340 but you are. 00:40:46.260 --> 00:40:49.380 He says in verse 32, fill up 00:40:49.380 --> 00:40:51.480 what your fathers began. 00:40:53.100 --> 00:40:54.380 Finish what your fathers 00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:54.800 started. 00:40:55.680 --> 00:40:56.880 So when Jesus talks about 00:40:56.880 --> 00:40:59.220 in verse 35, this blood of 00:40:59.220 --> 00:41:00.380 the righteous Abel to the 00:41:00.380 --> 00:41:01.720 blood of Zechariah, he's 00:41:01.720 --> 00:41:03.660 talking about the first man 00:41:03.660 --> 00:41:05.200 that was killed, Abel in 00:41:05.200 --> 00:41:07.720 Genesis, to the last man that 00:41:07.720 --> 00:41:09.500 was killed, Zechariah, and 00:41:09.500 --> 00:41:10.780 that's found in 2 Chronicles. 00:41:10.780 --> 00:41:12.420 But in the Hebrew Bible, 00:41:12.519 --> 00:41:13.640 that's the last book of 00:41:13.640 --> 00:41:14.200 their Bible. 00:41:14.620 --> 00:41:15.720 And so it's from cover to 00:41:15.720 --> 00:41:16.860 cover, first to last. 00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:18.240 All this blood that's shed, 00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:19.660 it's on your head. 00:41:20.220 --> 00:41:21.620 And not only their blood, 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:24.620 it's these prophets and 00:41:24.620 --> 00:41:26.600 scribes and godly people 00:41:26.600 --> 00:41:28.519 that I send to you, their 00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:29.800 blood's on your head too. 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:32.060 See what Jesus is doing? 00:41:33.960 --> 00:41:35.200 He's putting on them. 00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:39.919 Fill up the measure of your 00:41:39.919 --> 00:41:40.399 fathers. 00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:41.980 Finish what you're doing. 00:41:47.179 --> 00:41:48.379 Ultimately, this is going to 00:41:48.379 --> 00:41:49.859 result in Jesus' death. 00:41:51.179 --> 00:41:52.839 In Matthew 21, Jesus speaks 00:41:52.839 --> 00:41:54.879 the parable of the tenants. 00:41:55.539 --> 00:41:57.119 The vineyard owner sends his 00:41:57.119 --> 00:41:58.179 servants to these wicked 00:41:58.179 --> 00:42:00.059 tenants to gather the harvest, 00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:01.739 but they would kill servant 00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:02.539 after servant. 00:42:02.539 --> 00:42:04.320 And then that owner sends 00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:05.480 his son because he thinks 00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:07.019 surely they'll respect my son, 00:42:07.219 --> 00:42:08.420 and then he killed the son. 00:42:09.539 --> 00:42:12.699 Here, Jesus is at the vineyard 00:42:12.699 --> 00:42:15.000 speaking to the wicked tenants, 00:42:15.400 --> 00:42:17.000 and they are about to kill him. 00:42:19.079 --> 00:42:20.539 And Jesus says in verse 36, 00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:24.159 truly I say to you, all these 00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:25.360 things will come upon this 00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:25.900 generation. 00:42:26.500 --> 00:42:27.599 All of it's going to happen. 00:42:27.599 --> 00:42:28.639 All of it. 00:42:28.940 --> 00:42:29.579 Truly, truly. 00:42:32.219 --> 00:42:35.159 This last woe is such an 00:42:35.159 --> 00:42:36.940 indictment, and it's got this 00:42:36.940 --> 00:42:38.219 promised punishment. 00:42:40.719 --> 00:42:42.940 And these scribes and 00:42:42.940 --> 00:42:47.079 Pharisees, they will not have 00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:47.799 any of it. 00:42:48.059 --> 00:42:49.259 They're not going to respond. 00:42:50.599 --> 00:42:52.819 They're not sobered by it, nor are 00:42:52.819 --> 00:42:54.339 they willing to humble themselves 00:42:54.339 --> 00:42:55.239 in hearing this. 00:42:55.239 --> 00:42:58.439 These seven woes of regret and 00:42:58.439 --> 00:43:00.179 sorrow and judgment. 00:43:00.659 --> 00:43:01.939 There's this finality. 00:43:02.500 --> 00:43:05.000 God incarnate is declaring this 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:06.979 judgment upon the leaders of 00:43:06.979 --> 00:43:10.939 Judaism at the time, and they 00:43:10.939 --> 00:43:11.679 don't respond. 00:43:14.759 --> 00:43:18.139 And so in verses 37, we read, 00:43:18.219 --> 00:43:19.959 Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city 00:43:19.959 --> 00:43:21.279 that kills the prophets and 00:43:21.279 --> 00:43:23.619 stones, and stones those who are 00:43:23.619 --> 00:43:24.279 sent to it. 00:43:24.839 --> 00:43:26.400 How often would I have gathered 00:43:26.400 --> 00:43:27.679 your children together as a 00:43:27.679 --> 00:43:29.679 hen gathers her brood under her 00:43:29.679 --> 00:43:31.759 wings, and you would have not. 00:43:31.940 --> 00:43:33.259 There's a play on words here. 00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:35.980 Jesus was willing. 00:43:37.059 --> 00:43:39.079 He was willing to gather the 00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:41.219 children to Jerusalem to 00:43:41.219 --> 00:43:41.659 himself. 00:43:42.239 --> 00:43:46.859 He was wanting that, but they 00:43:46.859 --> 00:43:49.059 were not willing. 00:43:50.059 --> 00:43:51.279 They were not willing. 00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:54.320 He sent prophet after prophet, 00:43:54.920 --> 00:43:56.820 godly person after godly person, 00:43:57.860 --> 00:43:59.400 righteous person after righteous 00:43:59.400 --> 00:43:59.940 person. 00:44:00.580 --> 00:44:02.500 Every time was his invitation to 00:44:02.500 --> 00:44:03.920 say, come and I'll gather you to 00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:04.440 myself. 00:44:04.860 --> 00:44:06.420 I'll bring you under my reign. 00:44:06.500 --> 00:44:07.540 I'll show you my goodness. 00:44:07.980 --> 00:44:10.820 But after time and again, they would 00:44:10.820 --> 00:44:11.580 not have it. 00:44:12.320 --> 00:44:15.140 They were unwilling for it. 00:44:15.300 --> 00:44:16.019 Verse 38. 00:44:16.019 --> 00:44:19.719 They would not, excuse me, seven. 00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:21.699 You would not. 00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:26.900 What strikes me about this 00:44:26.900 --> 00:44:30.559 compassionate lament here is that 00:44:30.559 --> 00:44:32.519 Jesus likens himself to a hen. 00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:37.159 He's in the midst of judgment, and he 00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:38.780 compares himself to a hen. 00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:41.420 He's gentle. 00:44:41.420 --> 00:44:43.639 He's willing. 00:44:45.500 --> 00:44:47.059 Even speaking to those who 00:44:47.059 --> 00:44:47.820 rejected him. 00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:52.740 So here in this lament, even in 00:44:52.740 --> 00:44:54.659 judgment, we see a compassionate 00:44:54.659 --> 00:44:56.340 lamenting Jesus. 00:44:57.920 --> 00:44:59.960 Saying, only if you would have 00:44:59.960 --> 00:45:02.300 allowed me to gather you to me, but 00:45:02.300 --> 00:45:03.139 you wouldn't. 00:45:04.659 --> 00:45:07.460 And as a result, verse 38, he says, 00:45:07.460 --> 00:45:10.220 your house is left to you desolate. 00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:12.519 I am abandoning you. 00:45:14.059 --> 00:45:16.260 And in verse 1 of chapter 4, he 00:45:16.260 --> 00:45:18.679 walks out of the temple. 00:45:20.059 --> 00:45:22.240 God has left the temple. 00:45:23.420 --> 00:45:27.119 And he's left it abandoned, and it 00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:28.659 will be destroyed. 00:45:32.099 --> 00:45:33.619 We've covered a lot of ground this 00:45:33.619 --> 00:45:33.920 morning. 00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:37.400 We've seen the contrast between the 00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:39.340 hypocrites and the humble. 00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:43.480 We've seen Jesus bring down woes on 00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:45.340 the hypocrites, and we've spent a 00:45:45.340 --> 00:45:47.880 brief time on this lament in verses 00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:49.480 37 to 39. 00:45:50.240 --> 00:45:52.139 Jesus' compassion on display. 00:45:54.260 --> 00:45:55.500 How does this find you? 00:45:57.059 --> 00:45:58.360 Does it sober you? 00:45:59.860 --> 00:46:01.180 It should sober you. 00:46:01.179 --> 00:46:04.199 But it should also have the 00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:06.659 opposite effect on these scribes 00:46:07.359 --> 00:46:08.059 and Pharisees. 00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:09.599 They were unwilling to humble 00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:10.119 themselves. 00:46:11.339 --> 00:46:14.859 But you must be willing to come 00:46:14.859 --> 00:46:17.579 under his gracious reign. 00:46:18.879 --> 00:46:21.199 There's more that can be said, but 00:46:21.199 --> 00:46:22.219 let's leave it at this. 00:46:24.119 --> 00:46:27.559 Let's not be a people who say, do 00:46:27.559 --> 00:46:30.440 as I say, not as I do. 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:32.820 Let's be a people who say, come. 00:46:33.820 --> 00:46:37.400 Come with me to a willing, living 00:46:37.400 --> 00:46:40.599 Christ who will change your life 00:46:40.599 --> 00:46:41.639 forever. 00:46:42.720 --> 00:46:43.500 Let's pray. 00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:49.360 God in heaven, we see a passage like 00:46:49.360 --> 00:46:51.340 this, and we are sobered by it. 00:46:52.340 --> 00:46:54.679 God, we thank you for work you're doing 00:46:54.679 --> 00:46:56.440 in exposing our own hypocrisy. 00:46:56.440 --> 00:47:00.039 God, we are not unrepentant and 00:47:00.039 --> 00:47:01.440 unwilling to admit that. 00:47:02.500 --> 00:47:04.559 We acknowledge that there's a gap 00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:05.820 between our profession and our 00:47:05.820 --> 00:47:06.240 practice. 00:47:06.400 --> 00:47:07.920 God, would you fill the gap by your 00:47:07.920 --> 00:47:08.260 grace? 00:47:09.179 --> 00:47:10.820 Would you conform us to the image of 00:47:10.820 --> 00:47:11.119 Jesus? 00:47:11.760 --> 00:47:14.119 Would you help us to bear witness to 00:47:14.119 --> 00:47:16.720 those around us that, yes, Jesus, you 00:47:16.720 --> 00:47:18.800 are real and that you're changing our 00:47:18.800 --> 00:47:19.240 lives? 00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:22.820 God, would you help us to be 00:47:22.820 --> 00:47:26.420 forewarned by this and to move forward 00:47:26.420 --> 00:47:28.280 in humble faith in you? 00:47:29.480 --> 00:47:30.980 Pray this in Jesus' name. 00:47:31.600 --> 00:47:31.900 Amen.