The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 23 Part 1 Live As God Says To Live

In Matthew's gospel chapter twenty three, Jesus is going to pronounce seven "Woe's" upon His antagonists, the Pharisees and scribes.

The first twelve verses contain a summary of Jesus' teachings and His replies to those who sought to entrap Him.

Jesus also made connections back to His Sermon on the Mount that we will point out as we study this passage.

Matthew 23:1-2  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 

At this point Jesus broadened His words to include His disciples and the entire crowd that followed Him. 

They all heard His interactions with the deceitful attempts of Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees and Herodians to catch Christ in an error.

Jesus admonished the people to take heed to what the scribes or Pharisees taught as they sat in Moses' seat.

This means that they were opening the law of Moses that he received from God on mount Sinai, in order to teach or explain it to the people.

Christ fulfilled the law perfectly for each one of us who exercised repentant faith in Jesus.

Ezekiel 11:19-20  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 

Ezekiel described what God promises to do for each sinner who hears the gospel of Christ and exercises repentant faith in Jesus.

God sends His own Spirit to live in us to enable us to live in accord with His moral law and this is an important truth we cannot lose sight of.

God's Spirit will teach us and enable us to walk in His statutes and keep His commands.

Therefore, the moral law of God is a permanent, unchanging standard of holiness. 

His law applied to Old Testament saints and it applies to believers in Christ today.

That is, we are not to love anything or anyone more than we love God, and we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Many have turned away from God's moral law and the result is professing Christians who live no differently than the corrupt culture around them.

God's commands protect us from sin and depravity and they are good for us because all sin carries consequences.

As the Spirit of God helps us obey God's law, we find the path of blessing, purpose and joy. 

We have clear examples what the scribes were expected to do with regard to teaching Israel the ways of God.

We will look at the commands that God gave through Moses to Israel and how he was to make sure the people knew His law.

Leviticus 10:10-11  And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 11  And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

The law of God that begins with the Ten Commandments, is designed to put a distinct difference between the surrounding cultures or nations and His redeemed people, Israel.

The law of God shows us what is clean and right so we can do those things which are honoring to God.

The law of God teaches what is unclean so that we can avoid committing those sins.

Being enabled to live a God pleasing life is accomplished by priests, and later, scribes, teaching all God's law to His people.

Deuteronomy 31:10-13  And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11  When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12  Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13  And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 

Moses commanded that the law of God be read to all the nation every seven years when the slaves were released.

All people both Israelites and Gentiles were to come and hear the reading of His law.

God's purpose was that they hear His Word and learn it so that they have a right fear of the LORD which is a right reverence and respect for God.

Knowing His law and rightly fearing God would guide the people into living a holy life and help them avoid getting pulled down into cultural depravity.

Deuteronomy 33:10  They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. 

God's Spirit guided Moses to issue one more command for all Israel to be taught God's law and judgments.

Because God placed such an emphasis upon knowing Him, knowing His law in order to rightly serve Him, we too, must emphasis Bible study and spiritual growth so that we can love and serve our great God.

Israel's history was one of failure and rebellion against God.

When King Solomon died, ten tribes refused to follow King Rehoboam and they split off from Judah and the house of David.

They built their own capital city at Samaria and created their own place of worship at Dan.

History tells us that they did not have one good king.

As a result, the Assyrians captured "Israel" and carried them into captivity.

These ten tribes became known as "Israel" while the remaining tribe was known as Judah

Judah and the house of David at Jerusalem, had a total of eight good kings.

However, even Judah fell into idolatry and Jerusalem was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

They were carried away into Babylon for seventy years of captivity.

When a faithful remnant returned to Jerusalem, they began the long process of rebuilding the city and infrastructure.

At this point, Ezra was a priest and ready scribe and God brought revival to the Jewish people.

Ezra's actions in Jerusalem are a perfect example of what Jesus meant about those who sat in the seat of Moses.

Nehemiah 8:1-8  1  And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3  And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. 4  And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5  And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: 6  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7  Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8  So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. 

First, we see God's Spirit at work among His people.

They all gathered as one man, one united body at the water gate in Jerusalem and they asked Ezra to bring out the law.

Second, Ezra brought the law before the people on a pulpit made of wood. 

All those who attended were old enough to understand what Ezra was going to read from God's law.

Third, Ezra carefully read from the law for about 4 hours and the people remained standing while God's truth was read.

Fourth, Ezra prayed and blessed Jehovah.

Fifth, the people bowed their heads and worshiped in response to hearing God's Word.

Sixth, Ezra sent men out into the congregation to make sure that each person understood what God said in His law.

Seventh, Ezra and the men who helped him honored God's word by reading it with good diction and clarity.

All the people were attentive to God's Word as it was read to them and revival came.

This is how God intended for His Word to be reverenced, taught and acted upon by His people and He will always bless us when we respond by faith to what He says in His Word.

Matthew 23:1-2  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 

Therefore, Jesus told the multitude that they should indeed pay attention when the Word of God was opened and read to them by the scribes.

They were to obey what God said just as the people did in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.

However, most scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites who essentially said "Do as I say not as I do."

That is, scribes and Pharisees may have taught truth from God's Word to the people, but they did not live it out in their personal lives.

Their interpretation and application of God's law may have been correct, but they were not living in accord with what God said.

This is why Jesus said to observe what the scribes read to them from the scriptures, but He did not want them to follow the sinful ways of Pharisees and scribes.

This applies to Christians today. 

When a pastor preaches the Word we must hear and heed the message, but if he preaches some new doctrine that does not align with scripture, we are not to apply his false teaching.

A faithful pastor, elder or church leader is one who rightly divides the word of truth by expending his time and energy to learn what God is saying, and to understand how it applies to Christian living.

If you are blessed by having a faithful Pastor, please let him know how thankful and grateful you are for his faithful ministry to you and your family.

If you attend a church or Bible study where what you hear is not aligning with what God says in His Word, then you must seek a church that does have a faithful man preaching God's truth.

We see that an essential function of our church is to provide a place where believers can gather to hear the scriptures taught with plainness and clarity.

We see that when God's Word is elevated and opened up for His children to hear, His Spirit will move in our hearts.

He will give us strength when we become weary in well doing.

He will revive us when life's circumstances are grinding us into the dust of the earth.

He will fill us with love, joy peace and enable us to produce fruit for His kingdom. 

Let us determine to be attentive listeners like the people who heard Ezra read the law.

Let us determine that will will obey what God says to us in His Word.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes that we might see wonderful things from scripture.

Let us ask the Spirit of God to revive us, strengthen us and fill us today.

Bob