The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 23 Part 12 The Final Woe Upon Scribes & Pharisees: Woe Against Christ's Persecutors

Matthew 23:29-32   Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 

This is the last "Woe" of condemnation and judgment Jesus pronounced against the self righteous, religious hypocrites among scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus previously condemned them for religious hypocrisy because scribes and Pharisees engaged in praying, fasting, or tithing in order to be seen by others.

The word "hypocrite" was associated with Greek actors who wore a mask while performing a play. 

A mask hid the actor's true identity behind a facade of the character they represented.

This is just like religious hypocrites who put on outer garments that contain tokens of religion like broad borders and phylacteries.

Scribes and Pharisees played a role in public of being a religious persons when in reality, their hearts were evil.

This is why Jesus compared scribes and Pharisees to sepulchres and grave markers that were freshly painted with lime whitewash.

On the outside they appeared to be beautiful memorials to deceased loved ones, but on the inside were filled with "dead men's bones."

In this final  "Woe", Jesus condemned scribes and Pharisees who constructed tombs to show their approval of the prophets, and to show their disapproval of their own fathers who killed them.

They garnished the exterior with special features like columns, carvings and moldings.

In this case, the word "garnish" means to honor the deceased and is a show of respect for the prophets.

Scribes and Pharisees bragged that if they lived during the times of their fathers, they would not have killed the prophets like their fathers did.

In effect, they said that they would have received them as the prophets of the Lord by heeding their message and obeying God.

This is what building and garnishing their tombs symbolized in that culture, but Jesus said it was mere pretense.   

Scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with publicans and sinners (See Matthew 9:13-14).

They claimed that Jesus cast out devils by the power of Satan (See Matthew 9:34; 12:24).

They accused Jesus' disciples of breaking their tradition by plucking ears of corn to eat on the Sabbath (See Matthew 12:1-2).

They accused Jesus' disciples of sin because they ate without washing their hands, which violated their rules (See Matthew 15:1-9)

They tried physically assault Jesus (See Matthew 21:45-46).

They tried to entrap Jesus into saying something against paying taxes to Caesar (See Matthew 22:15).

They watched Jesus heal a man on the sabbath and were enraged that He showed mercy to a suffering man.

Matthew 12:14  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day, which violated their traditions.

They lacked any sense of compassion for the man whom Jesus restored to health.

Instead, Christ's act of kindness and mercy filled scribes and Pharisees with hatred toward Him.

Therefore, they met to plot how to destroy Jesus.

Thus, they were as guilty of rejecting the gospel, and seeking to kill Jesus, as their fathers were guilty of killing the prophets of God.

Jesus told them to fill up the measure of their fathers, which is a way of warning that God will execute severe judgment upon scribes and Pharisees for their rebellion against Him.

The first martyr Stephen, preached one sermon to the same group of hateful scribes and Pharisees who promptly stoned him to death.

Listen to Stephen's final Holy Spirit guided words.

Acts 7:51-53  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53  Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. 

He called them stiffnecked which means they were stubbornly and obstinately clinging to unbelief and rejected the gospel of Christ.

Stephen affirmed the charge Jesus leveled against them of murdering and persecuting God's prophets.

He then charged them with betraying and murdering the Lord Jesus Christ.

They received the law from Jehovah and did not believe it.

They refused to live in accord with its commandments because their fathers killed the prophets and they killed Christ.

Stephen's words give us a good sense of hatred and hostility that Jesus encountered. 

Jesus always lifted up the truth of scripture as God's unchanging standard, and each time He did their opposition and hatred intensified.

Therefore, Jesus was right and holy to condemn scribes and Pharisees and to pronounce certain judgment that would befall them at the Day of the LORD judgment. 

Matthew 23:33   Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

John the Baptist called scribes and Pharisees a "generation of vipers" while Jesus also called them "Ye serpents."

Both names are meant to convey their deceitful cunning, crafty scheming and subtle hatred.

Many snakes are indeed beautiful on the outside, just like the expensive garments worn by scribes and Pharisees.

However, many snakes contain a hidden, poisonous venom to capture or kill their prey, and this aptly applies to the murderous scheming of Jewish religious leaders.

They are just like their father, the Devil: full of deceit, full of lies and murder.

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

Jesus had this to say to the same stiffnecked scribes and Pharisees in John's gospel.

Their father is the Devil. He was a murderer from the beginning and he changed the truth of God into a lie in order to deceive Adam and Eve.

In like manner, scribes, Pharisees and other leaders would come together using lies to create false charges against Christ and to crucify Him.

Matthew 23:34-36  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Jesus spoke prophetically of the apostles, teachers, and evangelists who would spread the gospel into the world beginning at Jerusalem.

This same group of hypocritical religious leaders were going to oppose those who preached and taught the gospel of Christ after the church was born in Acts 2.

As we read the book of Acts, we see that this is exactly what happened to Christ's apostles, teachers, evangelists and deacons.

Therefore, the sins of their fathers and their own sins would bring severe judgment upon the scribes and Pharisees.

Matthew 23:37-39  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

We must remember that all of this teaching and various events happened after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what is known as Palm Sunday.

When Jesus came near to the holy city, He wept over it (See Luke 19:41).

It is with this same heart of compassion and grief because the scribes and Pharisees refused to hear and heed the gospel, and this brought destruction on the Temple and the city in 69 A.D.

Ezekiel 18:31-32  Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. 

Thus, the heart of God has always been for all people to hear the gospel and repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (See 2 Peter 3:9).

God tells us that He takes no pleasure in sinners who die and go to Hell for eternity.

This is the same heart Jesus had for those to whom He sought to minister.

Matthew 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

The last of nine "Beatitudes" of Jesus tell us the joy that we will receive when we are vilified by the culture for our faith.

When we face physical persecution for following Christ, Jesus says that we are blessed.

Whenever persecution arises against Christ's church and His people, historically, it has resulted in the gospel going forth with even more power.

This last "Woe" reminds us that Jesus' disciples are always subject to slander and persecution but the last "Beatitude" reminds us that we are blessed when we suffer for His name.

What does this teach us about being disciples of Jesus Christ?

John 15:18-19  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

First, the world (culture) generally hates us. 

Jesus reminded His disciples that the world hated Him before it turned its hatred upon those men.

A sinner is not hated by the world because his or her sins mirror the general depravity displayed in the world.

When we are born again, we are no longer the same as we used to be.

We receive a new heart and new spirit from God and our old sinful ways begin to pass away (See Ezekiel 11:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Paul tells us that a Christian has been translated from the Devil's dark domain and are firmly placed in Christ's kingdom (See Colossians 1:12-14).

Therefore, the devil hates us and seeks to undo all the good things God wants to do in us. 

He wants to destroy our lives with sin and he wants to destroy the lives of our family members.

He wants to put an end to gospel preaching and he will oppose those who seek to be faithful witnesses for Jesus.

John 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 

Second, we learn that as Christ is our Master, and He endured suffering, we as His servants will also endure persecution.

However, when we share the gospel with people, we will find that some will hear and heed the message and this gives us encouragement and hope to continue as faithful witnesses for Christ.

We must learn to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus each day when we awake.

We must spend time reading God's wonderful word to fill our hearts with His sustaining truth and gospel hope.

Suffering always comes before glory, tribulation precedes triumph and persecution comes before victory.

This is the lesson saints in every generation have had to learn and it is no different for us.

Bob