IT'S WOE TIME
MATTHEW 23:23-28 NKJV
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Jesus was definitely dropping some serious woe on the scribes and Pharisees. This woe is not like whoa horse. This word is an expression of grief or denunciation; to brand as disgraceful. Jesus was not happy with this group.
And no wonder. These Pharisees and scribes were so focused on appearance of being right with God, that they missed the heart. They tithed, gave a tenth of everything that came their way, even spices. But according to Jesus, they missed the most important things of God's laws. The important things involved how people were treated and how they responded to God. Showing justice and mercy to people and faith toward God was so much more important than spice tithing. But then Jesus added to not substitute one for the other. Be merciful and still honor God with your tithes.
Jesus accused these men of swallowing a camel but straining out a gnat. What a graphic picture. They were so caught up in the things that did not matter that they missed the big things.
And Jesus was not done dealing out woes. It was more woe to the Pharisees and scribes, the Bible scholars, who were serious about being clean on the outside, but inside, they were full of unclean attitudes, extortion, and selfishness. More woe for the guys who were outside clean but dirty inside.
And the woes just keep on coming. Jesus called more woes on the scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. A hypocrite in that day was an actor. Jesus said these guys were just acting. They looked good on the outside, like a white painted tomb, but inside they were filled with dead men's bones of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus obviously had a serious problem with people who had the look but did not walk the walk.
APPLICATION
The woes Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees have not been completely eliminated. There still exists the all too familiar pattern of looking good on the outside but not so good on the inside. And it's the inside things that matter most.
The Lord is interested in our hearts more than how we look on the outside. God's kingdom is an inside-out kingdom. We live this Christian life inside out. We live heart first.
So don't be as concerned with what people think or how you look to other people. I would much rather have Jesus say to me go son, not woe son!
PRAYER
Lord, help me to learn to live inside out. You are not as concerned with the outward things. You are looking at the heart.