Woe to who?

Matthew 23:13-39 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves…

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Today’s text is of course one of the favorites of unbelievers and those who say they believe but do not want to be part of the church because of its hypocrisy. Jesus says of His mission: “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)   Matthew 4:23 and many other verses say:      Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.           Jesus had and has nothing against people who go to church. Jesus did have a problem with the religious leaders who valued the traditions of man and the positions of power and authority in the church more than they valued God. He said of them:    “you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”       In the same way, it is possible for leaders in the church today to put the traditions, the doctrines and regulations of men and their denominations ahead of the most important thing, the relationship we have with God, the relationship that was restored, by Jesus, through the cross. Any doctrine of man or any teaching of a religious leader which places the traditions and regulations of man ahead of the cross of Christ is a stumbling block and a hindrance to the kingdom of heaven, indeed there will be woe to those who hinder people from entering the kingdom.

Know this though, while there is nothing more we need to do to enter the kingdom of heaven than accept the work of the cross for ourselves, there is also no shortcut. Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)  In Luke 23:42-43, we see an example of Jesus and the cross being all we need to enter the kingdom. One of the thieves being crucified alongside Jesus has a life changing encounter with Him.        

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"  And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."   

That thief never attended church after his encounter. He never studied scripture, he never even had a chance to live in the new life Christ provided. Yet Christ promised that he would be with Him in Paradise. That example is a great source of hope for all who have lost loved ones without knowing whether they were saved. Jesus seeks to reveal Himself even up to the point of death and regardless of the prior condition of a person anyone who truly receives Christ as Lord and Savior is:      a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Again though while there is nothing more than the cross we need, there is also no other way to eternal life with the Father. We cannot presume on the last minute opportunity to receive Christ, living our lives as we please, determined to accept Christ in our final moment. That would be to presume on the grace of God and to diminish the work of the cross. Jesus says:  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  Jesus desire and God’s perfect will for our lives is much more than for us to live as we please now, then have eternal life. His will for us is that we enjoy the abundant life He provides now and eternal life later. The abundant life Christ offers is a life filled with all the blessings, promises and provision of the kingdom of heaven, here on earth.   In Mark 10:29-30 Jesus says:

"Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, 30but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.…”  

Just as though who try to put the doctrines, traditions and regulations of men before the cross of Christ are a hindrance to the eternal kingdom, so to, anyone who teaches people that there is another way to the abundant life here and now, that there is a shortcut around the cross of Christ to walk in His blessings, anyone who teaches that we have the ability to walk in the blessings without the cross, is a messenger of the thief, who comes to kill and destroy. Jesus says we will receive 100 times what we have lost in this present age. If there is no cost than there is no reward, 100 x 0 = 0.       Both the eternal life we can have with Christ and the Father and the abundant life we are promised were paid for by the cross and in is only through the cross that we can redeem God’s gift and promise to us, through the redemption of the cross.

Jesus doesn’t despise the church or its people. He gave His life on the cross for all. Jesus is against any human system, whether religious or worldly, which hinders people from receiving and walking in the fullness of God’s will. Neither the doctrines and traditions of men, nor the philosophies of the world can lead us to God. It is only through Christ and the cross that we have eternal life and the blessings, promises and provision of the abundant life now.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!    Blessed be Your name Lord Jesus, the name above all names, the only name by which men can be saved. Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, for the provision of, the revelation of and the power to walk in; eternal life and abundant life through the cross of Christ.    Amen.