Woe to the Hypocrites!

Mt. 23: 13

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.  

 Jesus pronounces a series of seven 'woe's' on the Pharisees, for their actions. These seven woes provide a sharp contrast to the seven blessings that began the Sermon on the Mount. The are as follows:

• Woe...They shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces not entering themselves and not allowing others to enter.
•  Woe...They travel great distances to make a proselyte and then make him twice as much a child of hell as they are.
• Woe...They as blind guides specify how to swear by the temple without realizing that whoever swears by anything on or in the temple is swearing by Him who sits on the throne.
• Woe...They tithe dill and cumin and neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. (Strain out a gnat but swallow a camel)
• Woe...They clean the outside of the cup but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence.
• Woe...They are whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. (Outwardly look righteous but inwardly full of hypocrisy and lawlessness)
• Woe...They celebrate the tombs and monuments of the prophets saying they would not have killed them but yet they are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. They will kill Prophets and wise men so that on them will come the righteous blood shed on the earth, the blood of the innocents.

What is the essence of these indictments? What is Jesus revealing about their hearts and the heart of all men? First that there is a huge difference between outward appearance and inward reality, an issue which the Beatitudes address directly. First and foremost to be in the kingdom, a person must realize he is poor in spirit and mourn over that sin. He must seek to be satisfied only in hungering and thirsting for righteousness. To be poor in spirit one must humbly admit and confess his true nature because the kingdom of God is full disclosure, nothing hidden and no counterfeit. Jesus is the Truth, and we as His followers, must be in the Truth as well. Secondly, those in the kingdom have the good of others as their ministry. We want to share the Truth with them so that they might become children of the kingdom as well. The entire emphasis of the Kingdom is not only Truth but others. In contrast, the Pharisees were self-oriented and deceitful, living only for the present and for the praise of men while those in the Kingdom live for the future, their reward and life in heaven. The contrast is clearly seen in the words 'Blessing' or 'Woe'. What is my goal, mercy or judgment? It seems like an easy choice, yet it wasn't for the Pharisees. How strong is the flesh and the desire for human praise and power!

Father,
Keep my life free of hypocrisy. Give me Your grace to admit, confess, and repent. Help me share Your message and truth with others.
In Jesus name,
Amen