Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees - Part 3
His words were not polite and His demeanor was one of intense and righteous anger. He was accusing them of leading people AWAY from God.
Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees - Part 3
Matthew 23:13
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people...”
If someone were to ask you the purpose of the church, what would you say? I think we can all agree that one of the primary purposes is to connect people with God.
When Jesus spoke the words above, He was really upset. His words were not polite and His demeanor was one of intense and righteous anger. He was accusing them of leading people AWAY from God.
Why would they do that? I mean, can you think of anything more despicable? These leaders were gaining people’s trust by promising to lead them to God but giving them nothing but religion and rules instead. They weren’t helping anyone because they didn’t know how to find God either. They were just as lost as the people.
One of the most satisfying scenes in the Bible is in John 9 where a blind man is healed by Jesus. The religious leaders were completely flabbergasted and wanted to know what was happening so they interrogated the man. How Jesus could do such things. Who was He and were did He come from?
In a moment of sheer brilliance, the uneducated, formerly-blind man looked at the Pharisees and spoke truth to them:
John 9:30
“Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.”
What amazing insight! He told them the unthinkable; God was here and they didn’t recognize Him! Those in charge of leading people to God didn’t even know Him when He walked right into their world. How sad and discouraging. They had become blind guides.
Jesus came to bring that whole corrupt system to an end and to reveal the True and Living God to the people. He saw what was happening and He took His place as Protector and Advocate of the vulnerable.
Zechariah 9:15-16 describes the Messiah as the defender of such people, “For they are as the stones of a crown, sparkling in His land.”
Those who use the church to mislead others will be held accountable to God. I can tell you this: I don’t want to be anywhere around when those pariahs stand before God to answer for their actions.
