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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 14:52:32 GMT -5
There has been a lot of questions about the Pharisees over the years, and many have used them as examples of Jesus coming against the mythical sin of legalism. They have claimed that Jesus came against them time and again for being too concerned for following the Law of Moses. To any person who gives this some thought, they should know better, because at the time, all were under the entire Law of Moses, including the sacrificing of animals. This was before Jesus went to the cross, so why would he come against people doing their job? The fact of the matter is, He didn't.
There are many places in the Bible where Jesus comes against the Scribes and Pharisees, but we see the longest rebukes in Matthew chapter 23. From this chapter, we know exactly what it was about the Pharisees that Jesus took issue with. We know that it was not their teaching the law with enthusiasm based on how Jesus begins this very long rebuke. The first couple of verses in chapter 23, few if any ever focus on, but it is very important.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. verses 2 and 3
Jesus is actually giving honor to their office. He is saying they have an important role to play, sitting in the seat of Moses, and teaching the laws of God he gave to Israel. Jesus is not telling people to ignore these religious leaders. He tells them to observe and do what they teach. That in itself would shock most people who do not know their Bible. Still, there is a big problem here. While they teach people the law, "they say, and do not." There is a word for that, hypocrisy. Look at verse 4.
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
From this portion of the passage, we see Jesus' first charge against the religious leaders of his day, hypocrisy. They point people to follow the law, but they do not obey the law themselves.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:01:49 GMT -5
So we have seen that the first charge against the Scribes and Pharisees by Jesus is that they were hypocrites. Now, lets move on to the second issue. Matthew 23:5-12
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
ISSUE 2: Pride. The Scribes and Pharisees did all they did to be seen of others, and to enjoy the benefits of the office. They were prideful. So now we see two of the issues Jesus had with the religious leaders: Hypocrisy and Pride.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:06:28 GMT -5
Now, we will look at Jesus' 3rd charge against the religious leaders. Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
The religious leaders rejected God's only method of salvation, and God's only way to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. If you did happen to take a stand for Jesus Christ, you were likely put out of the Synagogue. As such, they refused to go into the Kingdom of Heaven, and they worked to prevent others from being saved.
CHARGE 3: They Openly Opposed God's Way Of Salvation, Faith In Christ.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:10:12 GMT -5
Now we come to the 4th issue Jesus had with the religious leaders of His day. Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
4TH CHARGE AGAINST THEM: They were thieves that cheated widows.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:13:36 GMT -5
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
CHARGE 5: They Were False Teachers
Most people do not think of the religious leaders of Jesus' day as traveling around trying to make others believe as they do, but apparently, they were doing just that.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:19:17 GMT -5
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whoseover shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoseover shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Matthew 23:16-22
CHARGE 6: They Were Greedy.
This is seen in some of their false teachings. You can see where their mind is, not on the things of God and what really matters, but on the gold and the gifts. Jesus takes the time to straighten out this false teaching.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:25:24 GMT -5
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have ommitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24
Jesus does not tell them they are wrong for paying tithes or keeping the less weighty laws. (By the way, this shows that not all laws are equal. I thought this a good opportunity to come against another false teaching of this day. A white lie is not as bad as capital murder, and stealing a loaf of bread is not as bad as adultery. People like to claim all laws are the same to promote other false doctrines. ) Jesus makes it clear they are not all equal, and the religious leaders kept the least important laws, and omitted the more important laws.
CHARGE 7: They Kept The Laws They Wanted To Keep And Left The Others Undone
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:33:37 GMT -5
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. verses 25-26
Jesus never says they need not concern themselves with outward appearance, but he tells them that all they do is focus on the outward, and are full of sin inside. Clean up the inside first, and then worry about the outside. Get the inside right, and the outside will follow.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but with ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. verses 27-28
All they are concerned with is how people see them, so they make the outside appear right, but do not care about the inner man.
CHARGE 8: Phony
What you see is not what you get.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:37:54 GMT -5
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. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? verses 29-33
CHARGE 9: They Are Children of Murderers And Are No Different Than Their Parents
These people have hatred and murder in their heart, and when given the chance, they will wind up putting God's prophets to death as well. We know they wind up crucifying Jesus.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:47:52 GMT -5
In the last verses of this chapter, Jesus goes on to speak of how God has continued to send the people prophets, wise men and scribes, and they would persecute, torture and kill them. This would continue with the current generation, and all the righteous blood that had been shed back to Abel would come upon them.
You can clearly see what issues Jesus had with the religious leaders, and being legalists was not one of them. As I have said many times before, the word legalism is not found in the Bible, and that word is thrown around to attack anyone that preaches against sin, especially if it is a sin they are committing. The Dictionary definition of legalism is someone who is a strict adherent to the law. It is not a Biblical term, but that is the definition of this secular word. Based on this, Jesus would have been a legalist. Notice what He says in Matthew 5:17-20
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Now, when you read what Jesus says about the Scribes and Pharisees, and how your righteousness must exceed theirs to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you will better understand what He means.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 15:52:08 GMT -5
FINAL REVIEW OF JESUS' ISSUES WITH THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES:
1. They were hypocrites 2. They were prideful 3. They stood against God's plan of salvation, faith in Jesus Christ 4. They were thieves that cheated widows 5. They were false teachers 6. They were greedy 7. They kept only the laws they wanted to and left the others undone 8. They were phony 9. They are the children of murderers and murderers themselves
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 16:17:43 GMT -5
Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
Then understood they how that he bad them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6-12
The word doctrine means something that is taught, so now, when you see this passage and it speaks of the doctrine of the Pharisees, you will better understand what that was. The Sadducees had their own false doctrines, and they were even worse than the Pharisees.
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Post by John on Sept 2, 2020 16:24:13 GMT -5
Here is another interesting scripture to go along with the doctrine of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Acts 23:8
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
The Sadducees were extremely messed up in their teachings. I cannot recall any mention of Sadducees becoming followers of Jesus, but some Pharisees did, the most well known being the Apostle Paul.
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Post by frienduff on Sept 2, 2020 17:51:24 GMT -5
now lets rehash some of those reminders in todays geneartion .
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Post by frienduff on Sept 2, 2020 17:52:51 GMT -5
So we have seen that the first charge against the Scribes and Pharisees by Jesus is that they were hypocrites. Now, lets move on to the second issue. Matthew 23:5-12
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
ISSUE 2: Pride. The Scribes and Pharisees did all they did to be seen of others, and to enjoy the benefits of the office. They were prideful. So now we see two of the issues Jesus had with the religious leaders: Hypocrisy and Pride.
Ye deck yourselves up with long robes and hats , all your foot kissing and etc YE do to be seen of men . Be ye not called vicar of Christ or reverand , or etc .
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