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Friday 9/17/21
Hypocrisy

  1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
 2Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
 4For 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.
 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
 6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
 7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
 8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
 9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
 11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
 13But 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.
 14Woe 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.
 15Woe 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.
 16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
 18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
 20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
 21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
 22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
 25Woe 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.
 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
 27Woe 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.
 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
 29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
 30And 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.
 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Matthew (Levi)
Date Penned: (60-65 AD)
Overview: Jesus Christ the King (c 1-28)
Theme: Message and Ministry of Jesus, The King (c 4-25)
Message: Jesus Rebukes the Religious Leaders (v 1-39)

Matthew 23 Commentary
  
(23:1-12) Jesus Warns Against the Religious Leaders - Chapter 23 serves as a transition between the controversy narratives and the Olivet Discourse. Jesus made many scathing remarks to the religious leaders, but not all of them were evil (consider Nicodemus in John 3 and Joseph in Mark 15:43). Jesus attacked their legalism that had become a stumbling block for the Jews.

(23:13-36) Jesus Condemns the Religious Leaders - Matthew included seven denunciations against the Jewish leaders whom Jesus unhesitatingly called “hypocrites.” Being a religious leader in Jerusalem was very different from being a pastor in a secular society today. Israel’s history, culture, and daily life revolved around its relationship with God. The religious leaders were the best known, most powerful, and most respected of all leaders. Jesus made these stinging accusations because the leaders’ hunger for more power, money, and status had made them lose sight of God, and their blindness was spreading to the whole nation.

(23:37-39) Jesus Grieves Over Jerusalem Again - These verses bridge the gap between Jesus’ denunciation of the Judaism of the religious leaders (that had become horribly corrupt) and his explicit prediction of the destruction of the Temple in chapter 24.

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Matthew with Chapter 23. In our text today we see Jesus condemning the religious leaders for being hypocrites as they keep those who attempting to come to Christ away with their self imposed laws and regulations. In making application we see the same today as some who claim to be Christian come up with their own rules and regulations to keep others from the Lord instead of simply preaching the truth of the Bible calling all sinners to repentance. How about you? Do you see some practicing this hypocrisy? Let us learn from our text today to examine ourselves and others who Jesus calls hypocrites for their proclamation of a religion that is not in the Bible and instead let us cling to the Word of God which calls all sinners to repentance. 
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Sincerely,
Dr. Dave Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.