dogs in the manger
removing leaven from the children’s bread
During the writing of
these articles, I have enjoyed re-reading The Gospel
accounts of the life of Christ. I love seeing The Saviour in action. The most
striking thing to me is the fact that God’s timing is ab-so-lute-ly perfect. The Lord Jesus Christ appears at a
point in Israel’s history that was planned for & prophesied about for
centuries. We see Him in The Law, The Prophets & The Writings. He is there
in type & shadow. He is represented in biblical figures such as Abel,
Isaac, Joseph, Moses & David. He is Prophet, Priest & King. He is Noah’s
Ark. He is The Temple furniture. He is The High Priest. He is the sacrifices
& offerings. He is the city of refuge. He is Messiah The Son of Joseph
& Messiah The Son of David. He is God Himself in human flesh. Quite a
thing. With these things in view & considering all that Jesus said &
did, why was His ministry met with such vigorous opposition from the religious
leadership of his day?
Lean in reader. Lean in
& listen to me for just a second. When you have lost sight of Christ, you
have lost sight of everything. The leadership of Christ’s day had created their
own form of Judaism. For four hundred years there had been Divine silence.
Where was God during those years of persecution, oppression & fighting?
Where was He when the Temple & the altar were desecrated & when
Gentiles entered The Most Holy Place? Who had maintained The Scriptures,
preserved The Law, saved The Faith & rescued the Jewish People from
themselves? The Scribes, Pharisees & Sadducees (no doubt) saw themselves as the saviours of Judaism. Having
worked so hard to cultivate the position of power that they had come to enjoy,
they weren’t going to give it up without a fight.
I am convinced that the
religious leaders knew that Jesus
was The Messiah, but He was not the Christ that they wanted. He was not a
political Saviour or military leader, that would rid them of the Romans &
restore Israel. He came first as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53,
Messiah the Son of Joseph. They were wilfully blind to this. The Lord told
Philip, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me:
or else believe me for the very works’
sake.” (John 14:11). Which works was The Lord referring to? Were they the miracles that
only The Messiah could perform? Distinguishing phenomena, peculiar to Christ
alone? The Messianic miracles were the cleansing of leprosy, the casting out of
a dumb spirit & the healing of blindness from birth. Surely, if Jesus
performed these miracles they would confirm His identity without a doubt, but
as we’ve seen, this was not necessarily the case.
Dr.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a Messianic believer & a
formidable Jewish scholar, states the following. “Some time prior to the
coming of Yeshua (Jesus), the ancient rabbis separated miracles into two
categories. First were those miracles anyone would be able to perform if they
were empowered by the Spirit of God to do so. The second category of miracles
were called "messianic miracles," which were miracles only the
Messiah would be able to perform. Yeshua did miracles in both categories:
general miracles and also messianic miracles. So because of the rabbinic
teaching that certain miracles would be reserved only for the Messiah to do,
whenever He performed a messianic miracle, it created a different type of
reaction than when He performed other types of miracles”. He continues, “According
to Sanhedrin law, if there was any kind of messianic movement, the Sanhedrin
had to investigate the situation in two stages. The first stage was called the
"stage of observation." A delegation was formed to investigate only
by way of observation. They had to observe: what was being said; what was being
done; and what was being taught. They were not permitted to ask any questions
or raise any objections. After a period of observation, they were to return to
Jerusalem, report to the Sanhedrin and give a verdict: was the movement
significant or was the movement insignificant? If the movement was decreed to
be insignificant, the matter would be dropped. But if the movement was declared
to be significant, there would then be a second stage of investigation called
the "stage of interrogation." In this stage, they would interrogate
the individual or members of the movement. This time they would ask questions
and raise objections to discover whether the claims should be accepted or
rejected…...Yeshua had been investigated by the leadership of Israel. He was
interrogated and questioned everywhere He went. The leadership learned several
things. The crucial thing they realized was that Jesus was simply not going
along with Pharisaic Judaism. He was not accepting Pharisaic authority. He was
teaching things which contradicted the Pharisaic interpretation of the Mosaic
Law. In the Sermon on the Mount, He had repudiated Pharisaism on two counts:
First, as a proper interpretation of the righteousness, which the Law of Moses
demanded; and second, as the kind of righteousness necessary for entering the
Kingdom.”.
Christology: The
Doctrine Of Messiah by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum. ‘The Three
Messianic Miracles’ copyright © Ariel Ministries.
In this, the leadership
had a foolproof litmus test. There was no take-it-or-leave-it. There was no
escape clause. There was no toss of a coin. However, despite Jesus meeting their
criteria, He was rejected by those who held the reins of power. They had also
managed to shoot themselves quite squarely in the foot. Even after they had followed
the protocols of observation, examination & interrogation, their hearts
were still hardened. It’s no wonder that they lit the touchpaper of The Son of
God’s temper & were duly given both barrels by Him with Divine precision. They
were told in no uncertain terms what they were & what He thought of them.
This was beyond the Scribes
& Pharisees attempting to identify Who Jesus was. The bar had been set historically
& The Lord had cleared it spectacularly. So Messiah also sets a bar. “But
what think ye? A certain man had
two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my
vineyard. He answered and said, I
will not: but afterward he repented,
and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And
he answered and said, I go, sir: and
went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you,
That the publicans and the harlots go into
the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:28-31). Only
an impertinent madman or someone who was right, would dare say such things to
leadership. Well, Jesus wasn’t a maniac & He may very well say the same
thing of some in His Church today.
The Lord was just warming
up. “Then spake Jesus to the
multitude, and to his disciples,”
(Matthew 23:1). He picked a specific audience for this particular
piece of business. He speaks to them deliberately & directly. Notice that
The Lord does not bother with the Sadducees here. He had shut them up a long
time ago. Neither does He address the Zealots, or the Essenes or the Sicarii. He completely ignores them, although there
were probably members of these sects listening to Him as He spoke. He did not
waste His time with them & He will not waste His time now. Today if you will hear His voice, harden not
your heart (Hebrews 3:15-17).
Brethren do not be
content to remain one of a multitude, move closer & become a disciple. Why
be one of the many when He is
inviting you to be one of the few?
Draw ever closer to your Lord & Saviour. This is a more sure way of
avoiding the leaven of dogs in the manger.
Jesus continues, “saying,
The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in
Moses’ seat:” (vs. 2) His focus is now the Scribes
& the Pharisees. Of all of the competing sects, they were the ones who were
closest to the truth in their doctrine. They prided
themselves on their knowledge of The Scriptures. They worshipped The Law. They loved
Moses so much. Yet they publicly rejected their Messiah. The Lord told them, “Search
the scriptures; for in them ye think ye
have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me….Do not
think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye
believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John
5:39 & 45-47). Ouch.
1 Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2 who
was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in
all his house. 3 For this man was
counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the
house hath more honour than the house. 4 For
every house is builded by some man; but he that built all
things is God. 5 And Moses
verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to
be spoken after; (Hebrews 3:1-5).
They sat in the seat of Moses,
the place of speaking commandingly & yet when Jesus spoke, “…he taught
them as one having authority, and not as
the Scribes.” (Matthew 7:29). Whether there was an
actual physical seat in The Temple or in The Synagogue is a subject for debate,
nevertheless they wielded a certain ecclesiastical power over God’s people,
from a position they had insinuated themselves into. If only YHWH had spoken to
them mouth to mouth & face to face in friendship, as He had with Moses, in
whom they trusted (Exodus 33:11). If only the Pharisees had been
as meek as Moses, whom they revered. (Numbers 12:3). If only they
had recognised the One like unto Moses, but greater than him, in their midst (Deuteronomy
18:15-18).
The Lord goes further, turning
up the temperature. “all
therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye
after their works: for they say,
and do not.” (vs. 3). At
first glance this doesn’t make immediate sense. Do what they say you’re to do, but
don’t do what they say. They do not practise what they preach. How did He know
this? Because He had seen it for Himself. Every day. Every week. Every month.
Every feast. Every festival. Their manifest greed. Their flagrant hypocrisy.
Their deliberate legalism. Their obvious leaven. All of this was at the expense
of the common people. They were the meat in the bagel. Christ’s yoke is easy.
His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). His commandments are not
grievous (1st John 5:3). Jesus had already
refuted their doctrine of salvation & shown it to be flagrantly false. It
was leaven. Messiah also exhorted his followers, telling them that their
righteousness must exceed that of
the Scribes & Pharisees (Matthew 5:20). If they had heeded
His words to them previously, the truth of what Jesus was saying would have
been apparent. “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life.” (John 6:63 b). Paul told
the saints in Corinth, “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who
also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. ” (2nd
Corinthians 3:4-6). Read the entire chapter & you will see that Paul
was a believing Messianic Pharisee who understood exactly what Jesus was talking about. Paul was no dog in the
manger.
They couldn’t hold a
candle to Moshe Rabbenu, yet these peddlers of leaven had the audacity to sit
in his seat. Bare faced cheek. I can just imagine them quickly scoffing bacon
sandwiches that they’d haggled an unsuspecting Goy out of, behind the Synagogue!
Dogs in the manger. They still exist, but let’s not name any names yet, eh.
Obey The Torah portion, but realise that everything else the Scribes &
Pharisees stood for was window dressing. Jesus knew what they were. He knew
what was in Man (John 2:25). On the mount of transfiguration, The
Lord probably said to Moses, “…mate, you’re not gonna believe what these
jokers are doing in your name!”
Jesus goes further,
saying, “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. 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.” (vss.
4-7). This is arrogance of the highest order. This drew The Lord’s ire. Look
at me. Look at what I wear. Look at what I drive. Look at where I live. Look at
what I earn. I’m getting another Jet. Make sure you give your best seed, “just
like that po' widduh put her mites into The Temple trejreh, hallelujah”. (Mark
12:41-44). Well, those guys are probably the best dressed people in hell.
Brethren, heed the words of Christ. They wanted to be seen of men. They had
their reward. But Jesus wasn’t finished. What he says next is a quintessential
masterclass in the castigation & rebuke of a cynical, contemptuous &
cruel culture. What they had done with The Law & subsequently to God’s
people brought judgement to their doorstep. However, before I proceed any
further, let me encourage us all to err on the side of caution.
I remember staying with
one of my Aunts when I was a child. My mother had flown to The West Indies to
see my grandmother & had left me & my older brother in London. She was
just as strict as my mum & one afternoon one of my cousins had done
something bad enough to warrant a punishment. My Aunt’s husband gave my cousin such
a sound thrashing that afterwards there was complete silence. I’m sure that
pins were nervous about being dropped! The fear in the atmosphere was tangible
because rest of us all knew that if we put a foot wrong, we would suffer the
same fate. We made double sure that we didn’t put a foot wrong.
Hebrews tells us, “Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we
gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For
they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit,
that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening
for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby.” (Hebrews 12:9-11). The judgement of God should
inspire a godly fear.
The Lord will judge
without favouritism or partiality. Proverbs tells us “…he that is glad at
calamities shall not be unpunished.” & “Rejoice not when thine enemy
falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: lest the Lord see
it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” (Proverbs
17:5 b & 24:17-18). The same thing can & will happen to you
or me, if we commit the same or other sins.
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
(Matthew 23:13).
The Lord shifts from
addressing the multitude & His disciples. The Scribes & the Pharisees
are now in His crosshairs. Jesus identifies them here as dogs in the manger.
They have no place in The Kingdom & stand in the way of others who want to
enter it, but they had no ability or real authority to do this. In essence,
they are inadvertently usurping the place of Messiah. This is antichrist. The
term does not only mean against Christ. It also means in the place of
Christ. Paul tells us this, speaking of the coming pseudo messiah, “Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2nd
Thessalonians 2:4). Jesus tells The Church in Philadelphia, “…These
things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and
shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:…” (Revelation
3:7). Only The Messiah can do this. These men had clearly forgotten their history. A history that birthed
their fraternity. Antiochus Epiphanes’ prohibitions & desecrations meant
that God’s people could not worship YHWH. He had Torah scrolls burned. Erected
an idol in The Temple. Slaughtered a pig on the altar. Although the Scribes
& Pharisees didn’t commit the same acts, they stood in the way of God’s
people with the same arrogant impunity as if they had the power to dictate
& control access to the things of God.
The Apostle John
encountered this problem. “ I wrote unto the church:
but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the
preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I
will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious
words: and not content therewith, neither
doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.”
(3rd John 9-10). The Pharisees were fond of the
threat to put people out of the Synagogue, from their uppermost position. They
too loved the preeminence of their chief seats. But they were not the door of the sheep; Messiah was. There
are those today who believe that they can arbitrate the salvation of others,
but they too are dogs in the manger. They shut up entrance to The Kingdom for
others, but they are not going in themselves.
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
(Matthew 23:14).
“Jesus used these
statements to criticize the negative attitude of the scribes against widows.
Moreover, scribes received payment for legal aid to widows, even though such
payment was forbidden. Additionally, scribes collected large sums of money from
credulous old women as a reward from prolonged prayer that they professed to
make on women’s behalf.”
“Widowhood Care and
Empowerment.” Millicent Yeboah Asuamah
When we consider the
multiplied admonitions concerning widows, orphans, strangers & the
oppressed in The Scriptures, how was it
possible that the Scribes & Pharisees took it upon themselves not
only to commit these heinous sins, but then they also sought to justify them
with feigned piety? I’ll tell you how; because “…they are greedy dogs which
can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all
look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.” (Isaiah
56:11). It takes an unconscionable lack of conscience, an unimaginable
degree of cynicism & untold quantities of leaven to do this. Jesus condemns
them to hell for it. These vulnerable women trusted these men with everything they had.
“To make matters
worse, some of them had their houses devoured. Barnes Commentary says the term
houses in Bible Times, referred to any property or possession of any kind.
Therefore, to devour widows’ houses meant ‘property grabbing’ from
widows using trickery. Scribes and Pharisees swindled widows in two ways.
First, they “pretended to promote extraordinary justice toward the poor,
friendship for the distressed, and willingness to aid those who were in
embarrassed circumstances. They thus induced widows and poor people to commit
the management of their property to them as guardians and executors, and then
took advantage of them and defrauded them.” Second, “they put on
the appearance of great sanctity and induced many honest but naive women to
give them much, under the pretence of devoting it to religious purposes”
(Barnes Commentary). Matthew’s Poole’s Commentary adds that by “virtue
of their ecclesiastical power or influence, Scribes and Pharisees persuaded
silly women to give them their estates, or at least to give them a great part
of them, to the service of the tabernacle, that they might pray for their souls.”
“Taking advantage of
the poor in the name of God for financial gain”. Dr. Kennedy Musonda, Ph.D
Does any of this sound
familiar? I have seen it with my own eyes & heard it with my own ears. Give
& it shall be given unto you. Leaven. Give sacrificially. Leaven. Give
until it hurts. Leaven. Give into The Kingdom & God will pour you out a
blessing. Leaven. They are willing to take the shirt off your back. Leaven. Jesus
illustrates this in His commentary on the Widow giving into The Temple
treasury. “for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings
of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.” (Luke
21:4). They knew she was poor.
They knew it was all she had. They
knew they had ripped her off. But
they still took the very last
pennies she had. This is disgusting.
The Lord wasn’t endorsing
their system. He was condemning it, not commending it. There, there, God bless
you as you give & hurry up, we need to get to the Mercedes showroom before
they close. In order to accomplish this they had wriggled around The Law &
no marvel, because a snake never moves in a straight line. Straight to hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect £200.00 from your local widow.
15 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
(Matthew 23:15).
This is an illustration
of what plagues much of The Church in modern times. False conversions. Jesus
spoke of making disciples, not converts. There is a stark difference between
the two. Discipleship to Christ embraces the One to whom we are discipled.
Conversion embraces a system, principle or methodology. Discipleship to Christ
involves salvation. Conversion involves slavery. Discipleship to Christ accepts
what He has done & enables a transformed life. Conversion bows under the
yoke of doing & produces a distorted religiosity.
Albert Barnes writes in
his commentary [that] “Among the Jews there were two kinds of proselytes: 1. “Proselytes
of righteousness,” or those who wholly and fully embraced the
Jewish religion, who were baptized, who were circumcised, and who conformed to
all the rites of the Mosaic institutions. 2. “Proselytes of
the gate,” or those who approved of the Jewish religion, renounced
the pagan superstitions, and conformed to some of the rites of the Jews, but
were not circumcised or baptized. Barnes continues. ‘Twofold more the
child of hell’ – That is, twice as bad. To be a child of
hell was a Hebrew phrase, signifying to be deserving of hell, to be awfully
wicked. The Jewish writers themselves say that the proselytes were “scabs
of Israel,” and “hindered the coming of the Messiah” by
their great wickedness. The Pharisees gained them either to swell their own
numbers, or to make gain by extorting their money under various pretences; and
when they had accomplished that, they took no pains to instruct them or to
restrain them. They had renounced their superstition which had before somewhat
restrained them, but the Pharisees had given them no religion in its place to
restrain them, and they were consequently left to the full indulgence of their
vices.”
Albert Barnes Notes on
the Bible.
Conversion per se, requires
no conviction of sin. Remember the words of Gershom Bader concerning the
Pharisees in his work ‘The Jewish Spiritual Heroes’, where he states [that]
“Any person could join if he promised, in the presence of three members, to
observe the rules of the organization which concentrated on cleanliness and
ablutions.”. So it remains. Raise a hand. Walk to the front. Repeat a
simple prayer. Go your way. Live in any manner you like. Eat up the false
doctrine you’re fed, which is laced with leaven. As long as you obey their
rules, you’re one of them & if they are destined for hell, you are in
mortal danger of incurring the same penalty. Paul told Corinth & us by
extension [to] “Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
16 Woe 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! 17 Ye fools
and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the
gold? 18 And, Whosoever
shall swear by the altar, it is nothing;
but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools
and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that
sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore
shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And
whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And
he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that
sitteth thereon. (Matthew 23:16-22).
The Pharisees in their
wheeling & dealing had developed a system of circumnavigating the binding
nature of oaths. If you swore by The
Temple, it wasn’t binding. It’s just a building. However, if you swore
by the gold of The Temple, that
was a different matter & you were obligated. They used the same principle
with regards to The Altar &
the sacrifices placed on it. Their
logic dictated that the closer the oath was to YHWH, the more legitimate the
obligation. Lesser vows could be broken without consequence. Messiah
obliterates them.
During His sermon on the
mount He instructs His followers [to] “…Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s
throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem;
for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy
head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But
let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay,
nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh
of evil.” (Matthew 5:34-37).
It's obvious that The
Pharisees chose to ignore the words of Solomon, where he gives a poignant
warning saying, “Keep thy foot
when thou goest to the house of God, and be
more ready to hear, than to give the
sacrifice of fools: for they consider
not that they do evil. Be
not rash with thy mouth, and let
not thine heart be hasty to
utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven,
and thou upon earth: therefore let thy
words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business;
and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. When thou
vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure
in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is
it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer
not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel,
that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and
destroy the work of thine hands?” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-6).
Matthew Henry says the
following. “They distinguished between an oath in the temple and
an oath by the gold of the temple; an oath by the altar and
an oath by the gift upon the altar, making the latter binding, but
not the former. Here was a double wickedness. First, That there were
some oaths which they dispensed with, and made light of, and reckoned a man was
not bound by to assert the truth, or perform a promise. They ought not to have
sworn by the temple or the altar, but when they had so sworn, they were taken
in the words of their mouth. That doctrine cannot be of God of truth which
gives countenance to the breach of faith in any case whatsoever. Oaths are
edge-tools and are not to be jested with. Secondly, That they preferred
the gold before the temple, and the gift before the altar, to encourage people
to bring gifts to the altar, and gold to the treasures of the temple, which
they hoped to be gainers by.”
Matthew Henry. Commentary
on the whole Bible.
They were dictating what
was holy & what was not. Leaven. False doctrine. These men were dogs in the
manger.
23 Woe 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. 24 Ye blind
guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel 25 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. 26 Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 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. 28 Even
so ye also outwardly appear righteous
unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the
prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 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. 31 Wherefore
ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. 32 Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew
23:23-33).
To exercise righteous
judgement & justice, to show mercy & be faithful are more important than tithing
meticulously. Yet the Pharisees emphasised the minor details of weighing their
herbs & spices over & above their obligations to their fellow man,
which is more substantial. It’s interesting to note that both Gnats &
Camels were unclean to Jews. These men were willing to attend to certain unclean
things in order to maintain their image, while they completely ignored &
refused to address larger matters that defile. As long at the small outward
appearance is being kept up, it was ok to allow larger issues that were not
kosher. Leaven. “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”.
(Matthew 15:9). The tombs looked gorgeous when they were white-washed
& decorated, yet inside each one was a dead body. A decomposing corpse.
Rotting flesh. Jesus likens the Pharisees & their doctrine to this.
The Lord holds them
guilty of spilling the blood of righteous men who had come to Israel
historically, because they identify with the murderers, calling them ‘..our
fathers..’. Fine. They can bear the same
judgement as those they align themselves with. Jesus names Abel as the 1st
martyr & 1st type of Christ through to Zacheriah (vs. 35).
That’s a lot of bloodshed. How shall they escape the damnation of hell? They
didn’t. Messiah said so. They bar entry to The Kingdom for others & they
were not entering themselves. Dogs
in the manger.
I began this series
knowing full well that I would have to admit some uncomfortable truths before I
had finished. Well, Scripture tells me “For if we would judge ourselves, we
should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned with the world”. (1st Corinthians
11:31-32). I have had to judge myself in these matters. As I sit here in
the comfort of my home with a cuppa & some custard creams, it’s easy for me
to say, “I would never have been like any of those guys that Jesus came down
so hard on”, but if I’m honest with you, I know that isn’t true.
I wouldn’t have been a
Sadducee, because the supernatural is evidenced throughout The Pentateuch, as
are angels. I wholeheartedly believe in these things. They did not. Their
particular brand of leaven would not have appealed to me. Perhaps the Zealots
would have been a more attractive proposition, apart from the fact that
planning the violent overthrow of the government has consequences that I shy
away from. What about the Essenes? Well, my flesh likes its creature comforts.
I wouldn’t last very long out in the wilderness, without Yorkshire Tea or WiFi.
There is also the case of
the Sicarii, Israel’s self-appointed assassins. Murder isn’t something that I
could bring myself to commit, even though my profession involved knives & I
have often been angry with others without just cause. This leaves the Pharisees.
Am I zealous? I like to think so. Do I love God’s Word? Yes, I do. Am I
legalistic? I am with myself, but I try not to be with others. Have I ever been
condescending, judgemental, superior, hypocritical, sanctimonious,
self-righteous, smug, pious, unloving, yadah, yadah, yadah? To my shame I have
to admit that I have & that on more than one occasion The Lord has pulled
me up about these qualities & more besides. As much as I would like to
think that I wouldn’t have been called out by Christ, the truth is that He would
have. However, He knows two things about me. First, He knows my weaknesses
& failings, my sinfulness & stupidity. Second, He knows that I know He
is my Messiah, Lord & Saviour. The only hope of these tendencies being
removed from my character, is a constant fellowship with Him. There is no point
in attempting to justify my position. I have to repent. As I have often said before, will
say now & will doubtless say again in future; it is better for us to say, ‘woe
is me’, than it is to have Him say, ‘woe to you’.
End
of Part Four
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