As we come to the time now when we worship God through the study of His Word, we have the great joy and privilege to return to the Gospel of Matthew. And so we pick up where we left off a number of weeks ago in Matthew chapter 23. The text we're going to be looking at this morning is verses 13 to 39. And I know there's a lot of verses here. I had originally planned to break this into two or three or four pieces. But the more I got into, the more convinced I was for the sake of this congregation, rather than looking in detail at each of the challenges, I think we have a pretty good understanding of the biblical answer to each of these charges that Jesus levels against the false teachers in that day. And I think it's more valuable for us to get of that overall perspective on the totality of what Jesus is saying and how He was responding to false teachers. I want to begin this morning by asking you a question. How many of you have a problem with somebody doing something that is wrong and getting away with it? Some hands go up really high right away. Gina, Kath, you can put your hands all the way up to the moon, right? And a number of you would be right there with him. And many of us really wish we could put on Batman's cape and his cowl and go ahead and set things straight. Correct? Look at the nods even over here. Yes. That's right. It bothers us when somebody gets away with murder. It bothers us when somebody jumps over into the passing lane and comes back over the double yellow line twice. It bothers us. And what are you immediately wondering? Where is a police officer when you need one? And there's nothing worse, nothing worse than watching them do it in front of a police officer and him doing nothing about it. Now, isn't that just doesn't that just isn't that the limit? Isn't that how they isn't that how your sister says that? Isn't that just the limit? Right. Doesn't that irk you? Doesn't that bother you? You know something, this is one of the things that In some cases, we all have a little bit of Batman in us. We do. We really do. We all have a little bit of a justice streak that want to see injustices responded to properly. There's a reason why these superhero movies are so popular, not only because it exalts the idea that people can become superheroes, but in addition to that, who always wins in the end? The good guys. And what always happens to the bad guys? They get what's coming to them. When you talk about false teachers, and we have no shortage of them on the Internet or in bookstores or on Amazon or on television today or even even throughout the country and throughout the world, there are there's really no shortage of false teachers. And does it ever bother you that they seem to prosper? Does it ever bother you that they have people that are sending them money and they have their own private jets sometimes and they're living high on the hog and they seem to be getting away with murder? Why doesn't God address them? Why doesn't God hold them accountable? Well, today I hope to give you an encouragement and a warning that confirms here in Matthew chapter 23 that there is a day of reckoning for false teachers. There is a day of reckoning ultimately for all who offend God in any way. And that's what you see demonstrated in the text in front of you here this morning. I've entitled this morning's message, God's response to false teachers. God's response to false teachers, because that's precisely what we have here in verses 13 to 39 of Matthew 23. And this is in many respects a preview of coming attractions. This will give you a taste of the way that Jesus will address these false teachers on from the great white throne, because this is precisely how he addressed them in his final day there on the temple before he departed and turned his back on them. Just to kind of refresh your memory on where we're at in the study of Matthew's gospel, We're toward the end of Passion Week now. You remember, it started with Jesus on the so-called triumphal entry, with Him riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey, and all the people welcoming Him and saying, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. They were recognizing Him as Messiah. He came in, He looked at the temple, He saw how things were. He went out for the night, He came back the next morning, and He cleansed the temple. He drove out the money changers and those who were buying and selling animals, and he set things straight in his father's house because of the corruption of the priesthood and the Sadducees and the high priest. But he didn't address the Pharisees and the scribes. And you recall, the rest of the week was characterized by him preaching and teaching there on the temple grounds and doing many miracles, and the scribes and Pharisees coming up and trying to trip him up, and what he was saying, trying to catch him so they could find some fault with him and show him to be a false teacher. And yet he responded to every one of them perfectly and biblically, finally silencing all of his critics. Well, as we come to Matthew chapter 23, we come to the last day that Jesus spends there in the temple teaching, and it is the time when he closes out his teaching. The first half of Matthew 23 that we looked at last time was Jesus instructing his disciples and the multitudes in warning them about the Pharisees and the scribes. And now in Matthew 23, verses 13 to 39, he speaks directly to the scribes and Pharisees and brings against them four indictments. And that's what I want to show you. There are four indictments that Jesus brings against the scribes and Pharisees here in Matthew 23 that we're going to look at so that we will be able to have a clear appreciation of both what God thinks of false teachers and how He ultimately will deal with false teachers. And not only that, but secondly, so that we will have a clear understanding of how He will hold eternally accountable not just the false teachers, but also those who follow them. And that's that last point, I think, more than anything, that is most relevant to us in this congregation. There are many lessons in here. As I study this text, it is a tremendous reminder of the importance to be faithful as a teacher of God's Word. If you presume to speak for God, you'd better make sure that you're saying what God says, because He's holding you accountable for what you say. And as we go through this text, you'll see that those who teach Those who preach, those who speak for God in any capacity, are held accountable to God not only for their own lives and for what they say, but also for the impact it has on those who sit under their instruction. But I don't want you to miss this, and for the sake of our congregation in particular, I don't want you to miss the fact that you're still personally responsible to make sure you're not following false teachers, or buying into false teaching. There continues to be the call to be noble as the Bereans were. And I hope to convey that clearly as we go through the text this morning. Now, Jesus renders four indictments against the scribes and Pharisees in this text, and they are recorded in woes. And I'd like to go through these and I'd like to go through these pretty quickly with you. So I want you to buckle your seatbelts and put on your crash helmets, strap that chin strap on tight and follow along with me because I don't think I have to get into the arguments that Jesus is getting into and prove them. I think you already believe them. But I want you to get the big picture that Jesus does hold responsible false teaching false teachers, both for their teaching and for the effect it has on those who sit underneath their instruction and follow them. First of all, Jesus renders four indictments against these false teachers. He condemns, one, their conduct as teachers. Two, he condemns the content of their teaching. Three, he condemns their character as teachers. And four, he pronounces the consequences for their teaching. And it's that last point in particular that I want to really help drive home in each of our hearts. You'll notice that they were all four C's so that Chuck was willing to sit in and listen to the message. We will start with the first one. Jesus condemns their conduct as teachers. Verses 13 to 15. Jesus condemns their conduct as teachers. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people. For you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. He's addressing their conduct. They are spiritual leaders. They are recognized as religious leaders and teachers. They are the people, spiritually, that the nation looks up to. And they neither are going into the kingdom. They are neither recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and receiving his teaching and following him. Not only are they not doing that personally, in addition to that, they're seeking to undermine him and undermine his teaching and point people away from him. And even those trying to come to Jesus, they're standing in the way of it. There are obstacles for true disciples. This is the nature of a false teacher. They try to shut off the kingdom of heaven from people, neither going in themselves. Nor allowing others to enter, they actively oppose. The ministry of Jesus Christ, they actively oppose the word of God. And that's what Jesus condemns them for. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, the word woe. Some people take this as a curse. He's pronouncing a curse against him. It isn't a curse. Woe is the opposite of blessed. You remember the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. The Greek term, therefore, blessed is Makarios. It's a word that literally describes someone as being in the enviable state of divine approval. So when Jesus gives out those eight Beatitudes, he says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. In other words, In the enviable state of divine approval and blessing are those who are poor in spirit They're part of God's kingdom in the enviable state of divine approval and blessing are those who mourn for they will be Comforted in the enviable state of divine approval and blessing are those who are meek for they will what? Inherit the earth, etc Woe is the opposite of that instead of being in the enviable state of divine approval. You're in the unenviable state of divine wrath. Instead of God looking upon these people with approval, with favor. He looks upon them with wrath and indignation and judgment, because instead of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, they're actively opposing God. Of course, God is unhappy with them. That's why happiness or unhappiness kind of that doesn't work. And it isn't a curse. Oh, may bad things happen to you. This is a very clear and definitive judgment. It's an it's an indictment. It's a condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. And if it seems unfair that Jesus is addressing just the scribes and Pharisees and not dealing with the priests and not dealing with the Sadducees, Let me just remind you that when the week started, Jesus dealt directly with the priesthood, with the high priest and with the Sadducees when he cleansed the temple. Remember that? He walks into the temple, overturns the tables of the money changers, drives out those buying and selling the animals and says, you have turned my father's house into a den of thieves. I remind you of the beginning of Jesus's ministry that we're told about in the Gospel of John. Remember John Chapter 2? Jesus does the miracle at the wedding of Cana and turns the water into wine and then he goes to Jerusalem and he goes in at the beginning of his ministry. This is the beginning of the three years and he cleanses the temple. And you remember what happens in John Chapter 3? Who comes to Jesus in John Chapter 3 that night? Nicodemus. And what does Nicodemus say? He says, we know that you are a man sent from God because nobody could do the things you do unless God was with him. You know something, the things that he's talking about have nothing to do with changing water into wine, it has nothing to do with with giving sight to blind eyes or healing the sick or casting out demons. It has everything to do with Jesus walking into the temple, turning over the tables of the money changers, driving out those selling animals and setting things right in the temple so that the worship of God was back to focus at least for that time frame on honoring God. The Pharisees and the scribes were overwhelmed with happiness and glee and satisfaction, and they were more than than ready to make him king, more than ready to follow him and affirm that what he was doing was right and in line with God, because that's what they agreed with. Pharisees and Sadducees are two opposite political and religious parties. This isn't just Republicans and Democrats. This would be like Republican evangelicals and Democratic Catholics or something like that, or Christians and Muslims. I mean, we were talking about contrary doctrines here. So this is real fight. You know something? When Jesus came in and set the worship system right and dealt directly with the Sadducees and the corruption in the temple, all the Pharisees were going, yes and amen. And when an unarmed guy walks in by himself and does that, and the temple guards don't lift a finger, and the priests don't lift a finger, and the people don't lift a finger, and he just does it and gets away with it? That's why Nicodemus says, we know you're a man sent from God, because nobody could do what you're doing unless God was with him. And Jesus, from the time he started speaking to Nicodemus for the next three years of his ministry, from that point on, was setting the Pharisees and scribes straight as well. Because every time he went into the synagogue, every time he interacted with Pharisees, every time he ate with them, he confronted their hypocrisy, he confronted their legalism, and he confronted their lack of obedience to God's commands while they focused on the gnat's wing and swallowed a camel. So when you get here, this isn't unfair of Jesus addressing only one set of false religious leaders. He's already addressed the other set in the beginning of this week. And now he addresses the scribes and Pharisees. And he starts with a woe, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites, Hippocrates, it's not the word that refers to a person. A lot of times we have a misunderstanding of this because we think of hypocrites as people who say one thing but do another. And that's hypocritical. Well, that's what we mean by it a lot of times in the sense of the English term. The Greek word, though, is actually the word for an actor. It's a it's somebody who takes a part or plays a role in a stage play. It's a pretender, a play actor, a performer. And let's face it, in the context of a of a stage play or a movie or whatever, if you're a good actor, boy, you can you can. I mean, it's fun to watch somebody really playing a part. Well, right. It's really believable. You know something, they were really believable as spiritual leaders and as teachers. and those who speak for God. But it was all a show. It was all pretend. It wasn't truly speaking for God. It was ultimately speaking for themselves. And that's why He addresses them as hypocrites. Woe to you! In the unenviable state of divine disapproval and wrath are you, scribes and Pharisees, play actors. Why? Because you shut off the Kingdom of Heaven from people. And how do they do that? One, they don't enter themselves. And two, they stand in the way of those who are trying to enter. What they did and what they taught, they opposed and shut off the kingdom of heaven from people by what they did and by what they taught, by example and instruction. By their example, when they were actively seeking to find things wrong with Jesus and slandering him. You remember when it became it came a point when Jesus had done so many miracles and so many people were just fascinated with him and the power of God is on display in Jesus. You remember when the scribes said, well. He's doing so many miracles, we can't deny that, so we're going to have to attribute these miracles to what? To Satan. The reason he's doing all these miracles because he's doing it by the powers of Satan. And Jesus answers that very directly. If that's the case, if I really am doing this by the power of Satan and Satan's kingdoms in disarray because he's working against himself, that doesn't make any sense. But see, that's the best they could do. These kinds of charges, when he said, remember when the man is lowered through the roof, the paralyzed man on his own pallet, he's lowered through the roof, right? And he sat down in front of Jesus. And Jesus says, You're seeing the man's faith. He says your sins are forgiven and everybody goes oh Nobody can forgive sins except who? God and Jesus says so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority to To forgive sins Get up pick up your pallet and go home and the man got up picked up his pallet and went home that miracle proved that Jesus had the authority not only to to do miracles, but also to what? Forgive sins. And they go, oh, nobody can forgive sins but God. He just claimed to be equal with God. Well, you know what? That's exactly what he claimed. And that's exactly who he is. And that's exactly what he is, equal with God. And that miracle demonstrated it. And from that point on, they kept trying to find a fault with each teaching. They kept opposing him. They kept undermining what he was saying with his disciples, with the multitudes, with the religious leaders and with each other. By what they did and by what they taught, by example and instruction, they opposed the kingdom of heaven. They stood against the truth. And ultimately, this is precisely what false teachers do. Their conduct is offensive to God. And you know something? God sees it and he's going to hold them accountable for it. Nobody is going to get away with any sin. Now, if you look at verse 14, this is an interesting one and there's an issue here we could deal with for a while, but I'm just going to summarize it here because I know we've covered this kind of an issue in the past. You'll notice in most of your Bibles, verse 14 is in italics. You say, well, why is that? Answer. Because it's not in the oldest manuscripts. It's not in the oldest copies that we have of Matthew's Gospel. In Matthew's Gospel, this verse isn't there. Well, why is that? Because Matthew didn't write this verse. You say, well, then where did it come from? Well, it was brought in from Mark 12 and Luke 20. And you could turn to both Mark 12, 40 and Luke 20, 47 and see Jesus did indeed say this. And he said it in the same general context. But he said it in the context of addressing the crowd, warning them about scribes and Pharisees, not in addressing the Pharisees directly. You say, well, well, why would somebody put it in here? Because it's in the King James. Well, how to get in the King James? Because by the time you get to the Middle Ages, people seeking to harmonize the gospel accounts said this is the one statement that says, whoa, that isn't in here. It must supposed to be here. So some of the copyists put it in there. And the next thing you know, it's it's in the Bible and you're King James. Now, the point of the verse is an accurate indictment against the religious leaders. It's indeed something they did. It says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows houses and for a pretense, you make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation. That's true. And indeed, they will. And that's what Jesus told the multitudes about their religious leaders. They're going to answer for it. They're going to answer for the way they're taking advantage of widows. You say, well, what did they do? Well, they function regularly as estate planners when a man died and he left behind a widow. Well, she doesn't know what to do or how to take care of stuff. So these spiritual leaders come in. Oh, I'll help you set things in order in your house. for a fee. And then, of course, we'll need to dedicate a lot of it to God. So this amount goes to the synagogue. So we'll build the new wing in your husband's name. And I'll see what that. And there's records of this kind of stuff. But you know what? That's a corruption. And they take advantage of of of a widow that had never managed money before. These are these are supposedly spiritual leaders, the upright and righteous praying on the members of their households. And you know what? They're going to suffer for it. They're going to answer for it. They will receive the greater condemnation. And they did make a pretense along prayers. You can look at this in Matthew 6. But as we move along into verse 15, you'll notice that in the context specifically of Jesus' pronouncement against the religious leaders, He says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte. And when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you yourselves are. See, he condemned their conduct as teachers because not only were they being obstacles for true disciples, they were makers of false disciples worse even than themselves. When a false teacher gets a true follower, If that false teacher is a false teacher, guess what his eternal destiny is. Eternal condemnation, hell, the term for hell here, by the way, is Gehenna in the Greek. It's the word Jesus most commonly uses to refer to eternal judgment. So ultimately, then a reference to the lake of fire. And you make him and notice when he says you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte. Traveling around on sea and land means you go to every extent. You do whatever it takes to go make one convert. And a proselyte is someone who is a Gentile who makes a full conversion to Judaism. Fully is converted from a Gentile into a Jew. For a male, that includes circumcision with the ritual cleansings and all that stuff. For a female, it's just the ritual cleansings and all the education. But you literally have made a convert from being a Gentile to being a Jew, and yet it's the kind of Jew that's just like you. It's all external. It's all superficial. It's all legalistic. It's all a works-based righteousness. It's not a true proselyte. It's not a true Jew. It's not a true worshipper of God. And what you do is essentially you make them twice as much worthy of eternal condemnation as you yourselves already are. You know, God sees religion, God sees false teachers and he recognizes what they're doing and he sees the impact of what they're doing on people and he will hold them fully accountable for it eternally. Nobody's going to get away with anything. When you want to put your Batman cape on, remember, this life isn't where you answer for your sins. I remember teaching the kids growing up, they did something wrong when when when I would spank one of the kids, I would tell them this isn't your punishment. There is one punishment that that is due and that will be paid for this, your act of disobedience or your lying or your whatever it was. OK, there's one punishment and I won't be the one giving it. God will be. And that's an eternity. But this spanking is intended to teach you that there are indeed painful consequences for rebelling against God. Because when you rebelled against me and when you rebelled against your mom, it wasn't really me you were rebelling against. You were ultimately rebelling against God. And what he tells me to do is spank you so that you learn there are consequences coming for sin. That was a regular process. And a couple of little sayings that I had the kids memorize that they still know. You know something? Every single sin you have ever committed will be answered for. Mine too. And in my case, all of mine were paid for at the cross by Jesus Christ because I've given Him my life. False teachers. You may think they're getting away with murder, but it's only temporary. And no matter how long you live, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 50 years, 100 years, maybe more. It's still but a drop in the bucket of the ocean of time in eternity. I remind you that Scripture says to the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. You know what that means? Not that God doesn't have a watch. It means that time is so small in comparison to eternity. Your perspective is not the same as his. When he allows a false teacher to go 70 years and seems to get away with it and live in temporal prosperity the whole of his life and never answer for it, it doesn't mean he won't answer for it. It means that God was allowing him to accumulate as much eternal wrath as he wanted so that he could answer for all of it. Number two, Christ not only condemns their conduct as teachers, He condemns the content of their teaching. He condemns the content of their teaching. We'll take the chunk of verses 16 to 22 here to start with. And I want you to notice that they came up with ways around God's word. He says, woe to you, blind guides, and if you underline key phrases in your Bible, that's a phrase blind guides to underline. Woe to you, blind guides who say whoever says or whoever swears by the temple, that's nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated. You fools and blind men, which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing. But whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated. You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears both by the temple and by him who dwells within it. And who's that? God. And whoever swears by heaven swears both by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. You know what? You know, you know what Jesus is saying here? You guys are so moronic, it's not even funny. that this whole scheme that you've come up with on your own and that you're teaching people in how you can give your word without actually giving your word. It's evil, it's sinful. And you're going to answer for it. You say, well, I don't understand what why would this just doesn't seem it seems silly. Well, you know what? They weren't the Jews were not doing this. The Pharisees weren't teaching to do this to fellow Jews. All the Jews knew this lingo. I'll swear by the temple. I swear by the altar. I swear by heaven. But you know what? I didn't swear by the gold of the temple. I didn't swear by the offering on the altar. I didn't swear by he who is in heaven. I just swore by heaven. This was the behavior they had toward Gentiles. This is normal behavior. You want to know why Gentiles believe that the Jews were corrupt and tricksters and thieves and people not to have dealings with? Because they were. They were. And they would say, I swear by the altar in the temple. I swear by the temple itself, I'll do that. And they had come up with this lingo whereby they would just and you say, well, Well, where do they get that idea? Well, they just made a distinction because, see, the significance of the gold in the temple, that was something that was brought to God as an offering. And the fact that it was made an offering is what sanctifies it under God. But the temple itself is just the temple. It's a physical structure. And the same thing with the altar. The offering that's on the altar was brought by the worshipper. So it's meant as an act of worship. So it's part of worship. So it's sanctified. But the altar is just an altar. It's just a physical structure. Heaven is just the place where God dwells. It's not actually him. So it was a way to to invoke God without actually invoking his name. And it gave you an out and then you could give your word and not really ultimately in the sight of God have to keep your word. In Matthew chapter 5, keep your finger on Matthew 23 and go back to Matthew 5. Jesus already dealt with this basic issue. I just remind you of it this morning, Matthew 5 and verse 33. Jesus says, you have heard that the ancients were told you shall not make false vows, but you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. And it's that last phrase that the religious leaders camped on. This is where the scribes and Pharisees built their argument. you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. So if you invoke God's name, now you got to keep your word. But if you don't invoke God's name, then you don't have to keep your word. See how they made an exegetical argument out of that? It says you have to keep your vows to the Lord. But if I make a vow, but I don't actually invoke the name of the Lord, then I don't have to keep it. Now, they wouldn't do this with each other. But anybody who doesn't know better, listen, if you swear by the temple of your God, that should mean something, right? Even to Gentiles that meant something. Jesus says, I say to you, you make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, because you can't make one hair white or black. Rather, your statement is to be yes is a yes, and no is a no. Anything beyond that is evil. God wasn't saying that the point of the scriptures and that instruction is not once you invoke the name of the Lord, once you invoke God's name, now all of a sudden your word has to be kept, your vow has to be fulfilled. God's standard is absolute righteousness in the area of integrity. If you say you'll do it, then that means you've said in the sight of God and in his hearing that you will what? Do it. And if you say, no, you didn't do it, that needs to be truthful. See, God's expectation of truth is absolute. See, this is why lying is even worse than not fulfilling a vow. It's not that you said it and didn't do it, it's that you said something purposely that is a lie. It's just a worse manifestation of the kind of sin we're talking about here. And I remind you, you don't have to turn there, just listen as I read. I remind you of what is stated in Revelation 21, verses 7 and 8. This is the promise of heaven and a place in a new heaven and a new earth. God says, he who overcomes will inherit these things. I will be his God and he will be my son. But for, listen to the list here, for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and catch this last one, all liars. Their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. If what you say can't be relied upon, if when you say yes, you'll do something and you don't do it, that makes you a liar. And I don't care whether you directly invoked a vow Naming God or not. Your yes is to be a yes and your no is a no. You go back to Matthew 23 here. Listen, these religious leaders weren't just practicing this. They were teaching it. They were teaching it. They were actually teaching people how to disobey God's word and feel like they were OK in doing it. Look at verses 23 and 24. They not only were teaching people ways around God's Word, they were teaching people to focus on things beyond God's Word. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe the mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides. There's our words again. Blind guides. You can underline it there because in verse 16 and now here in verse 24, this is what gives us our inclusio. This is what shows us from beginning from the beginning of verse 16 to the end of verse 24. This whole section is two woes dealing with one issue. They're teaching you blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. He says you tithe the mint and dill and cumin. I did a little study this week on the tithing text in the Old Testament. And you can look at Leviticus 27, Numbers 18, Deuteronomy 12 and 14. And you can read through the lists of the tithes that were prescribed. And ultimately, when you add it all up, it was 20 plus percent and all the different things that were required. But basically, when we're talking about produce, we're talking about animals, etc. As you go through these passages, They make it clear that Israel was expected to give a tithe, basically a tenth, of all their produce and all their livestock. It was applied to grain, wine, oil, fruit, and the first fruit of the harvest of their herds and flocks as well. So cattle, sheep, etc. This included every tenth animal annually. But when you read through all these texts, you'll see there's no mention of herbs and the like. So when they tithed from cooking and baking spices like mint and dill, and even from medicinal ones like cumin, they were going way beyond what God actually called for. God didn't even mention these. This isn't required. This isn't in the list. God isn't concerned about this. You know, I was reading this week, at least one author pointed out that there are records historically that some of the rabbis used to literally come out and they'd lay out all the seeds and count them right there just so that you could see there's a tenth of them. Isn't that ridiculous? Listen, that's precisely why Jesus back in verse 17 said, fools and blind men. You know what that word fools means? We get our word moron from it. The English word moron is derived from this Greek word and in Greek it literally means someone who is stupid. You want a picture of this? Go to YouTube. You know, when Moses was here, there was a couple of times where and some of my students, once in a while, these guys, you know, they're laughing. Oh, you could talk to Murphy. You got to see this. To this day, I still my heart breaks for this one. I watched this video, YouTube video a number of years ago, and it's it's there's still a part of me that just hurts. And maybe I just want you to share in my pain, but I think it perfectly illustrates the point. There was this kid, he was, I don't know, 13, 14, 15. Big time into skateboarding apparently. So they have this video of him with his cast on. He's got a cast on his arm and they show him and he's laughing, he's with his friends, he's waiting for his mom to get home to take him to the doctor to get his cast cut off because for the last six weeks he's had a cast on his arm because he broke it on his skateboard trying to do a trick in their, they had like a three level or two or three level apartment complex they were on and you know the staircases that kind of go one way and then another way with the landings and there's a railing against concrete walls and all this stuff and apparently he was trying to do some trick, fell and broke his arm. So he's all excited today, he's getting his cast off. He gets his cast off, his mom drops him off And then they show. So there's a couple of minutes. There's a minute he's getting ready to go get his cast off. Then you come back. He's got his cast off. You can see his arm is undersized and pink and everything. And they're all OK. Here he is. And he's now he's he's just got his cast off this day an hour ago. He gets back on the skateboard, goes back to do the same trick, and they're going to show him doing the trick. And he falls and breaks the same arm again. You know what that is stupid. It's stupid. And some of you might think, you know, if some of you younger people might think, oh, no, that's cool. Really? It's cool to go right back into a cast, it's cool to have your arm broke again and go through all that. Did you learn nothing from the first time that this is not safe and you need to take precautions? The arrogance, the futility, the stupidity of it. There's no wisdom there. And you know something? That's that's the type of term that Jesus uses to describe the behavior and the teaching of the religious leaders. You guys are blind guides. Now, you read a statement like that in the Bible and you underline it because I told you to underline it, maybe. And then you go right past it. I just want you to close your eyes for a minute. Everybody close your eyes. OK, don't worry, Barbara, I'm not doing anything to you. OK, now's the time to get her. No, I'm just kidding. So close your eyes. Not tell me something. Can you lead me to the bathroom over in the fireside, Hal, now, please? Not so much. Now, you get the picture? How good are you? Some of you open your eyes. Look at that. Okay, you can all open your eyes now. Can you picture what the illustration Jesus is saying here? If you're blind, how much help are you going to be to somebody to lead them along so that neither one of you Wander out into traffic. Wander into a pit. Wind up in a part of town where there are thieves and robbers who beat you up and you never even see them coming or never see who they were. Yes, Jesus knows exactly what false teachers are doing. And He will hold them fully accountable, not only for their conduct, but for the content of their teaching as well. You tithe mint and dill and cumin, but neglect the weightier provisions of the law. What are these weightier provisions? Justice and mercy and faithfulness. Where does that come from? Micah 6 8. Write that verse on your notes. Micah 6 8. That's your memory verse for the week. Micah 6 8. What does the Lord require of his people? He has told you, oh man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God? To do justice, to do what is right in God's sight, to love kindness or love mercy might be a better way to translate that. To do what is right in the sight of God. to treat others with compassion and mercy, forgiving them when they offend you, and meeting their needs when they have them, and walking humbly with your God. That's faithfulness. Justice and mercy relate to the way we deal with each other, and faithfulness has to do with the way that we are obedient to God and His commands, faithfully being the kind of people He expects us to be. That's what you should have devoted yourself to without neglecting the others. You know what? If you want to go above and beyond and give way more than you have to go right ahead, go right ahead. But don't neglect what's most important. Don't major on the minors, especially when the minors aren't even required. That's creating a religious system of your own, and that's precisely what they did, and that's exactly why Jesus condemns them. That's why the final charge is just, to me, so humorous. You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Some of the commentators say, well, you know, the Pharisees used to have a practice where they would take a cloth and they would put it over their cup and then they would pour the wine through the cup so as to strain out any bugs so they didn't become contaminated by drinking a bug. I do that just because I don't want to drink a button. I'm just kidding. You know, some have suggested the reason they did this because in Leviticus 11, there's the mention of avoiding swarming things and creeping things. But what's really interesting, if you look at this in the original, the Hebrew word for swarming and creeping things has nothing to do with bugs. It's dealing with with small animals, reptiles and fish. The Hebrew word that is used to describe swarming or creeping things actually applies to land animals that creep along the ground or scurry along the ground, or aquatic creatures like fish and frogs. It's nothing to do with bugs. Frankly, I don't think that Jesus is actually addressing a literal behavior here. I think this is another one of his illustrations that's just so marvelous. It's like blind guides. You close your eyes. But you know what, with my eyes closed, and there's a lot of times when I'm here practicing late, especially when the times change, when when it might be like, say, 530 or 630 or whatever, when I finish practicing and I go and I turn off the last of the lights, these steps and some of these pews and whatnot have caught my shin. And, you know, so I carry my phone now with a little thing so I can find my way. Because finding your way even around in your house with the lights off can be hard, right? How are you going to lead somebody else? That's the beauty of that illustration. Well, the same here. You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. How big is a gnat? Really, really small. You know how many of you have eaten and drunk through your life? Yeah. Afraid to ask. Nice. Okay. Picture it. You strain at the smallest specks and wind up swallowing a camel. Doesn't that beautifully illustrate the sense of the condemnation here? You're trying to pay attention to the small stuff and you're missing the big stuff. Yeah, Jesus recognizes it and he condemns him for it. Next, he condemns not only their conduct as teachers and the content of their teaching, He condemns their character as teachers. Look at verse 25. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Now this is a good one. I've been looking forward to this. I want you to picture this. When you get home and you have lunch today, This is what I want. How many of you are the ones that are in charge of washing the dishes today after lunch? Okay? Now, don't use a dishwasher. I want you to do it in the sink. And what I want you to do is exactly what Jesus says here. I want you to take all the glasses, and I want you to take all the plates and the bowls. I want you to wash the outside real thoroughly and get it nice and clean, but don't wash the inside and then set it over to dry. And then I want you to wash the bottom of the plate and the outside of the bowl. Don't wash the inside or the top. And set it over to dry. And then when dinner time comes along, I want you to tell me how many of you want to use those cups and dishes. Do you see the picture, Jesus? Isn't it beautiful? This is the way Jesus is drawn in the picture. Listen, their character as teachers, as spiritual leaders, as religious teachers, as those who speak for God, Their character is such that they make sure that on the outside they really look clean and bright and shiny. They are, what's that, what's that dusk or dawn or whatever and the sparkle that stings off of it when you use the right detergent cleaning your dishes? Yeah, on the outside that they look pristine on the outside and on the inside it's what? Filthy. It's yuck. That's precisely what he says on the inside, full of robbery and self-indulgence. Robbery is not just taking something that belongs to somebody else. It's doing it forcefully. And self-indulgence is a lack of temperance, a lack of self-control. You just do what you want. On the outside, you look really good, but on the inside, corrupt to the core. You blind Pharisee. You can't even see. that you're not right with God. You can't even see. You are so committed to this external righteousness, you can't even see you're not in a right relationship with God and that you're continuing to offend Him and pile up more and more wrath. First, you need to clean the inside of the cup and of the dish so that the outside may then become clean. You're wasting your time cleaning the outside because the outside will never become clean. Notice, this is where it's going from the illustration to analogy. You really want to live a life that honors God. You're going to have to address not the externals. You're going to have to address the issue of the heart. Remember what Jesus said about if you have a problem with your tongue? He said it's out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. So if you're using your tongue to speak profanities, to speak vulgarities, to speak hateful words, to to slander people, to offend people, to cut them down, to hurt people. If you're using your tongue in a way that that does damage and hurts people, you don't really have a tongue problem. You remember, you know, the old saying, if you can't say something nice, then what? Don't say anything at all. That's wrong. It's well, it's only half right. It's not wrong. You should you should still not say something wrong. OK, or something that isn't nice. But if you can't say something nice, then you know what you need to do? Change your heart so that you can say something nice. If you have a mouth problem, the problem isn't with your mouth. The problem is with your heart. See, they look spiritual on the outside. That's what their character appeared to be from the outside. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 5 and verse 20, I think it is, in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, He says, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not what? Enter into the kingdom of heaven. Why would he use them as the example? Because from everybody's perspective in that day, they were the most righteous, they were the most likely to go to heaven and going to have the chief seats because they look better than any of us. Verse 27. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men's bone and all uncleanness. So you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Now, this is an interesting illustration that Jesus uses here, too, because the whole idea of whitewashed tombs. First of all, they didn't have paint like we have. So you couldn't just put a coat of paint on and it was all weather and it would stay for years. Second of all, why would you paint a tomb white? And the answer is every year, the month before Passover, those who lived in Jerusalem would go out and they would whitewash paint bright, put a new coat of paint basically on all the tombs in and around Jerusalem. Why? so that those who came in from out of town that wanted to participate in the Passover celebration and the sacrifices that went on, they would know where they are so they could see them and stay away from them. Because in Numbers 19, It says that if a person comes into contact with either a corpse or a human bone or a grave, they become unclean for seven days. So then you can't enter in the temple, you can't do the worship, you couldn't participate in the Passover. And some of these people traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles for the celebration. So the month before Passover, every year, they go out and they paint all the tombs. And the people that paint, they're only unclean for a week, and then they're able to participate, and then it's clearly marked. So if you get near it, it's on you. But it's not the warning aspect of it that Jesus is focusing on. It's the appearance aspect that Jesus is focusing on in this text. He says, you are like whitewashed tombs which appear on the outside beautiful, appear pretty, sparkling, shiny and new. You know, a nice new coat of paint does wonders for almost anything, doesn't it? You want proof? Head over to the fireside. Between the work that Bob and Kath and many of you have done, that place, wow, it's been transformed on the inside. Some of you are saying, well, why can't we do the outside now? Because Bob and Kath and a few others need a nap. Listen, it looks beautiful, doesn't it? Doesn't it look awesome? You can put a new coat of paint on something that looks cool, looks shiny, looks new. Well, we're talking about being about a month removed from the Jews just having whitewashed all the tombs. So when Jesus makes reference to whitewashed tombs, all the people know because they can see them. And on the outside now, they look all bright and shiny and clean, don't they? They look nice. But you know full well what's on the inside. The same dead bodies. The same corrupt matter. The same decaying corpses. And that's what you guys are. That's what these false teachers were. And God sees it, and Jesus recognizes it, and He condemns them. You too outwardly appear to be righteous men, but inwardly you're full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. God sees right through to the core. You can work on the outside as much as you want, but God knows your heart. And that's why, in these last few verses, Jesus pronounces the consequences of their teaching. The consequences of their teaching. And we're going to we're going to get into this when we get into Matthew 24 a little bit. So I just want to hit the high points here. He says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous. And then you say, if we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would have not been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. In other words, and they did this and Lord willing, in the next couple of months, Kath and I will get a chance to go to Israel and see some of these for ourselves. But there are a lot of tombs that were erected and long generations after the death of some of God's most righteous people who were who were murdered because of their faithfulness to God. And they were done in order to honor these people who had spoke for God. And all the while saying, but if we had been there, we wouldn't have been like our forefathers who killed these guys. And yet, thereby you are testifying against yourselves, verse 31, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. So fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents and brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of what? Hell, of eternal condemnation. How are they testifying against themselves? Because what are they doing with Jesus right now? What have they already done with John the Baptist? In fact, what are they going to do to the apostles and to the early church? What do they do to Stephen? What do they do ultimately to Paul? Your behavior demonstrates that you really are just like them, despite the fact that you put on this big show of honoring the prophets in their tombs. when you have a live prophet with you, you're every bit like your forefathers, opposing them, persecuting them, and seeking to undo them and murder them. And that's exactly what's going to happen in the next two days to Jesus. They're going to orchestrate His crucifixion. Notice the consequences for them. Verse 34, Therefore, since this is the case, Behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes." Stop right there. What did Jesus say? I am sending you. Whose place is He taking now in saying this? God's. Jesus is taking God's place. I will be sending you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify. Some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. And the reason that this is going to happen is so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. because you persist in rejecting. You know something? You're going to be given full liberty to sin it up as much as you want and accumulate as much eternal wrath for yourself as you want, so that it comes not only upon you, but upon the whole of this generation that's following you as well. When Jesus says, all the guilt of the righteous blood shed on earth from the blood of Abel to Zechariah, Say, well, those are two kind of odd names to pick. Well, Abel, if you go to Genesis chapter four, is the first believer ever murdered because of his obedience to God and faith in God. Cain killed Abel because Abel worshipped God and Cain worshipped himself. Cain was jealous that God accepted Abel's worship because it was true and from the heart, and so he murdered him because of it. Abel was the first martyr in the Bible. The last martyr in the Old Testament, in the way the Hebrew books of the Bible are arranged, if you pick up a Hebrew Bible, the last book is not Malachi. The last book in a Hebrew Bible is Chronicles. And in 2 Chronicles 24, the last person, the last prophet who speaks for God that's murdered is Zechariah. Now, there is a little interpretive issue here, but I'm not going to take time to deal with it today. But there is a harmonization. And I do believe the answer is Zachariah's grandfather is the name referred to here, as opposed to his father, which is mentioned in Second Chronicles 24. But the point that Jesus is making is through the whole Old Testament, from the first martyr to the last, God has been withholding his wrath and building it up. to come upon you. Why would it come upon that generation? Because they didn't just reject a prophet of God, one who spoke for God, they rejected one who came as God. Now, that's the consequences that fall on them. Notice that there are also consequences that fall on those who follow them. And this is what I want you to hear loud and clear this morning. Verse 36, Truly I say to you, All these things will come upon not just these religious leaders. All these things will come upon what? This generation. This generation. That's why Jesus says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. but you were unwilling. So behold, your house is being left to you desolate. For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And the implication is, and this time you mean it. That's exactly what they said when he rode in on a colt to follow the donkey at the beginning of the week. But they didn't mean it. And the consequence is this judgment. was going to come not just on the religious leaders, but on those who followed them as well. When we get into the crucifixion account, you're going to see that's exactly what people did. It wasn't just the religious leaders standing there. There was a crowd there who said, we want Barabbas. There was a crowd there who said, crucify him, crucify him. We will not have this man reign over us. They followed these false leaders. Do you know there are two lessons here? And I'll leave you with this. This text gives us a clear indication of how God views and ultimately deals with false teachers, does it not? You need not be jealous of them and their apparent prosperity. You should not be surprised at them and what they seem to be able to get away with. You can be sure God will deal with them not only for what they do, but also for the impact it has on those who follow them. And for teachers that speak on God's behalf, James 3 still rings true. Be not many teachers, for yours is the stricter judgment. I think of that all the time. There's a reason I work so hard to try to make sure what I say is actually what the Bible says, because I'm accountable for every word. I'm accountable for the way I live my life. I'm accountable for what I tell you, and I'm accountable for what you do with what I tell you. And false teachers do lead people astray and they will eternally answer for it. You don't have to worry about that. Just stay away from them. At the same time, the second lesson is this. This text gives us a clear picture of the responsibility God also puts on those who follow false teachers. It isn't just the false teachers who answer to God. You are accountable as an individual for the way you live your life, for your own personal attention to the word of God and the own personal attention to putting the word of God into practice in your life. You are accountable. That's why it's so essential as a Christian to be a noble Berean. We're all accountable to know the truth and obey it. But we're all ultimately called to be mature enough in our understanding of Scripture to be able not to be swayed by every wind of doctrine, Ephesians 4, to be united in faith and practice. God holds each and every one of us fully accountable, not only for what we believe, and what we do and how we live, but also for the impact that our own individual influence has on other people. And I hope that's the lesson that you walk away with most clearly this morning. You are accountable, not just for what you say and what you do, but also the impact it has on the people around you. I think this is a loud and clear warning. Not just to those who teach, but to every one of us. You need to make sure you know the truth yourself. And if you have good teachers, then thank God for it. And don't presume upon it. And also remember, you need to be faithful with it. To whom much is given, much is required. Father, thank you for this day and for your word, for your faithfulness and righteousness. and the certainty that we can trust that in the end eternally you will deal with every sin perfectly and eternally. Thank you for the grace you've given to us in Jesus Christ and the instruction you've given us in your word and the spirit you've given us to understand it and the strength to apply it. Thank you for the spiritual maturity and the health and the biblical literacy of this congregation. Help us indeed to be those who not only know the truth, but also live it. And may we be those who live in such a way that others might see our good deeds and glorify you, because we give a good testimony to what it is to be yours. In Jesus' name, amen. Gentlemen, if you'll come forward.