On Line Bible Study - For the week September 15 - 21, 2008
Lesson 353 Matthew 59
Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Jesus warns the people regarding the "teachers" and Pharisees. His primary concern: they don't practice what they preach. It is interesting, isn't it, that Jesus does tell us to obey their words. They teach from the Law of Moses. But don't place expectations on others that you are unwilling to meet in your own life. Bible Scholar John Nolland warns about the temptation to overstate (distort) what we are critiquing in others. Some scholars wonder if what is recorded as having been said about the Pharisees wasn't originally spoken to them. Either way, Matthew does turn the attention away from the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Identifying what they do is not enough; rather, it is for us to make sure we don't do what they do. The reason Jesus issues the warning should be obvious: It is all too easy to have higher standards for everyone else.
One other observation about this passage . . . Many people were illiterate in First Century Palestine; and even if one could read, copies (or scrolls) of the Torah were not easy to come by. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees need to be listened to when they are reading from Torah. At that point, they are not offering any interpretation, but simply what the text says. The text must be heeded, regardless of who is reading it.
After warning the people against seeking titles for themselves, Jesus goes on to state seven "woes" to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. They
1. Shut the doors of the kingdom on the faces of people. (Verses 13-14.)
2. Make converts and then confuse them. (Verse 15.)
3. Swear by the gold in the temple, and the gift on the altar, dismissing the fact that it is the temple itself that makes the gold valuable, and the altar itself that makes the gift sacred. (Verses 16-22.)
4. Tithe on their spices while ignoring the law's mandate - to be righteous, merciful and faithful. They should attend the latter without neglecting the former. (Verses 23-24.)
5. Though the ritual cleanliness of the inside of the container is what is determinative, they focus on the appearance of the outside of the cup. (Verses 25-26.)
6. Though the exterior of tombs may be whitewashed clean and beautiful, it does not alter the fact that contact with tombs renders one ritually unclean. (Verses 27-28.)
7. They tend the tombs of prophets, but ignore what the prophets have proclaimed. (Verses 29-32.)
For each of these Jesus pronounces a "woe" upon them.
Matthew 23: 33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
II Chronicles 24 tells of a Zechariah who was stoned to death in the courtyard of the Temple. Is that the "Zechariah" Jesus (and Matthew) makes reference to here?
As the Christian Church began to emerge, and there was increased polemic between Judaism and Christianity, the Pharisees became something of a flashpoint. Some of that rhetoric may have been exaggerated over time. What makes Jesus' confrontations with Pharisees so important has as much to do with our own "pharisaical tendencies" today - in the more negative sense of that word. Be careful about "appearances". Make sure you tend to the inner life. Don't turn away from the prophets and the prophetic message. Chapter 23 concludes with a "lament":
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Please God; may it not be so that Jesus has to lament over me! "Gather me in"; let your Spirit hover over me; create in me a clean heart, and give me a willing spirit!
For next time we head into Chapter 24 - this is Matthew's "Apocalypse". Read it over this week.
Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Jesus warns the people regarding the "teachers" and Pharisees. His primary concern: they don't practice what they preach. It is interesting, isn't it, that Jesus does tell us to obey their words. They teach from the Law of Moses. But don't place expectations on others that you are unwilling to meet in your own life. Bible Scholar John Nolland warns about the temptation to overstate (distort) what we are critiquing in others. Some scholars wonder if what is recorded as having been said about the Pharisees wasn't originally spoken to them. Either way, Matthew does turn the attention away from the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Identifying what they do is not enough; rather, it is for us to make sure we don't do what they do. The reason Jesus issues the warning should be obvious: It is all too easy to have higher standards for everyone else.
One other observation about this passage . . . Many people were illiterate in First Century Palestine; and even if one could read, copies (or scrolls) of the Torah were not easy to come by. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees need to be listened to when they are reading from Torah. At that point, they are not offering any interpretation, but simply what the text says. The text must be heeded, regardless of who is reading it.
After warning the people against seeking titles for themselves, Jesus goes on to state seven "woes" to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. They
1. Shut the doors of the kingdom on the faces of people. (Verses 13-14.)
2. Make converts and then confuse them. (Verse 15.)
3. Swear by the gold in the temple, and the gift on the altar, dismissing the fact that it is the temple itself that makes the gold valuable, and the altar itself that makes the gift sacred. (Verses 16-22.)
4. Tithe on their spices while ignoring the law's mandate - to be righteous, merciful and faithful. They should attend the latter without neglecting the former. (Verses 23-24.)
5. Though the ritual cleanliness of the inside of the container is what is determinative, they focus on the appearance of the outside of the cup. (Verses 25-26.)
6. Though the exterior of tombs may be whitewashed clean and beautiful, it does not alter the fact that contact with tombs renders one ritually unclean. (Verses 27-28.)
7. They tend the tombs of prophets, but ignore what the prophets have proclaimed. (Verses 29-32.)
For each of these Jesus pronounces a "woe" upon them.
Matthew 23: 33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
II Chronicles 24 tells of a Zechariah who was stoned to death in the courtyard of the Temple. Is that the "Zechariah" Jesus (and Matthew) makes reference to here?
As the Christian Church began to emerge, and there was increased polemic between Judaism and Christianity, the Pharisees became something of a flashpoint. Some of that rhetoric may have been exaggerated over time. What makes Jesus' confrontations with Pharisees so important has as much to do with our own "pharisaical tendencies" today - in the more negative sense of that word. Be careful about "appearances". Make sure you tend to the inner life. Don't turn away from the prophets and the prophetic message. Chapter 23 concludes with a "lament":
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Please God; may it not be so that Jesus has to lament over me! "Gather me in"; let your Spirit hover over me; create in me a clean heart, and give me a willing spirit!
For next time we head into Chapter 24 - this is Matthew's "Apocalypse". Read it over this week.
posted by Mark D at 1:35 PM
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