Matthew 23

In Matthew 23 Jesus warned His disciples not to be like the Pharisees because they do not practice what they preach. We are not to be called Teacher or Father or Instructor, because we have one Teacher and Father and Instructor in heaven. Our concern should be on humbling ourselves rather than exalting ourselves.

Then Jesus pronounced 7 woes on the Pharisees, which is a sign of complete judgement.

  1. They block people from entering the kingdom of heaven.
  2. They seek out converts and teach them the wrong things.
  3. They honor material posessions rather that God.
  4. They pay tithes that appear valuable, but they live lives contrary to what God wants.
  5. They put on a good appearance of purity, but secretly they are driven by immoral desires.
  6. Again, they put on a good appearance of righteousness, but they are driven by wickedness.
  7. They criticize their forefathers for murdering the innocent, but they will be held accountable for all bloodshed when they too murder the innocent.

The last part where Jesus puts all the bloodshed on them, from Abel to Zechariah, has several possible interpretations. The strongest is that Chronicles was the last book of the traditional Hebrew canon order, so Jesus was referring to all of the bloodshed that was recorded in the Hebrew canon from Abel (in Genesis) to Zechariah (in 2 Chronicles 24:21).

And after Jesus condemns the Pharisees He laments over Jerusalem, which was supposed to be His city of glory, but instead has been a city of rebellion. But He does end with a hint of hope that they will one day become that city of blessing saying, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."