Before Jesus Lamented over Jerusalem

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Matthew 23

Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’
8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.
9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’
19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

Before Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, He said something against the scribes and Pharisees. These were religious leaders in Israel during those days.

Jesus said this to the crowds and to His followers, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do the things themselves. They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.”

What was the real reason why these religious leaders did good things? The reason they did good things was so that other people would see them doing good. Yes, showing off to others that they were more spiritual and superior.

They made their boxes of Bible verses bigger and bigger before they wore on their foreheads. And they made their special prayer clothes very long so that people would notice them. Those Pharisees and religious teachers loved to have the most important seats at the feasts and important gatherings. And they loved to have the most important seats in the synagogues.

They loved people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. And they loved to have people calling and greeting them ‘Teacher.’

But Jesus said, “You must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all brothers and sisters together. You have only one Teacher. And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven. And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Christ. He who serves you as a servant is the greatest among you. Whoever makes himself great will be humbled. Whoever humble himself will be made great.”

These religious teachers and Pharisees were truly hypocrites! They closed the door so that others could not enter the kingdom of heaven. As they themselves did not enter, they prevented others from entering.

They took away widows’ houses. And they pretended that they had done nothing wrong by praying long prayers after that. So they would receive a harsher punishment.

They travelled across land and sea to find one person who would follow their ways. When they found that person, they would convert him, making him more fit for hell just like them.

They were called to lead and guide the people, but they were blind. They said, “If anyone swears by the Temple when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if anyone swears by the gold that is in the Temple, then he must keep that promise.”

But which was greater: the gold or the Temple? Of course, it was the Temple as it made that gold holy. They loved and desired the gold more than the Temple!

And they said, “If anyone swears by the altar when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if he swears by the gift on the altar, then he must keep his promise.”

Which was greater: the gift or the altar? Of course, it was the altar as it made the gift holy.

The person who vowed by the altar was vowing before the altar and also everything on the altar.

And the person who made a vow in the Temple was vowing before the Temple and also everything in the Temple.

The person who vowed to heaven to make a promise was vowing before God’s throne, and the One sitting on that throne.

But the religious leaders were hypocrites! They gave to God one-tenth of everything they earned even their mint, dill, and cummin. But they did not obey the really important teachings of the law - being fair, showing mercy, and being faithful to God. These were the things they should do, as well as those other things.

They were leading and guiding the people even though they were blind! They were like a person who picked a fly out of his drink, and then swallowed a camel! They were very picky in minute details but not interested in the big picture and disregarded it!

They washed the outside of their cups and dishes. But inside their cups were filled of things that they got by cheating others and pleasing only themselves. Therefore, they needed to first make the inside of the cup clean and good. Then the outside of the cup could be truly clean.

They were like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs looked fine. But inside, they were filled the bones of dead people, and all kinds of unclean things. It was the same with them. People looked at them, thinking that they were good. But on the inside, they were full of hypocrisy, lawlessness and wickedness.

They built tombs for their prophets. They showed honor to the graves of people who had lived good lives. And they said, “If we had lived during the time of our fathers, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.”

But they themselves gave proof that they were children of those people who murdered the prophets. And they would complete the sin that their fathers had started!

They were snakes! A family of poisonous snakes! They would not escape the judgment of God. They would be judged guilty!

Jesus told these religious leaders, “I am sending true prophets and wise men and teachers to you. You will kill some of these people. You will crucify some of them on cruel crosses. You will beat some of them in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. So you will be guilty for the death of all the righteous ones who have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the murder of that good man Abel. And you will be guilty for the murder of Zechariah, son of Berechiah. He was murdered when he was between the Temple and the altar. I tell you the truth. All of these things will happen to all of you who are living now.”

Then Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets by stoning those men God sent to you. Many times I wanted to help your people! I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let Me. Now your Temple will be left completely empty. I tell you, you will not see Me again until that time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

Their Messiah is still waiting for them to say, "Baruch haba b'shem Adonai!"

Zechariah 12:10
Mourning for the Pierced One
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

One day, they will eventually say so when they acknowledge that He is their Messiah! They will mourn for the One whom they had pierced. And then, true peace will finally be restored in Jerusalem as the Prince of Peace reigns in the holy city of God!

If interested, please view this song: Baruch Haba B'shem Adonai

Written on:
19 December 2023