One Woe

As Jesus looks toward his impending crucifixion and the culmination of his ministry he gets more and more confrontational with the religious leaders who are influencing God’s people to follow them in their hypocrisy. On the one hand he is certainly angry at their abuse of position and its results on the people who have depended on them for spiritual guidance. On the other hand, his purpose is to find a way to redeem even them into a reconciled relationship with the Father. So when we look at the Seven Woes in Matthew 23:13-36 we have to make a decision about how we hear Jesus’ words. Is he angry or is he speaking a lament? Is he preaching for them or is he preaching against them?

At times I have heard these woes in my mind as a rant against the scribes and Pharisees – “hypocrites!” But most of the time I hear them as a more pitiful dirge; an explanation of their arrogantly pathetic circumstances and the disastrous results of their self-righteousness.

The fifth and sixth woes particularly strike me as sad. The fifth one says, “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.”

These people think that their religious activity is the essence of their relationship with God. Jesus proposes that they should work from the inside out; that when they are contrite and humble before God – when they devote their hearts to God – their bodies will follow their hearts' decision. Some have suggested that they were taking the opposite approach; that is, they were trying to work from the outside in, but that is not the case. They were completely neglecting the inside. In fact their motives for caring about the outside were corrupt from their conception. Jesus says they are motivated by greed and self-indulgence.

I think Jesus is preaching to two groups of people here. I think he is making a loving and frank attempt to jar the consciences of these leaders and he is also warning their followers and us about cultivating hypocrisy. Anyone can have a bad moment, a lapse in self-control, which they regret and bring to the Father for transformation and forgiveness. May we never attempt to hide behind a veil of religious practices, but be genuine in turning our hearts toward him.