Then Jesus spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. (Matt. 23:1-3)

With each passing moment, the life of Christ was moving towards Calvary.

Calvary, where man can climb out of his sin to the heavenly Father’s security.

Calvary, where God loved as no one has ever loved.

Calvary, where Christ gave all that He had, that we might have all of His heaven.

Calvary, where Christ finished the redemptive work the Father sent Him to do.

Calvary, where our poor souls find salvation and satisfaction, happiness and heaven.

Calvary, where God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

Up Calv’ry’s mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ, my Savior, weary and worn;
Facing for sinners’, death on the cross,
That He might save them from endless loss.

Blessed Redeemer! Precious Redeemer!
Seems now I see Him on Calvary’s tree;
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading—
Blind and unheeding— dying for me!

~Avis Christiansen

It is the Passion Week, the last week of the Lord’s life. So much has happened.

The Triumphal Entry has taken place on Sunday. The Temple has been cleansed.
A fig tree has been cursed. The Lord’s authority has been challenged.

The Pharisees have tried to trick the Lord with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. This political intrigue was followed by a theological challenge from the Sadducees, concerning the resurrection. Then came the scribes, saying they did not know which is the first, and greatest, of all the commandments.

Jesus responded to each situation, until He silenced all of His enemies. The Bible says, “from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore” (Matt. 22:46).

The scribes and Herodians, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, had united to discredit the Lord before the people, but in Jesus they met their match.

The religious leaders had their say openly, now they would have to listen in silence as the Lord exposed them for what they were, hypocritical, liars, and worse of all, soul murderers.

Jesus turned to the multitude that had gathered in the Temple courtyard to listen to all that had been said.

The Lord warned the people about the religious leaders of their day. The warning came clothed in the garment of truth. Truth can be very beautiful. Truth can make a soul free from the bondage of sin and death. Truth can help a person change when repentance is present.

People feel cleaner when they tell someone about their bad behavior in an act of contrition and confession.

And then, when a good deed is done, and the truth of the matter is made known by others, it is very lovely.

I have read that in 1996 there was a Colorado high school student with Down’s syndrome. He wanted to play for the football team. The young man worked hard with a special trainer to get in shape. He made great efforts to learn the rules of the game and be prepared. But the league ruled that he was too old to play. The young man had turned 20 years of age trying to finish high school.

In the providence of God, Quarterback John Elway, and all of the Denver Broncos, heard about this determined young man. They invited him to meet with the NFL team, and be on the sidelines for the football game played on September 15, 1996. After the kickoff, he was allowed to run onto the field and retrieve the kickoff tee. He was wearing an orange jersey, with number 7 on it. That was the number of his hero, John Elway.

What the Denver Bronco’s did for that young man is something very special, and the truth of it is lovely. As tender as this story is, sometimes the truth can be ugly, and painful. When the spiritual sickness, called sin, needs to be exposed, the truth can be shocking. Just hours before His death, Jesus shocked many who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

Jesus was determined to be brutally honest about the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord singled them out for special exposure because their sins were the greater; they were murdering eternal souls with their theology of legalism.

Though appearing to be morally superior and virtuous, the Pharisees were immoral in their hearts, and in their private lives. The Pharisees told people to observe a set of ethical standards they did not live by. They imposed heavy burdens on others they would not lift a finger to honor in themselves. When exposed, such blatant hypocrisy is infuriating, and breeds lawlessness, for people need not only rules, but leaders in righteousness.

In addition to being hypocritical, the scribes and Pharisees were arrogant. They enlarged their phylacteries and the tasseled borders of their garments to be seen of men. Because of these twin sins of the heart, hypocrisy, and arrogance, the Lord proceeded to pronounce personal judgment on the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus would no longer spare these individuals their dignity, for they had shamed themselves before men, and before God. In this, we learn that while private inappropriate behavior can be dealt with privately, public transgressions are to be dealt with in public, that all may learn to fear. The Church is instructed to confront those who bring division to the body of Christ.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear (Rom. 16:17).

There are people who cause division in life. There are individuals who come into an assembly only to make trouble, in the name of righteousness. There are people who act in such a grievous way, they need to be rebuked, that others may fear, and all may be different. The early Church practiced public accountability for public transgressions, because Jesus did.

Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to the Holy Spirit.

Paul confronted Peter when he perverted the gospel of grace in the Church in Antioch. The sad story is told in Galatians 2.

Jesus confronted the scribes and Pharisees because He wants His people to be different. Jesus wants His disciples, and all of His followers, to be more righteous, more genuine, and more sincere, than the scribes and Pharisees.

“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

One way for the Church to understand just how different the Lord wants His people to be, is to compare, and contrast The Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5, with The Woes (ouai [oo-ah’ee], grief, sorrow, distress), of Matthew 23.

The Beatitudes of Matthew 5 * The Woes of Matthew 23

The poor in spirit receive the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3).
The Pharisees shut up the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 23:13).

Those who mourn are comforted (Matt. 5:4).
The Pharisees made widows cry (Matt. 23:14).

The meek shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).
The Pharisees travel the earth to win proselytes, and make them a child of hell (Matt. 23:15).

Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled (Matt. 5:6).
The Pharisees are blind to true righteousness, and go about to establish their own (Matt. 23:16).

Those who are merciful obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7).
The Pharisees show no mercy. They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel (Matt. 23:23).

The pure in heart shall see God (Matt. 5:8).
The Pharisees shall never see God, for they have only an outward, external righteousness. (23:25). In hell, the rich man saw Abraham, but not God (Luke 16). Even so it shall be with the Pharisees.

The peacemakers shall be called the Sons of God (Matt. 5:9)
The Pharisees are themselves the children of death, and not merely the merchants of death (Matt. 23:27).

Those who are persecuted for righteousness’s sake shall have the kingdom of heaven (5:10).
The Pharisees can enjoy only the kingdoms of this world. They build meaningless monuments to good men they have hurt, but it will avail them nothing.

It is a sobering truth the Lord presents.

The scribes, and the Pharisees were hurting the people of God; their fathers had killed the prophets (Matt. 23:31). From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berachiah, violence had been visited upon the Divine messengers (Matt. 23:35). Now, God’s Son was about to be arrested, attacked, and wounded, and all because He told the truth.

From this, we learn that when the gospel is communicated, people are transformed. There is a dramatic change in them, for good or for evil. When the gospel is preached the mask comes off and a person is revealed for who they really are. That truth can be shocking.

Consider the religious leaders of whom Jesus was speaking. The scribes and Pharisees were being transformed before the multitude and disciples gathered in the Temple courtyard. Their mask was being ripped off in public and they were seen to be liars, frauds, and thieves. It was a shocking moment.

When the mask of a religious hypocrite comes off, there is instinctive self- justification, followed by retaliation, and violence. Because Jesus exposed them, the scribes and Pharisees became determined more than ever to kill Him.

Fortunately, hatred and violence do not have to be the response when the gospel is preached.

The truth of the gospel can transform a person as it leads to regeneration, repentance, redemption, and restoration of fellowship with our Father who is in heaven. There is peace with God.

When David was confronted by Nathan over his great sin, the Bible says that David broke down and wept. He was guilty, and he knew it. Rather than get angry, David confessed his sin, which is recorded in Psalm 51. The Shepherd of the Hills, the King of Israel was transformed; he was made a man after God’s own heart again, by the truth.

After Peter denied Jesus three times, the Bible says the Lord turned and looked at His disciple.

The look of Christ caused Peter to burst into tears, for there was truth in the look of the Lord, and Peter knew it. The Bible says he wept bitterly.Peter was transformed by the truth and became a better man.

When Nicodemus, a Pharisee himself, and a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus one night, the Lord told him the truth. Nicodemus was religious, but not regenerated. He needed to be born again. The truth led Nicodemus to Christ, and to Calvary, to weep over the crucified One.

By way of application, we must examine ourselves.

Does the truth of the gospel make us defensive, hostile, and violent, so that there is a desire to hurt others, reject the Church, and view God as our enemy?

Or,

Does the truth lead us to repentance, love for the Lord, and a desire to have fellowship with other believers? It is not hard to know who has been transformed by the gospel truth, and in which way.

The answer is discovered by the look in the eye.
It is demonstrated by the demeanor of the body.
It is declared by the tone of voice.
It is displayed by the life that is lived in humility, or hostility.

For those who are transformed by the truth into hostile souls of retaliation, there is but one final word the Lord has:

“YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE!”

For those who are transformed by the gospel truth to be authentically good, take hope.

“There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunge beneath that blood
lose all their guilty stains.”

~William Cowper