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Matthew 23

Matthew 23. Jesus on Legalism.

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Matthew 23

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  1. Matthew 23 Jesus on Legalism

  2. “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ‘The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach. They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. (Matthew 23:1-4)

  3. They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks! They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them 'Teacher.' (Matthew 23:5-7)

  4. You must not be called 'Teacher,' because you are all equal and have only one Teacher. And you must not call anyone here on earth 'Father,' because you have only the one Father in heaven. Nor should you be called 'Leader,' because your one and only leader is the Messiah. The greatest one among you must be your servant. (Matthew 23:8-11)

  5. Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great. How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter! How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are! (Matthew 23:12-15)

  6. How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel! How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness. (Matthew 23:23-25)

  7. Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too! How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins. How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives; (Matthew 23:26-29)

  8. and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets. So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets! Go on, then, and finish up what your ancestors started!’” (Matthew 23:30-32)

  9. Cleaning the outside of the cup • Scripture reading • Tithe paying • External devotion to God • Careful observance of the law • Mission

  10. “My friends, how I wish with all my heart that my own people might be saved! How I pray to God for them! I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge. They have not known the way in which God puts people right with himself, and instead, they have tried to set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God's way of putting people right. For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.” (Romans 10:1-4)

  11. “Once a man came to Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?’ ‘Why do you ask me concerning what is good?’ answered Jesus. ‘There is only One who is good. • Keep the commandments if you want to enter life.’ ‘What commandments?’ he asked. Jesus answered, ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ‘I have obeyed all these commandments,’ the young man replied. ‘What else do I need to do?’ (Matthew 19:16-20)

  12. “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.” (Matthew 19:21-22)

  13. Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘I assure you: it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven. I repeat: it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.’ When the disciples heard this, they were completely amazed. ‘Who, then, can be saved?’ they asked. Jesus looked straight at them and answered, ‘This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible.’” (Matthew 19:23-26)

  14. Who needs rules? • “It must be remembered, of course, that laws are made, not for good people, but for lawbreakers and criminals, for the godless and sinful, for those who are not religious or spiritual, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for kidnappers, for those who lie and give false testimony or who do anything else contrary to sound doctrine.” (1 Timothy 1:9-10)

  15. What doesn’t “get you to heaven” • Keeping the law • Good works • “Evidence of God’s blessing” such as riches, health, etc.

  16. Forms of legalism • 1. What “good work” must I do…? • Making rules out of Jesus’ teachings: • Do not look at a woman in a lustful way • Do not hate • Don’t even want to do wrong • Love your enemies • Do not judge others

  17. Pharisee: Self-righteous legalists who judge and condemn others • Danger of becoming an anti-Pharisee Pharisee

  18. Forms of legalism • 1. What “good work” must I do…? • 2. Viewing salvation primarily as a legal transaction

  19. “Eternal life is to know God…”

  20. Atonement • “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:11 KJV) • More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:11 ESV) • But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God's friends. (Romans 5:11 GNB) • In addition, our Lord Jesus Christ lets us continue to brag about God. After all, it is through Christ that we now have this restored relationship with God. (Romans 5:11 GW)

  21. Relationship  transformation • “So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: 'This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see, because their minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.‘” (Matthew 13:14-15)

  22. “And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)

  23. “Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.’” (John 6:53-58) • “This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.” (John 17:3)

  24. “Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are--face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone…Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18) • “Yes, may you come to know his love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the very nature (the very character) of God.” (Ephesians 3:19)

  25. “Am I healed enough?”

  26. “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

  27. All God asks is that we come to him and put our trust in him • God does the rest • The process is relational, not legal

  28. Forms of legalism • 1. What “good work” must I do…? • 2. Viewing salvation as a legal transaction • 3. Salvation by knowledge: knowing the “right” doctrines and being a member of the church with the most “right” doctrines

  29. Doctrines are important

  30. “I never knew you…” • "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23)

  31. Parable of the Ten Young Women • Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' (Matthew 25:11-12)

  32. The Narrow Door • Someone asked him, "Sir, are only a few people going to be saved?" He answered, "Try hard to enter through the narrow door. I can guarantee that many will try to enter, but they won't succeed. After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, it's too late. You can stand outside, knock at the door, and say, 'Sir, open the door for us!' But he will answer you, 'I don't know who you are.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will tell you, 'I don't know who you are. Get away from me, all you evil people.' (Luke 13:23-27)

  33. Laws • 3 levels of obedience

  34. Pyramid • Recent news story

  35. Expand parable to include feeding the poor, etc.

  36. Jesus outlegalizes a legalist

  37. 1 Corinthians 13 • I give you a new command (God, others, enemies)…this only comes from God….

  38. Laws are for rulebreakers… • What is dangerous is when the pious religions people focus on the rules

  39. Anti-Pharisee Pharisee

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