Whoa and Woe!

In Matthew 23 we see Jesus rebuking the religious leaders of the day with truth, zeal and passion. Jesus repeatedly uses the phrase “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”.   The reason I used the word “whoa” in my title is because the force of His words force you to stop and take notice. And what is Jesus so upset about? If you read the chapter you will see that Jesus is upset about the way the religious leaders have twisted God’s law, using the law as a way to benefit themselves; often at the expense of others. They also look for ways to satisfy the letter of the law without paying attention to the intent. Here is an example from the chapter: 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!

Jesus’ greatest condemnations in the Bible are not for the pagan sinner or for the corrupt governmental system, but rather His greatest condemnations are for those who misunderstand, misapply and misuse God’s words for their benefit. This is why it is so important to understand and apply the scripture for ourselves. Each follower of Jesus has a responsibility and a privilege to read God’s word and to understand the interpretation and application. Yes, there are some parts that are unclear and where people have differing interpretations, but often these different interpretations are driven by personal agendas and are quite similar to the underlying reasons why Jesus is saying, “Woe” to the religious leaders of His day. Let’s know the word of God and let the Spirit of God help us with the interpretation and application. This way we won’t go off course, which is, of course, never a good idea!