Misled but given another opportunity
Warnings and instructions – v 1-12
Obey God’s law
Obedience with grace
“tie up heavy loads for you to lift and do not even lift a finger themselves”
…legalistic righteousness outside a context of grace
Not obedience for show
Not about elevated titles
Verse 11 … greatness is about service and servant hood.
7 woes – v 13- 46
Woe #1 – v 13
… any who listen to them will also miss out on the kingdom of heaven.
Woe #2 – v 15
V 14 – see Mark 12:40
… win people to pharisaic belief but not to Jesus.
.. in our evangelism we only point people towards following Jesus and not towards following us or the Anglican church.
Woe #3 – v 16
… encourage people to lie and be deceitful by making oaths they never plan to keep.
Matthew 5:33-37 … Yes be Yes and your no be no.
… legalism avoided the command of God to be truthful with your words
Woe #4 – v 23
… great attention to really insignificant things and completely ignore more important things.
… ignore the commands of God’s law to show justice, give mercy and be faithful.
“They strain out a gnat and swallow a camel”
The final three
…Clean on the outside and dirty on the inside
= full of greed and self indulgence.
… white washed tombs
= on the inside they are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
… lament the way their forefathers killed those God sent
… yet they are doing the very same thing.
Rejected by God
your house … and it is desolate (v38)