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Religious Fashion Shows
So to build on some of the things we have been talking about regarding the religious leaders, Jesus begins this chapter by calling out the Pharisees on their hypocrisy and legalism, calling them out for their focus on external religious acts while neglecting true righteousness and love for God and others. He also criticizes them for seeking honor and status, and for placing heavy burdens on others while not lifting a finger themselves.
Matthew 23:1-3 MSG
“Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.”
Jesus Goes on to explain that the Pharisees load the people down with unrealistic expectations and yet themselves are addicted to the lifestyle their position has brought them, He explains how they love the prominent positions and titles and privileges that the culture bestows on them, Jesus is saying that these religious leaders are more interested in their own status and power than in truly serving God or helping others.
I love this aspect of Jesus's teachings, this is one of the more common arguments i hear from people who don't want to give the church a chance and also evidence that most "christians" don't read their bible. I hear people say "i don't like organized religion" and Jesus is directing attacking the organized religion that the pharisees were living under, this is why he was such a threat to their positions of power.
I have also seen in church leadership a demand to follow leadership blindly, as tho the pastor was the ultimate authority over the congregation, dictating every aspect of the goers life and legacy. Now a times this can feel really great! Especially if you are walking into the church looking for guidance and belonging, you come in, get told exactly how to act and who to be and then get acceptance for compliance. The fall here is when we make the pastor take place of Christ. Here Lets see how Jesus sums this up.
Matthew 23:8-10 MSG
““Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.”
We may need to take a step back here to really see what is going on, Now the Pharisees were not all levitical priest when Jesus came, however the role was initially created for the bloodline of Levi.
Deuteronomy 17:8-13, "If any case is too difficult for you to judge, whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—matters of dispute in your towns—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God must die. You must purge the evil from Israel."
They were to study the law inside and out and have it memorized so that they could help lead the people and keep the congregation on track,
Exodus 28:1 "Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar."
Leviticus 8:5-6 "Take the garments, and dress Aaron with the coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And set the turban on his head and put the golden plate, the holy crown, on the front of the turban."
Numbers 3:5-9 "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.' And they shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. And they shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle."
Deuteronomy 18:1-2 "The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them."
(according to chatGPT) The origins of the Pharisees are not entirely clear, but they are believed to have originated as a lay movement within Judaism during the Second Temple period (516 BCE - 70 CE). They were known for their strict adherence to the oral laws and traditions of the Torah and their emphasis on personal piety and adherence to the commandments. They gained significant influence during the Hasmonean period (140 - 37 BCE) and continued to be a powerful force in Jewish society during the time of Jesus. The name "Pharisee" comes from the Hebrew word "Perushim," meaning "separated ones," referring to their separation from the common people to follow the laws of God more strictly.
Another answer i found interesting was this one i found requirements to be a pharasee which says.
""The word "Pharisee" means "a separatist" in the Hebrew language. They arose while Greece was spreading its influence across the world as a group opposing Greece's Hellenistic influence in Israel. It started as a social movement, became a school of thought, and eventually a political party in Israel. Most of modern-day Judaism is derived from the Pharisee's school of thought.
There wasn't a particular entrance requirement to become a Pharisee, it was the system of belief that a person subscribed to that made them a Pharisee.""
So the Pharisees, technically shouldn't even exist, they are a perversion of the Levitical priest who were established by God to watch over the temple and the law for the Hebrew nation. Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy here from Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 31:33- "But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."
Here God is predicting the sending of His Spirit, In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals, such as prophets and kings, to empower them for a specific task or purpose. The coming of the Holy Spirit was not as widely available as it is in the New Testament. (because of the separation inflicted by sin) In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was seen as a temporary empowerment for a specific task, whereas in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is promised to all believers as a permanent indwelling presence to guide, empower and transform them.
Old Testament verses about the coming of the Holy Spirit include:
Isaiah 32:15: "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest."
Isaiah 44:3: "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."
Ezekiel 36:27: "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."
Joel 2:28: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions."
New Testament verses include:
John 14:26: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
Acts 2:38-39: "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Titus 3:5-6: "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
The bible project has a fun video on this - Bible Project- Holy Spirit video
Some examples of the Spirit empowering people for a specific task -
Exodus 31:3 - "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."
Judges 3:10 - "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and the Lord delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim."
1 Samuel 10:6 - "Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophecy with them and be turned into another man."
Isaiah 11:2 - "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."
Ezekiel 11:5 - "Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, Speak; Thus says the Lord."
This is a small list, it happens a lot so keep your eyes out for it!
Now to finish off this section, Jesus gives us the answer and tells us exactly what to do.
Matthew 23:11-12 MSG
““Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.”
Frauds!
Jesus continues -
““I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either.”
Matthew 23:13 MSG
So, Growing up I had this deeply imbedded belief that Jesus was always nice, never said anything harsh, didn't ruffle anyones feathers and that i was to act that same way. However when we read the gospels for ourselves we realize a very different Jesus who was able to directly confront people's belief systems and push people to deeply analyze what they had their hearts committed to.
We see Jesus basically cuss out the religious leaders in this chapter.
““Snakes! Cold-blooded sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper? It’s on account of people like you that I send prophets and wise guides and scholars generation after generation—and generation after generation you treat them like dirt, greeting them with lynch mobs, hounding them with abuse.”
Matthew 23:33-34 MSG
He even goes as far as saying that every drop of righteous blood is on their hands. .
““You can’t squirm out of this: Every drop of righteous blood ever spilled on this earth, beginning with the blood of that good man Abel right down to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, whom you murdered at his prayers, is on your head. All this, I’m telling you, is coming down on you, on your generation.”
Matthew 23:35-36 MSG
(there are debates as to who Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, is, some believe it was the prophet Zechariah and others believe that it was John the baptist father.)
Understand that Jesus' message of love and acceptance is directed towards individuals, not systems or institutions. In the case of the Pharisees, Jesus was not criticizing them for who they were as individuals, but rather for the hypocrisy and corruption present in the religious system they represented. He saw the harm this system was causing to the people, and his harsh words were intended to expose and challenge the system, not to attack the individuals within it. In this way, his words can be viewed as an act of love, as he was trying to protect and guide people towards a better way of living
I have a hard time articulating what i am seeing going on here. Because it sounds like Jesus is attacking an individual, but he is addressing a group, it's like the war on academia we see going on right now, how there seems to be things written into the fabric of the institution that many people disagree with, and those that fall under those umbrellas of protocol have to make a choice to be aware of what they are participating in and make their own moral judgments on weather or not they should comply.
What Jesus is doing here is very bold and He comes at them with the full authority of God himself and the religious leaders can feel it. and we will see how they respond to this tomorrow, it's like an ancient form of cancel culture.
(I asked chat GPT if the Pharisees responded with an ancient form of cancel culture and it gave me this
"It is possible that the Pharisees may have used tactics similar to cancel culture in their attempts to silence and discredit Jesus and his teachings. They were known for being fiercely protective of their religious traditions and power, and sought to maintain their status and authority within their community. They may have sought to marginalize and silence those who challenged their beliefs and practices, including Jesus and his followers. However, it is important to note that cancel culture as it is understood today is a modern phenomenon and its precise historical analogies are difficult to pinpoint in the past.")
““Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God’s news! How often I’ve ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn’t let me. And now you’re so desolate, nothing but a ghost town. What is there left to say? Only this: I’m out of here soon. The next time you see me you’ll say, ‘Oh, God has blessed him! He’s come, bringing God’s rule!’””
Matthew 23:37-39 MSG
Job 27
Job now resumes his defense:
Job refers to his unwavering adherence to his moral principles and beliefs, despite facing immense personal suffering and adversity. He makes it clear that God himself has ruined his life and is also the one who keeps breath in his lungs.
He then rebuttals by repeating back their own logic to them about how God treats the wicked, This makes sense for Job because he knows he is innocent, but would frustrate his friends because they are determined that he has done something wrong, but can't prove it or provide proper criticism as to what it was he did wrong.
Job 28
Where Does Wisdom Come From?
In this chapter Job is presenting us with the quest for wealth and references the many ways and hard labor of mans pursuit for Silver and Gold and Gems and explains how they mine and search for the hidden things of the earth, but it all pails in comparison to wisdom. He ends the chapter with a Gem worth far more than any ore found in the earth.
““God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it. He knows where everything is on earth, he sees everything under heaven. After he commanded the winds to blow and measured out the waters, Arranged for the rain and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, He focused on Wisdom, made sure it was all set and tested and ready. Then he addressed the human race: ‘Here it is! Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.’””
Job 28:23-28 MSG
Psalm 23
Psalm 23 is easily one of the most famous and i remember memorizing it as a kid. It is a Psalm that proclaims that God is a good shepherd that provides and cares for us.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV
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