The Great Caution (Matthew 23)

This sermon was preached to Magherafelt Baptist Church on 9 June 2024.

Last words are usually worth listening to. I wonder if any of the parents here have already found themselves saying something along these lines this morning: ‘This is your last warning.’ It can be a helpful thing to say, to highlight to a child they need to take your word seriously, pay attention to what you say. Last words like that are usually worth listening to. Similarly, teenagers, many of you are sitting exams right now, and so just before you go into that hall, I imagine that you are gathering around your teacher, with the rest of your class, to see if they have any last tips or final suggestions. For last words like that are usually worth listening to.

Last words are usually worth listening to. And if that’s true in everyday life, then surely it is also true in the life of Jesus. If we must pay attention to the last words that parents or teachers say to us, then how much more attention should we give to the final words of Jesus? Surely, the last words of Jesus are worth to! And you can probably think of some of his famous last words. For example, his last words on earth, in the Great Commission, where he tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. Those are the most famous final words of Jesus. And yet, in our passage this morning, we have some other last words he spoke. Not the last words of his time here on earth, but rather the last words of his public ministry. For Matthew 23 is the last message that Jesus gives to Israel.

If you are familiar with the Gospel of Matthew, you will see that chapter 23 comes near the end of the book, just a few days before Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus has just defeated the religious leaders in debate. They tried to trick him while he was teaching in the temple, in Matthew 22, trap him by asking loaded questions. And yet, Jesus avoids their trap, answers every query they can come up with, and so demonstrates that he is Israel’s true teacher. At the end of Matthew 22, we read in 22:46, that no one dared to ask Jesus anymore questions. It seems that Jesus has finally silenced his opponents. And so now, in Matthew 23, it is his turn to speak, to deliver one final message to Israel, preach one last sermon to the assembled crowd in the temple, the house of God.

And we know these are the last words of Jesus’ public ministry, because he tells us that at the end of our chapter. There in 23:39, he tells the city of Jerusalem, they will not see him again like this, until he returns on the last day. And as you read on in Matthew, you can see that that is the case. For in chapter 24-25, Jesus speaks privately to his disciples. And then from chapter 26, he is betrayed, tried, and killed on a cross. Our text this morning contains the final words that Jesus said to Israel. And we are going to see that these last words that are worth listening to.

What does Jesus say in this final sermon? What message does he leave with Israel, with us? Well, like a parent, Jesus uses his final words to give us one last warning. Later, in Matthew 28, Jesus will use his last words on earth to tell us what we should do, to send us out to all the nations of the world. But here in Matthew 23, Jesus does the very opposite of that. For in these last words to Israel, he doesn’t tell us what to do, but what we must not do. If Matthew 28 is the Great Commission, here in Matthew 23 we have the Great Caution. Jesus highlights 3 mistakes we might make, warns us against going wrong in 3 different ways.

Did you notice that as we read the chapter earlier? That Jesus says three different things to three different groups? First in 23:1, he addresses his followers, those he was teaching that day. Then from 23:13, he tackles the religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees. And finally, from 23:37, he calls to Israel as a whole, lifts up his eyes and cries out to the city of Jerusalem. In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a final warning to three groups: his followers, the leaders of God’s people, and the wider world. And we are going to see these warnings, this Great Caution, is still relevant for the same three groups today: (1) A Selfish Church (23:1-12); (2) A Foolish Leader (23:13-36); (3) A Hostile World (23:37-39).

1.     A SELFISH CHURCH (23:1-12)

 “Do what I say, not what I do.” I wonder if that is perhaps another thing, that the parents among us sometimes say. You ask your child not to do something (e.g. don’t talk with your mouth full, don’t raise your voice inside) and they quickly point out that they have seen you do that very same thing. And so, in frustration, you tell them, ‘Just do what I say, not what I do.’ And I think we all realise that that’s not great parenting. We all know that we should set an example for our children. What we say from our lips, and what they see in our lives, should align. Even if we all often fall short of that aim. And yet, did you notice that our passage begins by Jesus saying that very thing, for in 23:2, he tells his followers to do what the Pharisees say, but not to copy what they do. That they should respect their leaders when they teach the Law, for they sit in Moses’ seat, that is speak with his authority when they preach from the Bible. And yet, they do not practice what they preach, their lips and lives do not align.

And these Pharisees provide a very basic warning to us. For here we see that it is possible for us to know the truth, even to preach the truth from the front on a Sunday, and yet still fail to practice the truth in our lives. Friend, just because you were brought up knowing your Bible, does not mean that you know God. Just because you come here to MBC on a Sunday morning, does not mean that you are right with God. For the Pharisees show us that it takes more than mere knowledge to make a Christian. It takes more than showing up on a Sunday to save you. These men knew the truth, went to more services than you ever will. They not only listened to sermons; they even peached sermons. And yet, the truth they preached from their lips, was not practiced in their lives. The truths they held in their head, had never transformed their hearts. And that could be true for any one of us here this morning. Friend, it is possible for you to look like a Christian, sound or act like a Christian, and yet still not be a Christian.

Jesus goes on to describe the practices of the Pharisees, listing them down to 23:7. However, I think we see the main mistake they make there in 23:5, where Jesus summarises: [READ]. He goes on to list out several examples. Phylacteries are the little boxes that pious Jews wore on their arm and forehead. Inside them they would put tiny pieces of parchment with verses on them. You might imagine someone walking around with a little ring box on their arm or on their head. However, these Pharisees weren’t using little ring boxes, but instead were using giant pieces of tuber wear, to show everyone that they took Scripture seriously. Were seen to be spiritually superior. And in 23:6, we are told that they also love to sit in the most important seats in the synagogue. That is, they always wanted to be speaking up at the front of church, or sitting right here on the stage. And in 23:7, Jesus says they loved it when they received that title of respect, were called ‘Rabbi’, in public. When you run into these Pharisees in the aisles of J C Stewart’s, they love it when you greet them as ‘Pastor’ in a loud voice. That makes them feel great, like they are a figure of importance, a pillar of the community. In other words, these Pharisees are all about spiritual status. The point of their practices was to be praised by others.

And so, from 23:8, Jesus warns his disciples that they must not do the same. He cautions the church, the community of his people, to live in a very different way. Jesus says in 23:8: [READ]. Given that the rest of the Bible often uses the terms teacher and father, to describe leaders in the church, parents in the home, I think it is clear that Jesus is not prohibiting the actual use of these titles. Rather, he prohibits us from abusing them in the way the Pharisees did. The reason they are not to call someone Rabbi (teacher) in 23:8, is that they are all brothers. That is they are all equals, and so when the title of teacher is used, it must never elevate that person, be allowed to make them something more than simply another brother in the Lord. Jesus tells us that these roles, these titles, are never to become a way to selfishly increase your own prestige. In the church, these positions are not to be about status, but be about service. They are to be the way that you serve the interest of others, not yourself, how you build up the church family, not how you build up your own fame. And we know that is what Jesus means, for that is how he ends. For in 23:11, we read: [READ].

In his final public words to his followers, Jesus warns his church not to become a selfish community. Rather than being obsessed with our own interests, like these Pharisees, we are to be obsessed with the interests of others. Invest our time, give our money, use our gifts, pour out our prayers, open up and share our lives, not so that people can see us grow and flourish, but so that we can see others grow and flourish

Brothers and sisters, even if the church has a stage, it must never become a stage. Church should not be a platform on which we perform for each other. No, instead church should be the place where we come to serve each other. And churches that get that, congregations who embrace that, give themselves to the slow quiet work of caring for one another, the humble background task of checking in on each other, living daily life alongside each other, those will be the churches that flourish.

Now friends, don’t get me wrong, what is preached from the pulpit is important. And yet, we see here with these Pharisees that even if truth is being preached from the pulpit, it will do no good if it is not also being practiced in the pew. If members are not selflessly giving themselves to serve each other.

2.     A FOOLISH LEADER (23:13-36)

When you read through Scripture, it is easy to see the importance of good leadership. Across the Old Testament, the same pattern occurs. When Israel has a godly king, it is a godly nation. When it has an evil king, it is an evil nation. And so it is unsurprising, that when you get into the New Testament, both Jesus and the apostles, say a lot about leadership. Of course, the most famous passages are those in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, where Paul presents the qualifications for elders, what we should look for when we choose shepherds to lead us. There in Titus 1, he explains, “An overseer as God’s steward must [...]”. That is what Paul tells us we should look for. Paul gives us a positive picture of the kind of character and competence, godliness and giftedness, of the men he wants us to pick as elders, as pastors. And yet, the Bible also gives us a negative picture, warns us away from certain kinds of men. And that is what we see here in Matthew 23, as Jesus identifies these religious leaders as the kind of leaders that we must all avoid.

Here we see a clear contrast between the start of Jesus’ ministry and its end. If you go back in the book of Matthew, you will first that the first act of Jesus’ public ministry was the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, which opens with those beautiful Beatitudes. [...] The ministry of Jesus began with him pronouncing blessing upon blessing. And yet, here he finishes his public ministry in Matthew 23 by instead declaring curse after curse. That is what that word woe means. It is a curse-word, in that it is a word that communicates a curse. It means may bad things come upon you. May God’s just wrath and right judgement fall on you. And Jesus uses it here [...] in our passage. He pronounces seven curses on these leaders. There in 23:13, he says: [READ]. And that is not all that Jesus says, for throughout the section he repeatedly calls them: hypocrites, blind men, he describes them as fools. It is harsh language, isn’t it? And yet, we must remember that this is not angry frustrated Jesus calling his enemies nasty names. No, this is Jesus the judge, handing down their sentence. Condemning them for crimes against the Christ.

And if you are anything like me, you read this part of the passage, and are tempted to join Jesus in his judgment. ‘Those foolish Pharisees, what a mess they were!’ And yet here we see that that is exactly what the Pharisees do. There in the seventh and last woe, in 23:29, Jesus tells us how the Pharisees look at the failings of their forbearers in the past, and insist that they would never have been so foolish. They assume that if they had heard the prophets, they would not have rejected them. And we must take care not to do something similar today, assume we would have treated Jesus differently to how the Pharisees did, that Jesus would not say these very same things about us.

The other six woes easily split up into three pairs [1-2, 3-4, 5-6], and some of them are easier to grasp than others. For example, there in 21:13-15, we have the first two woes, which clearly mirror each other. First, Jesus describes how these Pharisees are failing to bring people into heaven. And then, he gives us the reverse of that, for we are told that they only end up leading their converts into Hell. And that is why these leaders are hypocrites, for while they say they are bringing people to God, they are really blocking people from God.

In the same way, it is easy to see why Jesus calls these Pharisees hypocrites in woe 5 and 6. There in 23:25-28, he uses two illustrations which clearly speak of moral hypocrisy. He talks of how the outside of a cup and a tomb do not match the inside. And it is easy to see how that applies to the Pharisees. As we heard, they preach but do not practice. Their lips and lives don’t line up. They claim to have great holiness, but are really hypocrites at heart. And that is a stark warning to all Christian leaders, to all of us who serve God in any way, that we must try to be like good parents, people who attempt to align their lives with their lips.

And I think this is why, when the New Testament speaks of leadership, it consistently emphasises that godliness is more important than giftedness. Have you ever noticed that? In the qualifications for eldership that I listed out earlier, did you notice how godliness was elevated far above giftedness? Oh yes, of course an elder, a pastor, must be ‘able to teach’. That is what Paul says in 1 Timothy 3. But that’s hardly a high bar. Those of you who are teachers would hardly be thrilled if your department head simply put those three words on your end of year review: ‘able to teach’! Well, that’s good to know. But do you want to say something? [...]. And yet, that is the very low, basic, simple standard, that Paul sets for leadership in the church when it comes to gifting. However, when it comes to godliness, he goes to the other end of the spectrum! For an elder must be able to teach, but he must also be above reproach! And that is where these Pharisees fail the test. For while they can teach with their lips, they are not above reproach in their lives. And so, Jesus tells us not to follow such fools.

Woe 1 and 2, and 5 and 6, are easy enough to get our heads around, even if they are challenges to all our hearts. And yet, the pair of woes in the middle of our passage are more difficult. That’s because woe 3 and 4 no longer deal with the godliness of these leaders, but with their giftedness. Here Jesus does in fact critique their preaching, highlight how they mishandle God’s Word. And Jesus tells us that these teachers go wrong in two different ways, in two ways that we too can also go wrong as we handle God’s Word today. First, in the third woe, from 23:16, he warns us against liberalism, against the tendency to talk of technicalities, to look for loopholes, in God’s Word.

You see, these Pharisees understood that they were not to swear oaths by the temple, or by its altar, or by the throne of God. And yet they developed an elaborate system to get around that restriction, for they reasoned there was no explicit command not to swear by the gold of the temple, the gift on the alter, or by heaven, where God’s throne is placed. Oh yes, they weren’t to swear oaths, but they worked hard to get around that. And you know, there are some leaders who try to do the same with God’s word today. While the Bible contains clear views on issues, such as sexuality or gender, these leaders try to argue that it doesn’t really mean what it seems to say. That we can get around it, avoid such statements today, by looking for a loophole. That is the danger of liberalism. Foolishly breaking the boundaries set by the Bible. And Jesus warns us not to trust such teachers, not to follow such fools. Not to watch them on YouTube or listen to them online.

And yet, the fourth woe in 23:23, in the centre of our text, warns us of the opposite danger. Not that of liberalism, but of legalism. And brothers and sisters, I think this is the danger that perhaps we, as Bible-believing Christians, need to be warned about the most. For as conservative churches, we can often be very good at maintaining the boundaries of Scripture, at unapologetically saying what God says, even when it comes at great cultural cost. Most of us are alive to the danger of liberalism. And yet, we must take great care not to fall into the other ditch, slip into legalism. For it is possible to protect the boundaries of Scripture, while failing to reflect the balance of Scripture.

That’s the mistake these Pharisees made. There in 23:23, Jesus points out they took the command to tithe seriously, so seriously in fact that they not only gave away a tenth of their crops, as the Law said, but they even set aside a tenth of their spices: mint, dill and cumin. Every time these Pharisees got home from Tesco, they opened their new jar of chili flakes, got the measuring scales out, to carefully remove 10% of the jar, and give it back to God. And yet, Jesus points out that they fail to display the same kind of precision and dedication to other commands, commands that are more central, even more important than the command to tithe. Oh yes, if God comes to inspect their spice rack, he will find it in perfect order, they will pass with flying colours, but Jesus says in 23:23: [READ].

Teenagers, if you want to put it in exam terms, these Pharisees were spending all their time answering the first question, which is only worth 3 marks, and they never got around to answering the last question, which is worth 30 marks! I’m not sure about you, but my teachers always told me that I must spend most of my time answering the questions that have the most marks. And you know, that strategy not only works well for when you are sitting exams, but it also works well for when you are reading Scripture. Brothers and sisters, we should spend most of our time on the most important things. We must never become so obsessed with the periphery things of Christianity, that we stop gazing at its glorious centre! And that is what these Pharisees did. They majored on minor things so much, they ended up missing the main thing. They spent all their time arranging their spice rack, and forgot there were more important matters for them to give their attention to!

And brothers and sisters here in Magherafelt, I’m sure that I don’t need to tell you that there are still leaders like that today. Oh yes, there are leaders who lean on liberalism to get a crowd, echo the world to enlarge their church. And yet, friends there are also leaders out there who lean on legalism to do the same thing. They major on minor truths; make mountains out of theological molehills; spend all their time discussing things that Christians disagree about, and they fail to focus on the weightiest, most important, matters. They get more worked up over the way people dress, than where those same people will spend eternity. They have stronger views about the style of worship, than they do about the one we worship. They have very precise opinions on how we should tithe our mint and dill and cumin. And no room is left for a different interpretation on such a small issue, no allowance is given for our personal conscience. No, these leaders tell us that we must think just like they do, look like they do, live like they do.

And yet, see here brothers and sisters, that while may be how you become the leader of a cult, that is not how you lead the church of Christ. That may be how you collect followers for yourself, but that is not how you make disciples for Jesus. For Jesus warns us against following fools like that, warns us against listening to leaders who do not reflect the balance of Scripture. Who fail to see that some things are more important than others, that there are some things that we must all agree on to be a church together, and yet at the same time there are many other things that we can all disagree on and still be a church together.

Oh brothers and sisters, we can all wear different things to church, and yet we still come to the same church together. We can all have personal preferences over which songs and what style of music we like most, and yet all still worship one God together. We can have different views on issues like the end times, for example, and yet all still pray the same prayer together: ‘Come Lord Jesus.’ In other words, to use the imagery of our passage, if we can all agree to pursue justice, mercy and faithfulness together, to carry out that Great Commission together, then it is OK if we disagree about less weighty things, like how we arrange our personal spice affairs, what we should do our chili flakes when we get back them from Tesco. Because we recognise that some things are more important than others. That the legalistic hobby horses of leaders, must not define, or divide, or distract the church from its main mission in this world. […]

3.     A HOSTILE WORLD (23:37-39)

In many ways, Matthew 23 comes across as a harsh chapter. And so, in my sermon this morning, I’ve had to say some hard things, for after all the tone of a sermon, should match the tone of the text it is based on. However, as we read these final few verses, we see that while this sermon contains great judgement, it also contains great love. For in 23:37, after speaking of the terrible judgment coming on that generation, Jesus cries out: [READ].

Oh yes, Jesus’ heart is angry, but we see here it is also in anguish. For despite the hostility God’s messengers have experienced from the nation in the past, despite all the opposition that he himself is facing in the present, Jesus still longs to care for Israel, bring the people under his protection, to save Jerusalem from the wrath to come. And to emphasise this, he uses that wonderful imagery of a hen, gathering its chicks beneath its wings, where they stay safe and secure, will be kept from all harm. That is what he wanted to do to this hostile city, this hostile world. He came to save them, and yet they would not listen, they were not willing to respond to his warning. And so, we see in 23:38, instead of deliverance, they face desolation. For their house, the very temple that he is standing in, will be demolished only a few decades later, and the Jews of Jerusalem scattered across the world. They refused to come to Christ, were not willing to be saved from the wrath to come, and so they will not see the Saviour again, until he returns on the last day, to hand down their sentence forever.

Our passage ends, Jesus’ ministry ends, with a cry of anguish, and yet it is not the last time Jesus will cry out like that. This may be the final act of Jesus’ public ministry, but it is not his final appearance. For in a few chapters, he will be marched through the streets of that same city, and lifted up to die on a cross. Such is their hostility, the nation of Israel will not only stone God’s servants, but they will even kill God’s Son. And yet, even as Jesus marches towards his death, Luke tells us that he will once again cry out in anguish, praying for his people, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Such is Jesus’ love for the lost. That right to the end, Jesus is ready to forgive all that they have done. Jesus is willing to forgive even as he stands at the foot of the cross. And indeed, on the cross he made all that forgiveness possible. Oh yes, here in Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces curse after curse, but in Matthew 27, as he hangs on the cross, he will bear God’s curse for his people, suffer all of the just wrath and right judgment of God against sin, for any who will believe in him, who are willing to come and shelter under his wings, repent of their hostility towards God and become part of his family.

Friend, if you are here this morning and you are not yet a follower of Jesus, I wonder how many times have you heard something like that? Had the Gospel explained to you? Like the people of Jerusalem, how often have you been told, perhaps even from your earliest days, that God loves you? That he longs to bring you close, underneath the shelter of his wings? How often have you heard that Jesus wants to save you, and yet you have not been willing? Again and again, perhaps for many years, you have walked away from services without trusting in Christ, you have turned him down, responded to his love with hostility. So much so that what Jesus says there of the Pharisees in 23:33, could just as easily be said of you: how are you to escape being sentenced to Hell? How can you think you will fair better in eternity that these religious leaders? Why would Jesus not judge you just like he judged this city of Jerusalem?

If that is you this morning, if like Jerusalem, you have refused to come to Jesus, so far still stand as part of this hostile world, then see here at the end of Matthew 23, that these are last words that are worth you listening to. For despite all the anger and judgement, Jesus rightly reveals in the sermon, his last few words to you here are not words of anger, but words of love. Jesus’ hand is stretched out still. Hie has not yet handed down your sentence, he was not yet spoken that word of curse, but instead he is still saying come. He is still willing to forgive, to deal with your sin, overlook your years of hostility, if you only come to him.

Will you listen to his last word of warning this morning? Are you going to pay attention to this Great Caution?