In Matthew 23 Jesus directed some wrath at religious leaders. Verses 3-4 set the tone for what follows — they were hypocrites. He said, “So you should obey them. Do everything they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do those things themselves. They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force others to obey all their rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.”
Then, “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees because…”
- You are hypocrites. You travel the world to convert someone and make those converts worse than you are.
- You guide the people, but you are blind.
- You take great pains to follow the smallest commands, but you neglect the most important aspects of the law.
- You put on a good show of holiness, but your hearts are filthy.
- You condemn your ancestors for killing the prophets, but you’re going to kill The Prophet anyways.
- You will not escape God, you will all be judged guilty and be sent to hell. You will be guilty for the death of all good people who have been killed on earth, even for the deaths of Abel and Zechariah.
With this as a backdrop — and after condemning all of Jerusalem for their evil — Jesus warns his disciples about the future destruction of Jerusalem. This would happen in less than four decades. He throws in some stuff about Earth’s destruction, too. He ends it with examples of good servants, bad servants, and being ready for his final return. This continues through chapter 25, which ends with a climactic display of justice before the entire planet faces eternal life or death.
So Jesus sets up an archetype — those who claim to follow him, but who push people away from him through their hypocritical, legalistic behavior. How do we know this?
When he separates everyone into two groups (sheep on the right, goats on the left), the godly are apparently surprised at their fate. “When did we do anything in your name?” They had fulfilled the Royal Law, which meant they lived in his name.
But the people on the left will be equally shocked! From earlier in Matthew (chapter seven), “Didn’t we prophesy in your name?” “Didn’t we cast out demons in your name?” “Didn’t we perform miracles in your name?” Matthew 7 is about wolves in sheep’s clothing, trees that produce inedible fruit, and people who don’t do what God wants. Right after this section, Jesus goes on a healing tour around the region and sends his followers on missions of the same. He practiced the Royal Law perfectly.
So what’s the point? As the rest of the NT teaches, we cannot expect to see God if we don’t take care of our fellow man. We cannot expect to see God if we tithe herbs while neglecting the most important aspects of the law (in context, providing for people who need food and other forms of care).
The scribes and Pharisees are the archetype of those on the left who will be shocked that God rejects them. We often apply this to people in denominations who will be shocked that God rejects them because of how they worshipped or what they taught. This is an egregious mishandling of the text. Jesus applied this explicitly to those who claimed to act in his name while their legalistic behavior and lack of charity repelled others from seeking him.
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