Matthew’s Gospel: Leadership?

They had positions of authority but no spiritual authority.

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Jesus had finally had enough of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.
Today, in the language of newspaper publishing, we would say He gave them a broadside. They had positions of authority but no spiritual authority. Their words were lofty but their deeds were little. Jesus warned the people to listen to the words if they came from a holy source but not to imitate their deeds. They loved public recognition and preferred to be called “Rabbi.” Jesus told the people to avoid such phony titles. Since Jesus had come into their lives, the people had their teacher!

“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees”

When He was sure everyone knew who He was talking about, Jesus launched into a tirade.
• You will not worship and you prevent others from worshiping.
• You rob widows while praying long, impressive prayers in public.
• You make a show of converting heathens only to make them all the more a child of hell.
• You carelessly swear oaths by the things of God only to use them toward selfish ends.
• You carefully tithe the smallest most insignificant things while paying no attention to the important things: “justice and mercy and faith.”
• You present a holy image to the world, but inside there is only corruption. You are white-washed tombs.
• You honor the leaders of the past saying that you would have followed them, but you are the sons of those who killed the prophets and do the same works as they.
This was the leadership style of the day.

The Brood of Vipers
Just as Jesus had used the whip to scatter the evil merchants in the Temple, He used words to flail the scribes and Pharisees. He called them:
• Hypocrites,
• Blind Guides,
• Fools and blind,
• Whitewashed Tombs, and
• Serpents, a Brood of Vipers.
How did they react to this scathing indictment? Matthew does not tell us but we can be sure that with their hypocrisy exposed they stomped out of the Temple courts to huddle together in private to plot against Jesus.

Jerusalem
Watching the brood of vipers slither away to their nests, Jesus’ heart broke. He had not come to make enemies, but to lead people back to God. His enemies were those whose wealth and status were built on deceit and hidden iniquity. Their wickedness was no longer hidden; Jesus tore away the veil of respectability to reveal the rottenness of their souls. He had dismantled the carefully constructed system that held the people back from God, kept the Romans in power, and enriched the actors in this drama of deception.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, … How often I wanted to gather your children together…but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate”

Their day was coming as sure as the morning sunrise; God, the just, will see them and their whole self-serving system tumble to the ground like the heathen walls of ancient Jericho. Go ahead and plot your schemes, devise your plots, and initiate your intrigues. You are not in control. You are merely the visible villains in the vaudeville. God is working His plan and this Man Jesus who today pronounced your doom, will triumph in the end. His leaders will lead from true hearts, cleansed by a holy flame.

Scriptures:
Matthew 23:1-39
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
• “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
• “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. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord !'”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when You walked this earth, You did so in complete integrity. You were the same inside as You appeared to be outside. When You encountered hypocrisy, You condemned it in the strongest terms. O Holy Spirit, cleanse my heart with Your fire! Make me pure from the inside out. If I am to have a positive impact on my world, I must be true to You in my most private life. Send the Fire, O God, and make me pure! Amen and Amen.

Song:
Send the Fire
Words: William Booth; Music: Frederick Booth-Tucker
1. Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Thy blood bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost;
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

2. God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

3. ’Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

4. To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
O see us on Thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day;
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

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About the Author

Full of passion for Jesus Christ, Stephen Phifer is a third-generation minister with more than three decades of experience as a pastoral artist, worship leader, and conductor.