Religious Leaders (2) Jesus' Woes

Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for trying to earn righteousness by keeping the law. He was concerned that they were leading the children of Israel astray by their teaching, and particularly by the way that they lived.

Jesus criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the law for the following failures. (The codes refer to the number of the woe in either Matthew or Luke).

• Ordinary sins that are common to all people.

  • Pride – wanting the best seats and places of privilege (M0, L2)

  • Rejecting God’s prophets (L5, M7)

  • Hypocrisy – good on the outside but rotten inside (L4, M5 ,M6).

  • Greed (L1, M5).

• Religious sins

• Deceiving people with incorrect interpretations of the law (M2).

• Nitpicking rules (L3, L5).

• Failure to apply the Torah, and especially the Instructions for Economic Life.

• Placing a burden on the poor by making them pay the cost of Herod’s temple. Wealth was flowing from the people to the temple and the people employed there. (M0, L5).

• Preventing people from entering the Kingdom. The Instructions for Economic Life specified in the Torah could be applied in any community, despite the Romans. It was not necessary to wait for the coming of the Messiah. The teachers of the law had ignored the Instructions for Economic Life, so they poor suffered. The people of Israel could have been obeying God and experiencing the life of the Kingdom, but the teachers of the law had shut them out of that option.

• Failure to provide justice and mercy. This is the heart of the Instructions for Economic Life. The application of the justice of the Torah would have eliminated much of the poverty and suffering in Israel. Giving away unrighteous wealth would have bought great blessing. Applying the land laws would have been tough for the Sadducees would have provided economic sustenance for many people (L1, L2). More in God's Economy.