The Messiah and His Miracles (Continued)

We continue in our study by examining how the Messiah responded to His rejection by the nation's leaders.

We need to note that His ministry changed after the unpardonable sin was committed.

That is, Jesus no longer offered the kingdom to the nation, but rather turned His attention to training the Apostles who would be the main strike force of the new religious movement. In the meantime, those individuals who were persuaded of His Messiahship were assured of their personal, spiritual future.



Large Pot holding water for hand washing

 After His rejection by the ‘special interest’ parties in the Sanhedrin, with the counter rejection of that generation of Israel by God, the conflict escalated. Accusation and counter accusation took place. The Pharisees raised issues from the oral law, asking: “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” (Matt.15:2) As always, the Messiah gave no consequence to their complaint but put His finger on the heart of the conflict between them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matt.15:3) The problem of the Pharisees, here identified by Jesus, was not just that they added to the T’nach, which in itself was unacceptable, but also in certain cases allowed the oral law to negate the T’nach. The matter He used to illustrate the point was the matter of ‘Corban’. To declare your possessions ‘Corban’ was to declare they were dedicated to the Lord. If the parents of a Pharisee were in financial need, the obligation on their Pharisee son was to assist, for the Decalogue commanded, “honour your mother and your father”. However, the tradition of the elders allowed the son to declare his possessions ‘dedicated to the Lord’ (i.e. Corban), which then prohibited him from giving them to someone else, including his parents. However, pronouncing his wealth and possessions ‘Corban’, did not remove them from his own personal control and he could still use them for his own needs. Therefore declaring one’s possessions ‘Corban’ had the appearance of being spiritual, when in actual fact it was designed to evade one’s proper family obligations. Jesus branded those that took advantage of such loopholes as hypocrites!

The Messiah identified a Scripture that prophesied of this attitude: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matt.15:7-9; Isa.29:13) Later He said, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat … 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.” (Matt.23:1-5) 

Their hypocritical legalism received the strongest outbursts from the Messiah.

(i) “… 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.” (Matt.23:13)

(ii) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” (Matt.23:14)

(iii) “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.” (Matt.23:15)

(iv) “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?” (Matt.23:16-19)

(v) The Messiah put His finger on the weakness of the Pharisaic system: “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.” (Matt.23:23)

(vi) “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.” (Matt.23:24-26)

(vii) "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.” (Matt.23:27-28)

(viii) “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?” (Matt.23:29-33)

The eightfold ‘woe’ means there is no reprieve, indeed no hope for these obdurate, blind leaders of the blind: “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” Jesus, speaking as the coming Judge of all men, detailed the sins of the Messiah-rejecting Scribes and Pharisees, and confirmed their judgement: “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” (Matt.23:36). What things? “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” (Matt.23:35). The Hebrew Bible, the T’nach, while containing all 39 books of the Christian Old Testament is ordered differently, and goes from Genesis to Second Chronicles. The example of Abel was taken from the first book of the T’nach (Genesis), and the example of Zacharias was taken from the last book of the T’nach (Second Chronicles). Jesus is saying that the attitude of Israel to God’s ministers has been one of constant rebellion. “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” (Matt.23:37-38). Consequently, He made His return conditional. “you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Matt.23:38) “And Jesus went out and departed from the Temple” (Matt.24:1).

Next Time : The Sign of the Prophet Jonah