Jesus

20. JESUS REBUKED RELIGIOUS PEOPLE HARSHLY WITH WARNINGS OF WOES TO COME
Woe, a word that is not used often in English, is more often associated with Biblical warnings of distress, grief, anguish and regret. True prophets spoke words of woe to warn religious people that they would continue to suffer all kinds of trouble (e.g. sickness, disease, bondage, slavery, death, tribulation, etc.) as long as they continue to practice religion. Because Jesus and other prophets spoke for God, we must consider that God himself is issuing these warnings of woe. Because all scripture is useful for training in righteousness, modern day religious people must consider that words of woe apply to them also.

Several Old Testament prophets criticized religion with prophecies of “woe” to them if they did not turn from religion and start listening to God’s voice. Christians tend to dismiss these kinds of scriptures thinking that they apply only to Biblical Israel. However, if we believe that all scripture is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness, we will take these words to heart and apply them to our own lives.

Micah 2:1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.

COMMENTARY: Iniquity is another word for sin. Religion is sin. It is religious people who plan and execute the sin of religion. Religious people do not have power to plan and execute sin because God gave them that power. Rather, they have power to sin because God gives people free will to listen to his voice — or not. People who listen to the voices of religious leaders choose to sin. People who choose to listen to God’s voice do not sin.

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!

COMMENTARY: See Religion is injustice, slavery, affliction and oppression for understanding of oppressors. The city of oppressors is a community of religious people represented by Old Jerusalem. They are all rebellious and defiled because they do not listen to God’s voice.

Amos 6:1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

COMMENTARY: Religious people feel comfortable, complacent and secure in their religion. They feel this way because of their pride and because they are members in good standing of a religious community. Those feelings are radically altered when they are humbled to learn that religion is sin.

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!

COMMENTARY: See this link for understanding of blood. The city of blood is a religious community that practices Old/First Covenant religion. The leaders of the city of blood are Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists. They are False Prophets who always preach lies. God considers them to be lying prophets. Their victims are the people who listen to them, believe their words, act upon their teaching, and support them with praise and financial support.

The apostle John in his Book of Revelation of the end of the world of religion also issued several woes:

Revelation 18:10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

COMMENTARY: See this link for understanding of the symbolism of Babylon. 

Revelation 18:16 and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

COMMENTARY: The great city is Babylon which is a term that symbolically refers to all religion — including Judaism and Christianity. See this link for understanding of cities.

Identifying Babylon as a great city does not mean that it is a good or virtuous place. It only means that religion is large and strong.

Revelation 8:13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

COMMENTARY: Inhabitants of the earth are religious people. Trumpet blasts are God’s words spoken by his angels whom God sends to speak for him.

As a prophet, Jesus continued practice of issuing woes to Jews and Christians in these verses:

Matthew 18:7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

COMMENTARY: The world that is the target of this woe is the world of religion — including Judaism and Christianity. The things that cause people to stumble are the literal words of the Bible. The things that must come are the literal words of the Bible. They must come because religious people cannot resist interpreting the Bible literally. Jesus speaks this woe to warn religious people that religion is sin and to discredit the literal words of the bible as truth.

The woe to the person through whom the things that cause people to stumble is directed to anyone who preaches/teaches the literal words of the bible as truth.

Luke 6:25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

COMMENTARY: Religious people are well fed by religious leaders who preach/teach from the literal bible. They gorge themselves on evil, soulish food served to them by false prophets,  but they are hungry for clean, pure, spiritual food that comes from God’s spoken voice.

Religion does a very good job of feeding religious pride. Religious people enjoy their religion while they practice it, but they will mourn and weep over their religion when God’s spoken word humbles them and convicts them with the truth that religion is sin.

Religious people enjoy their religious life, but, after they learn that religion is sin, they will mourn over the fact that they were deceived and believed the lies taught to them by religious leaders.

Matthew 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

COMMENTARY: All the miracles that Jesus did are symbolic — not physical. The miracles symbolize changed hearts in people who hear God’s spoken voice.

Tyre and Sidon are pagan, Godless cities. Chorazin and Bethsaida are Jewish cities in the promised land. Jesus is saying here that Godless cities would be quicker to repent upon hearing God’s voice than the Jewish cities. This also applies to Christians.

The woe is a warning that religious people (i.e. Jews and Christians) will continue to endure sickness, disease, bondage and slavery until they hear God’s voice and repent for practicing the sin of religion.

Matthew 23:13-33: These verses contain a list of eight woes that apply to both Jews and Christians.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
 

COMMENTARY: Christians wrongly think that these verses apply to Jews but not to them. They forget or ignore what they claim to otherwise believe about all scripture being God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness. They may not teach the Jewish law, but they do, nonetheless,  preach the religious laws laws of Christianity as they understand and obey them.

These verses apply to all Christians — not just to Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists who have titles and leadership positions in churches and ministries. Anyone who has ever shared a Christian doctrine with another person is technically a teacher of Christian religious laws.

Even if they do not teach with words, they teach through their actions. For example, anyone who has ever declared being a Christian, and or has a reputation for being a religious person has taught and affirmed Christian, religious laws. Anyone who wears a cross as jewelry or has a religious symbol on their car makes a statement about their belief in Christian doctrines which are laws to be followed. Anyone who attends church in public teaches that the Christian doctrine of church is a valid law that should be obeyed. All who teach classes in Sunday school or lead bible studies are teachers.

It is impossible to be a Christian and not teach in some small way. Jesus says here that they are all Pharisees and hypocrites. He also says that they all shut the door to the kingdom of God by teaching religion that does not emphasize listening to God’s spoken voice. All Christian religions emphasize listening to the voices of Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists.

If religions taught how to listen to God’s spoken voice, religions would disappear because there would be no need for them to exist. People will stop practicing religion when they learn that they do not need religion to enter the kingdom of heaven/God. It is in the interest of religion, therefore, to preserve itself by teaching its followers to listen to religious leaders, follow religious laws, and engaging in commercial religion.

Religions, and anyone who preaches or practices religion, effectively prevent people from hearing God’s spoken voice because religions require listening to the voices of religious leaders whom God calls false prophets. The only teaching that God respects is teaching of his anointed messiahs who encourage people to listen to God’s spoken voice. The ability to hear God’s spoken voice is the door to the kingdom of God.

Religious leaders do not enter the kingdom of God because they do not listen to God’s spoken voice. They prevent others from entering the kingdom of God when they present themselves as authorized spokespersons for God and encourage  people to practice religion. This is why Jesus spoke “woe” to them.

14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
 
COMMENTARY: Here Jesus says that all religious people are hypocritical scribes and Pharisees.
 
Devouring widows houses is a symbolic reference to religious tithes and offerings which religious leaders constantly solicit from all religious people — not just widows. Jesus is saying, in effect, that the money people give to religion is necessary for paying their household bills, and that giving the money to a religious organization such as a church or ministry deprives them of resources necessary to have a comfortable life. And it all happens because religious leaders interpret scriptures about tithes and offerings literally. See Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings, Tithes, Religion is Commerce, Money and Ministry in the Old Testament, Jesus and the Money-Changers in the Temple, What Jesus Said About Money, and Examples of Business and Commerce in Religion for understanding of money and religion.
 
For a pretense means for a pretext or for a show. In other words, scribes and Pharisees pray long prayers for show. Prayer is just one part of the act (i.e. hypocrisy) of being religious. All religious activity is a big show of people pretending to be spiritual, Godly, and like Jesus. Because Jesus understood this hypocrisy, he made a point of condemning prayer for show and instructing his followers in the kind of prayer that God accepts.
 
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

COMMENTARY: All religions have a self-interest in promoting and advancing their religion. If they were not evangelical, they would eventually disappear. All efforts to gain conversions, therefore, are rooted in pride and self-preservation. Evangelism feeds pride because people feel good about preaching religion and gaining converts. People who evangelize in big and small ways also benefit from the fact that conversions secure the future of the religion from which they derive many rewards, and which offers them ongoing opportunities to build up their spiritual pride.

A child of hell is anyone who lives in hell. Religious evangelists promote living in hell when they encourage people to practice religion and listen to the voices of false prophets.

16-22 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever * swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ 17 “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 “And, ‘Whoever * swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever * swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
 

COMMENTARY: All religious teachers are blind to the truth about religion. See Sickness, Disease, Blindness, and Deafness for understanding of blindness. When they teach others to be religious, they effectively deny others the ability to hear God’s spoken voice.

Jews and Christians place high value on their religious buildings. Oaths are promises to do something backed up by a promise to pay a price if the promise is not fulfilled. To swear by the temple means to take an oath that affirms that high value, but the Jewish practice was not to hold people who made an oath referencing the temple accountable for the oath (i.e. the oath meant nothing.) In other words, if someone did not fulfill a promise, there was no price to pay because they did not own the temple. Thus it was a meaningless oath.

Swearing an oath (i.e. making a promise to do something on penalty of paying the price of something of value if the promise was not fulfilled) was a common feature of Judaism not often found in Christianity. Perhaps that is because Jesus said that people should not makes oaths at all and are in fact evil. Nevertheless, when people join religious organization like churches, they, in effect, make oaths/promises to support the organization financially and follow its religious doctrines. Furthermore, when they claim that the bible is God’s authoritative word, they feel compelled to be obedient to it’s literal words regarding tithes and offerings.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
 
COMMENTARY: Old Testament scriptures about tithing clearly say that what is to be tithed is agricultural produce including grain and animals. Jews expanded the provisions of tithing to include spices. Jesus acknowledges how careful Jews were to tithe material things while neglecting weightier spiritual matters of the law.
 
Religious people are faithful to obey religious laws. Jesus condemns them here because they are not faithful to obey God’s spiritual laws.
 
Jesus is saying that tithing agricultural produce as required in the literal words of the bible is unimportant compared to the spiritual matters such as justice, mercy and faithfulness. See this link for understanding of justice and this link for understanding of mercy.
 
24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
 
COMMENTARY: Understanding of this verse depends on understanding the biblical principle of clean and unclean things. Because neither Jews nor Christians understand these principles, they do not understand what Jesus is saying here.
 
In Jewish religious law, both gnats and camels were considered to be unclean. Jews were very careful to avoid eating both gnats and camels because that is what their literal interpretation of scripture says to do.
But, because Jesus did not interpret scripture literally, he condemns Jews for swallowing camels which is something they would ever do. Jesus understood that camels were symbolic references to religious leaders who did not speak for God. They were false prophets. Judaism then and now, which listens to rabbis, is built on the teachings of rabbis who are the modern incarnations of ancient scribe and pharisees. Jews always listen to their rabbis who serve them unclean teachings (i.e. food.) Therefore, they are always symbolically swallowing camels.
 
Although most Christians would not ever think about eating camel meat, Jesus’ rebuke applies to them also because they too listen to the words of Pastors, Priests, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists.
 
If Jews and Christians understood the symbolism of clean and unclean things, they would not listen to religious leaders. Rather, they would listen to God’s spoken voice.
 
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
 
COMMENTARY: Since all religious people are Pharisees, it is accurate to say that all woes and criticisms spoken by Jesus to pharisees apply to all religious people — including Christians. Christians who deny that any scripture applies to them personally, resist the power of God’s word to train them in personal righteousness. They arrogantly believe that because their religion has taught them all the need to know about God, they have no need to listen to his voice to teach them. This belief prevents them from becoming New Covenant disciples .
 
Cup here is a symbolic reference to the physical body. And the heart is the inside of the cup. Jesus affirms here what God has said about the the heart being the most important thing to God and that how the body looks and what the body does means nothing to him. He says that all religious people use their religious traditions to make themselves look good to others (i.e. they clean the outside of the cup), but that their hearts are full of evil that only God sees.
 

Jews in Jesus’ day observed many ancient, religious traditions, including traditions of washing utensils and the body. Christians also have traditions, some of them borrowed from the Jews, that they are faithful to observe while in church and at home.

Here Jesus says in effect, that all religious traditions are meaningless. Worse yet, he says that hearts that practice religion are full of robbery and self-indulgence, which are characterizations that agree with God’s view that the hearts of Old/First Covenant religious people are evil and impure.
 
Jesus exhorts Old/First Covenant religious people to clean their hearts (i.e. the inside of the cup) by coming out of religion.
 
STUDY TIP: See Sickness, Disease, Blindness, and Deafness for understanding of the symbolism of blindness.
 
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
 
COMMENTARY: See commentary for verses 25 and26 above. Only religious people see religion as beautiful. God sees religious activity as death and uncleanness.
 
 
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
 
COMMENTARY: Religious buildings are the tombs of false prophets (i.e. Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists) because buildings are where they typically conduct their ministries. God also calls these buildings “monuments of the righteous (i.e. self-righteous religious people who are righteous in their own eyes and in the eyes of co-religionists who praise them for their faithfulness to obey religious laws. Religious people pay for the buildings and adorn them with their tithes and offerings and adorn them with their presence and religious behaviors.
 
 
30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
 
COMMENTARY: Most religious people are aware that their spiritual forefathers were guilty of shedding human blood, but they are quick to say that they would not have participated in those atrocities if they were alive in those days.
 
While religious people excuse themselves from guilt in wrongdoing by their spiritual forefathers, Jesus finds them guilty of the same kinds of wrongdoing because religious people identify with their spiritual forefathers when they adopt their religious beliefs and honor them as their spiritual fathers. The way Jesus, and God, see it, if religious people share the beliefs, of their spiritual fathers, they are sure to live out those beliefs in the same, or similar ways.
 
Jesus is saying, in effect that if they adopt the religious beliefs of their forefathers, they cannot excuse themselves from guilt for the wrongdoing that those beliefs inspired. They cannot claim the good things that their forefathers did as their own and deny that the bad things done by them apply to them. They can’t have it both ways.
 
32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
 
COMMENTARY: Jesus is not giving religious people permission to continue the wrongdoing done by their spiritual fathers. What he is doing is acknowledging that religious people will naturally commit the same kinds of wrongdoings that their spiritual fathers did. He is saying that it is inevitable that they would do the same kinds of things because their spiritual beliefs and motivations are exactly the same as the beliefs and motivations that inspired their spiritual fathers to do wrong.

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

COMMENTARY: If we interpret this verse literally, we will assume that Jesus is angrily calling scribes and pharisees uncomplimentary, pejorative names to disparage and belittle them. That would be a totally wrong interpretation because Jesus is above such common behavior. Furthermore, since Jesus spoke for God, we cannot imagine God resorting to name-calling to bully people into submission. And we must also remember that, if all scripture is God-breathed and useful for our correction and training in our personal righteousness, interpreting Jesus’ words as name-calling does not have that effect on us.
 
When we interpret these word symbolically, we find that Jesus uses the words snake and viper to identify scribes and pharisees as unclean animals. Snakes and vipers are among animals that crawl on the ground on their belly that God has called unclean animals to be avoided. The serpent in the garden of Eden was an unclean animal (i.e. false prophet) who served (i.e. spoke) evil, soulish food to Adam and Eve.
 
 
Jesus’ statement about condemnation to hell is an affirmation of God’s warning to Adam and Eve about not eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil where he said that if they ate that fruit they would die. The death that God was referring to was spiritual death — not physical death. In bible symbolism, death and hell are the same thing. Both refer to condition of hard hearts that cannot hear God’s spoken voice.
 

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