Feeling woeful in a woe-begotten world?

(91) Woe

When Jesus pronounces 7 woes on the scribes and Pharisees, is he condemning them or mourning them? We’re approaching a passage where Jesus says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees” over and over. But the passage ends with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, so… what do you think: lament or condemnation?

And what about the many woes pronounced on “evil nations” in the Old Testament…?

We’ll look at the woes individually next time, but first let’s take an overview: Read Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:45-47, Matthew 23:1-4

1.       “Sitting in Moses’ seat” probably meant sitting in a high place in the synagogue and claiming the right to teach the assembled masses (who would be sitting on the floor)—Jesus probably sat there when he read from the Scriptures at the starts of his ministry (Luke 4:16). Do we have similar ways of separating people in churches?

a.       Do we have, or have Christian churches historically had false teachers in high positions?

b.       Can you sum up how Jesus tells the people to respond to them?

c.       When is that still good advice?

2.       Read Matthew 23:5 How might people today do good works “for show”?

a.       Read Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 11:18 Do you suppose the original law about phylacteries was literal or figurative?

b.       How can we distinguish between literal and figurative laws? Does Jesus’ teaching help?

c.       What might large phylacteries have been meant to show?

d.       Read Numbers 15:38-39 What might long tassels have been meant to show?

e.       What might be modern equivalents of phylacteries and tassels?

3.       Read Matthew 23:7-10 Rabbi meant “master” before it meant “teacher,” and the poor would say “master” to the rich. “Father” was a term of respect for old men, but also a term to describe your “spiritual father” or the rabbi whose rules you followed. And “Teacher” meant someone whose teaching you respected. What titles do we use in society? In church?

a.       Does this passage mean we shouldn’t call teachers “teacher”?

b.       Or call priests “father”?

c.       The passage has been used, historically, to “prove” that Catholics are the equivalent of scribes and Pharisees. How do we protect ourselves using Bible passages to hurt other people?

4.       Read Matthew 23:11-12 Where have we heard this teaching before?

a.       How important is it to remember this?

Jesus follows this with a real-world example. Read Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4. The comparison between the scribes and Pharisees and the widow is very clear. Does the teaching mean we should give “all that we have” or does it have another purpose?

After the “woes” pronounced, presumably in or near the temple, Jesus leaves Jerusalem and weeps over the city. Read Matthew 23:37-39. How might this lament lead to Jesus’ prophecies (in the next chapter) about the end-times and the destruction of Jerusalem?