12/29/2023 – How to Escape God’s Wrath
Matthew 23: 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Jesus not only revealed how to receive God’s blessing. He also warned us how to avoid God’s wrath. In Matthew 23 we read these seven warnings. If it is surprising what it takes to be blessed, it is even more surprising who provokes God’s wrath. Woes are oracles of God’s judgments. The only time Jesus pronounces these oracles, He does not direct them to the tax collectors or the prostitutes. He does not mention the law breakers. If He did, all of us would be included. Instead, Jesus directs the wrath of God to those who were considered religious leaders. The strongest words Jesus ever pronounced are directed to the scribes and pharisees. They took pride in their effort to obey and teach the commandments of God. They were considered by most to be holy among men.
The reason they failed so miserably was not because of their obedience to the ritual aspects of the law. Doing what you are required to do is not meritorious and does not generate a profit in the kingdom of God. You magnify the glory of God by going beyond basic compliance and simple fulfilment of your responsibility. Christ showed us this. He manifested God’s glory in this world by going beyond God’s justice. Christ did EVERYTHING in His power to extend forgiveness. The glory of God is brightest when those who deserve punishment receive, instead, forgiveness. When God, realizing our ignorance and weakness in the face of temptation, pays the price for our transgression and makes a way for us not only to be spared the punishment we deserve but to achieve the righteousness we could never have through His mercy.
They incurred God’s wrath because they failed to understand and follow the formula God revealed through the prophet Micah: If you want to please God, you must do these three things: Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.