Recall the self-deceiving and self-destructive nature of sin that makes it so utterly sinful: Because sin is direct disobedience against the commands God has given for our preservation in His creation, in order to sin one must as an act of his will decide that he knows better than God what is best for himself…
Recall God’s great mercy and love that is not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance—His great love that continues to send messengers even to hardened sinners on the remotest chance that they might turn from their sins and be saved. Also recall man’s free will by which he may…
Consider that even after pronouncing seven-plus woes upon the scribes and Pharisees and asking rhetorically how they can escape the sentence of hell, still Jesus says He will continue to send His messengers to warn of their impending judgment. And although the possibility of them repenting becomes increasingly remote as they continue to harden their…
Who does Jesus say in Mat 23:34 will be sent to the likes of the scribes and Pharisees? Thus in spite of scribes being spoken of negatively throughout the New Testament, what does this remind us about there being at least some good scribes in Christ’s service? Cf. Mat 13:52. What is the purpose of…
Recall from Mat 23:7-8 that the scribes loved respectful greetings and took delight in their high positions to be called by others Rabbi, Father, Teacher, and leaders; in contrast, what has Jesus called them throughout the eight woes He has pronounced upon them? See Mat 23:15,16,17,27. What does this teach us about the very different…
We have seen that by acknowledging the righteousness of God’s prophets and the wickedness of their fathers for putting them to death, the scribes and the Pharisees testified against themselves, for they were doing the same things against God’s own Son, to Christ Himself. By both their actions and the hypocrisy from their own mouths…
Was it necessarily the literal fathers of the scribes and Pharisees who had persecuted and put to death God’s prophets in times past? I.e., were the scribes and Pharisees necessarily their literal descendants, or was it more the case that because the spirit that worked in them was the same spirit that worked in those…
For what does Jesus pronounce His final woe upon the scribes and Pharisees? See Mat 23:29-30. What was the irony of them paying great honor to the memory of the prophets and righteous men whom their fathers had persecuted and killed? See Mat 12:14, Mar 11:18. Was it just another righteous man or prophet that…
Recall that in Mat 23:25-26 Jesus likened the scribes and Pharisees to a cup or dish that had been carefully cleaned on the outside but was full of filth on the inside. What simile of their hypocrisy does He give in Mat 23:27-28? For what purpose were tombs whitewashed, and what was the significance of…
Imagine how silly it would be for a person to meticulously clean the outside of a cup or the bottom of a plate, but have little regard for the side that really mattered; what did Jesus call the Pharisees in Mat 23:26 for such foolishness that overlooked the secret sins in their own hearts as…