Matthew 23:25-28 – The Sixth and Seventh Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:25-28 – “25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

I have never worked at a restaurant, but I have been told one of the hardest things to do as a waiter/waitress is to put a smile on your face and pretend you are happy when everything in your life is literally crumbling.  I can imagine the difficulty of putting on that mask as your heart is tearing at you from the inside out, for I had a similar ordeal when my parents left me in Maryland for my internship.  That day I had to go into this new workplace with people I did not know, pretending that everything was okay, when my heart was longing to go home with them.  I tried as hard as I could to hold back my tears, but when they called to tell me they were boarding the plane and would see me in a few months, my heart broke and those tears flowed.  Fortunately, I was able to muster a little decorum and get back to work, but I wouldn’t doubt if all my colleagues knew that I had just been crying.  It was hard to put on that mask of happiness when my whole world was changing.  I am definitely not good at putting on a mask, because I am a person who wears his heart on his sleeve.

The thing is though most people are actually pretty good at putting on masks in front of other people.  Just look at all the celebrities who appear to have their lives all together but are struggling with depression and other mental issues.  No one would suspect any of that just by looking at how they are in public.  Take an example from reality shows like “The Bachelor” where some girls put on a mask of kindness, care, and love in front of the guy but then when he isn’t looking lash out at all the girls.  Look at all the politicians who say they are for defending your rights and helping people but are just in there to make the biggest buck.  It’s just a mask.  They look one way in front of one group of people and another in front of another group.  It is all a lie.  If only we could see what a person was really feeling on the inside, what they were really thinking, what they were really dealing with, then maybe we could actually know the person.  For what we see outside means nothing; what matters is the heart.

Jesus’ sixth and seventh woe to the Pharisees focused on this exact issue – the Pharisees appeared righteous, clean, and pure on the outside, but they were actually devils in their hearts.  They looked good but were full of “hypocrisy and lawlessness.”  We must remember that the Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day; people looked up to them to understand and teach the law.  They were held with great esteem and were likely treated the same way society treats actors and actresses today.  Nobody would have thought of them as filled with wicked thoughts and motives, when they seemed to uphold all the laws and traditions.  Christ rebuked them for this hypocrisy twice in these two woes, using different metaphors to help them get the picture.  In the sixth woe, He compared them to what appeared to be a clean cup and plate on the outside but were filled with unwashed filth on the inside.  He rightly accused them of being filled with greed and self-indulgence, for all they were concerned about was their wealth and power.  They cared nothing for the people.  They faked like they cared by creating additional laws to prevent people from breaking God’s laws, but they were really just placing burdens on them that they did not intend to keep either.  They acted like they wanted to find the Messiah, but they would rather reject Him if it meant power for them.  They acted like they loved the law but did not follow its foundation.  Just look at all the times in the Gospels that they would compromise the law to fulfill their evil deeds.  They would look for false prophets to accuse Jesus when it is clear that they should not bear false witness against their neighbors.  They would try to trick the Lord into entrapping Himself (which they never could do), which they knew was wrong.  They even took a part in putting the Lord on the cross, making them an accessory to murder if not the actual perpetrators, since they planned it.  They were appearing clean, when they were actually filled with filth.  They cleaned the outside appearance, but the heart was wicked.  The seventh woe compared them to white washed tombs, which appear clean and beautiful when looking outside but are filled with dead men’s bones inside.  According to Jewish law, being around the dead, would make you unclean; therefore, when Christ said this woe, He was basically letting them know that just like a tomb, they looked beautiful on the outside (We can all agree that some cemeteries look beautiful.) but were only filled with the dead and unclean inside.  To help you better picture this, think about the Taj Mahal; it is a beautiful piece of architecture, but it actually is a mausoleum for a king’s dead queen.  These Pharisees did a great job of appearing righteous, but their hearts were filled with wickedness, which Christ called them on by calling them hypocrites.

Although living righteously through our actions and examples are very important, what is more important is our heart behind it.  It matters nothing if all we are trying to do is use righteousness as a ruse to gain power or fame.  If all we want is to gain the attention and praise of people, then it is nothing but wickedness, deception, and hypocrisy.  Christ came not to teach us to live holy lives but to make us holy.  He did not come just to set an example but to change our hearts so we cannot help but be that example.  He did not come to give us new laws but to make us new creatures.  Unlike the Pharisees, who had to constantly try to upkeep their mask of righteousness in order to hide their truly wicked hearts, we as disciples of Christ have been given new hearts that are overflowing with Christ’s love and Spirit.  Yes, we must live for Him.  Yes, we must be wary of the example we put out in front of people.  Yes, we must do all these things.  But, first and foremost, we must make sure our hearts are right with God, for we can do all these actions, but if we have no relationship with Him, it means nothing.  But if we do have a thriving, growing relationship with Him, those fruits cannot help but come out.  Christ did not rebuke the Pharisees for being clean outside but for not being clean inside.  He wanted them to not only live righteously but be righteous.  As Christians, we must always examine our hearts and make sure that it is in the right place with our Lord.  That all begins with the acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior (for only He can make a heart clean) and moves into discipleship, growth, and Bible reading and prayer.  There is nothing worse than being a white-washed tomb or a semi-clean cup, for those are still dirty; so let us not only live righteously to be seen by men, but because we cannot help but do so due to what Christ has done in us.