Matthew 23:13 – The First Woe to the Pharisees

Matthew 23:13 – “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

When Jesus came to earth and began His ministry, He did not attack the people you would normally think He would go after like the prostitutes and the tax collectors (traitors to the Jewish nation), and the sinners; instead, He went after the religious leaders, those who were at the forefront at the Temple, those who should be setting the best example for the people to follow, those who would be considered “righteous” in the population’s eyes.  But Christ saw their hearts and did not find one that longed for the glory of God but their own.  He saw behind their hypocrisy and reproved them constantly but none so much as is found in Matthew 23, where He pronounced eight woes upon them for various reasons.  As we all know, the word woe indicates trouble and grief and heartache, just like when one says, “Woe is me.”  It is not a word of blessing but a word of pain and trouble.  When Christ pronounced these “Woes” to the Pharisees and scribes and other religious leaders of His day, He was clearly rebuking them for a number of actions. 

This first woe that began it all is found in our passage today, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”  Christ began His rebuke with the one most atrocious thing that these religious leaders did – they tried to keep people from the kingdom of heaven, in other words, they tried to keep people from turning to Christ.  These Pharisees and scribes not only rejected the Gospel but they did everything in their power to make sure others wouldn’t accept it as well.  They would discourage them.  They would cast them out of the Temple.  They would defame the name of Christ.  They would lie, deceive, cheat, murder, and do any other heinous act to destroy the Gospel and to prevent people from turning to Christ.  They were so afraid of losing their power and position, that they missed the Messiah in front of them and incited the mob who would call for His death.  Like power hungry rulers, they tried to stifle any opposition, but what they did not realize was they were fighting against God.  They were preventing people from turning to God. 

In our day and age, we see this happening all around us.  There are people who reject the Gospel and try to persuade others to their opinion, and if they cannot, they usually force them.  This happens in science, a realm that I am quite familiar with, working in a research lab.  Many of the top scientists like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking do everything they can to discredit those who believe in Creation and the literal interpretation of the Bible.  They will not even consider a person who does not fully accept evolution as a good scientist.  In philosophy, you surely have this bias too, for the Christian worldview is not readily accepted but one that must be fought for and defended in a much more rigorous fashion.  Christian principles and doctrines are looked upon as outdated in society, and those who accept Christ as the only Way are seen as intolerant.  I can go on and on about how people are rejecting the Gospel and doing everything they can to prevent others from accepting it too. 

But that is not what we, as disciples of Christ, need to focus on, for we already knew that persecution like the ones we are experiencing today will come.  Our focus should be on our own lives and whether we are helping people to enter the kingdom of heaven or not.  Are we being hypocrites to the cause of Christ?  So often, it is the witness of some Christian that prevents a person from turning to Christ, for they see the wickedness and sin that he is still participating in and consider it hypocrisy.  They see people who have no love for people, no concern for others, no mercy, grace, or compassion; they only see “religious nuts” out to condemn them yet still continue in sin themselves.  If we were to be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that most of us at some point have tarnished the name of Christ and our witness.  We have, in a way, prevented a person from entering the kingdom of heaven; we have placed a stumbling block for them.  This woe would at least partially apply to us.  If it does, let it not cause you to be burdened by guilt; instead let it encourage you to remove that stumbling block, to live an enticing, holy life, and to encourage others to turn to Christ.  Use this as a wake-up call to straighten up and live in a way that will not prevent others from entering the kingdom of heaven. 

Side Note:  In a way, we can look at this verse from a different angle as well, although it may be stretching the context of it.  This woe spoke of those who refused to enter the kingdom of heaven and prevented others from doing so as well.  There are many occasions in which we are told to obey God and would rather sit in our own devices and disobey.  In those cases, usually God sends someone who will obey to convict and to draw to Him.  But instead of repenting and obeying, the tendency is to do the exact opposite and try to convince that other person to fall into sin, as well.  We must be careful never to do that, but to instead obey the Lord and follow Him, encouraging others to do so also.  In Matthew 18:6, we are told that those who cause others to stumble should have a millstone tied to their necks and drowned in the ocean.  Jesus Christ said this, making it clear, that He took this sin of leading others astray very seriously.  We must never do anything to push a person away from Christ.  We must do everything in our power to draw them to Him, whether it is encouraging them to grow in Christ or to start a relationship with Him.  Be wary never to allow this first woe to apply to you.