Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 60 REBUKING THE ...

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Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 60. REBUKING THE JEWISH RELIGIONISTS. AND FORSAKING JERUSALEM WITH ITS TEMP
Excerpts from Life-study of Matthew, Message 60 REBUKING THE JEWISH RELIGIONISTS AND FORSAKING JERUSALEM WITH ITS TEMPLE Bible Verses: Matthew 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inwardly they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly appear beautiful but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 23:28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 23:37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I desired to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 23:38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. 23:39 For I say to you, You shall by no means see Me from now on until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. REBUKING THE JEWISH RELIGIONISTS After the Lord had been examined and tested by the religious leaders, in His wisdom He muzzled them. Eventually, He reached the point where He did not talk to them any further. Rather, in chapter twentythree, He gave them a final word. In His rebuke of the Jewish religionists, the Lord first spoke against their hypocrisy (23:1-12). [First, the] scribes and Pharisees said certain things concerning the law, but they did not do them. For this reason, the Lord told His disciples to do whatever the scribes and Pharisees said, for their speaking was according to the Bible. However, He told His disciples not to follow what they did, for their deeds were hypocritical.[Second, the] scribes and Pharisees put the burden of law on others, but they would not use even their finger to lift it. [Third], “all their works they do to be seen by men” (Matt. 23:5). [Fourth, they] “broaden their phylacteries and enlarge the fringes of their garments” (23:5). A phylactery is a part of the law written on parchment and worn upon the forehead as a frontlet and upon the left arm, according to Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18. The law required the Israelites to make fringes on the borders of their garments with a band of blue, signifying that their conduct (typified by the garment) was regulated by the heavenly rule (indicated by the band of blue), and reminding them to keep God’s commandments (Num. 15:38-39). The scribes and Pharisees enlarged the fringes, pretending that they kept God’s commandments and were regulated by them to a surpassing degree. They did this in order to glorify themselves.[Fifth,] the scribes and Pharisees “love the chief place at the dinners and the chief seats in the synagogues” (Matt. 23:6). This indicates that they enjoyed being above others and that they desired to be great among the people. [Sixth,] they loved “the salutations in the market places and to be called by men, Rabbi” (Matt. 23:7). The scribes and Pharisees liked to be saluted by the people in the market places. They also enjoyed being called Rabbi, a title of honor which means teacher, master. The Lord’s rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees affords us an accurate picture of today’s religion. Everything found in 23:1-36 resembles the situation today. Remember, this rebuke is found in the book of the kingdom. Matthew’s intention is certainly to present the negative in order to reveal the positive. The kingdom life must be the opposite of what is exposed in 23:1-36. It must be an absolute contrast to this black and hellish picture. Only by the mercy and grace of the Lord can we escape the situation portrayed here. Thus, we all need to pray, “O Lord, save me! Rescue me! Take me away from this terrible situation.”

FORSAKING JERUSALEM WITH ITS TEMPLE After the Lord had been tested and examined and after He had rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, He forsook Jerusalem with its temple. In 23:37-39 the Lord spoke a final word to Jerusalem. After this word, the Lord had nothing more to do with her. Verse 37 says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!” Jerusalem and her children were chosen by God to fulfill His purpose. However, when God sent His prophets to them, they killed them. Verse 37 also says, “How often I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her young under her wings, and you would not!” It has always been God Himself who cared for Jerusalem, like a bird fluttering over her young (Isa. 31:5; Deut. 32:11-12). Hence, when the Lord Jesus said, “I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her young under her wings,” He indicated that He was God Himself. The Lord is like a loving bird, fluttering, brooding, over her young. Often He desired to gather the children of Jerusalem together, but they were not willing. As the Lord Jesus was declaring this final word to them, He was still like a loving hen, stretching out His wings to brood over the little ones. But they were not willing to be gathered under His wings. In verse 38 the Lord said, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” Since “house” here is singular, it must denote the house of God, which was the temple (21:12-13). According to the context of the whole Bible, the house here refers to the temple, the unique house, the house of God. But at this point the house of God had become “your house”; it was no longer the house of God, but the den of robbers. When the Lord was cleansing the temple, He said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (21:13). Here in Matthew 23 the Lord was once again about to leave the house desolate. Not too long afterwards, the temple was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus. Thus 23:38 corresponds to 24:2, which indicates that not one stone was to be left upon another. Both of these verses refer to the desolation of the temple in Jerusalem. At the time the temple was destroyed, it was no longer the house of God; rather, it had become the house of rebels. Verse 39 says, “For I say to you, You shall by no means see Me henceforth until you say, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” This will be at the Lord’s second coming, when all the remnant of Israel will turn to believe in Him and be saved (Rom. 11:23, 26). The Lord’s word here is brief, but it includes a number of things from the destruction of Jerusalem until the Lord’s second coming. Here the Lord made a clear declaration that He, the very glory of God, was leaving the nation of Israel and that they would not see Him until His coming again. Nearly two thousand years have passed since that time, and Israel still has not seen the Lord Jesus. Some may ask, “Does this mean that the Jews have no opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus?” As individuals, the Jews still have the opportunity to believe, but as a nation they do not have this opportunity today. As a nation, Israel is through with the Lord. Thank the Lord that He is still merciful to the Jews. Even though He has left the nation of Israel, the back door is still open for individual Jews to come to Him. Today no Jew has the position to come to God as a representative of his nation. But when the Jews are persecuted by their enemies at the end of this age, they will cry out to their God. Then Christ will descend and place His feet on the Mount of Olives, which will be cleft like the waters of the Red Sea. This will enable the Jews to escape from persecution. At that time they will repent to the Lord and call upon Him, and the nation will be saved. This salvation will be not only for individuals, but for the entire nation. However, before the Lord’s coming back, it is impossible for the nation of Israel to repent. But, as we have pointed out, individual Jews can still repent today and come into God’s grace. Read the verses and footnotes online: http://online.recoveryversion.bible/ Read the complete message online: http://www.ministrybooks.org/life-studies.cfm