The Imprint of the Sin Nature

Matthew 23:13-39

Paiute is a cougar. Up until March of this year, Paiute didn\'t have a name and lived in the wild. He was discovered as an orphan cub and brought to the Oregon Zoo where he now lives. You can see Paiute in the Cougars Crossing exhibit but you might have a hard time spotting him. That\'s because Paiute was not raised by humans in a zoo. His wild instincts of caution have been deeply imprinted on him and so he watches you long before he lets you see him. Paiute isn\'t consciously aware of his instincts, but he follows them fully.

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In one important way, we are very much like Paiute. We too have instincts imprinted on us very strongly-instincts for self-justification, and self-gratification. These instincts make us act and think in ways that are counter to the character of God and were imprinted on us by Satan at the fall when mankind decided to side with the serpent and obey him rather than Yahweh. We aren\'t aware of the imprinting of the flesh on our lives, but we follow it fully. In Chapter 23, Jesus reveals the imprinting of the flesh by showing it to us in its fullest realization, the religious leaders of Israel. At the same time He reveals the instinctual sin nature in us.

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Jesus comes across harsh here - but it is because no one stands in the way of people coming to His Father - no one! He cleansed the temple of junk that stopped the Gentilers from approaching Him, and now he addresses another impediment, the attitude of Israel\'s leaders. But the wonderful thing to keep in mind here is that God\'s purpose in telling us these things is not punishment but healing, not wrath but mercy.

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We\'re going to see the word \"woe\" here. \"Woe\" is a term of judgment. The Message puts it this way: \"I\'ve had it with you. You\'re hopeless!\" The New Century says: \"How terrible for you.\" It is used to express pain, lament, and also threat.

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Jesus calls the religious leaders \"hypocrites.\" The word is from the acting world. Greek and Roman actors would wear masks and employ mechanical devices to alter their voices. The idea is that the person you are portraying is not the person \"behind the mask or voice.\"

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13 - 14 Woe #1 Keeping others out of the kingdom while not going in yourself

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The minute and difficult commands of the Pharisees made having a saving relationship with God impossible. They in effect had put up a barrier between the people and God-a barrier that kept them out as well.

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My way of understanding is the right way every time

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15 Woe #2 Pulling people away from God

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To become a Jew, you had to understand that there is one God (not many) and become circumscribed. The Pharisees would travel to visit Jewish communities and would try to convince \"God fearing\" Gentiles to become proselytes. But what they actually taught was not how to have a relationship with God but how to gain God\'s (and man\'s) favor by obeying rules.

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This is the exact opposite of the way to get to heaven and so it made the people even further away from understanding the gospel. The word \"hell\" is Gehenna, which is Jesus\' word for the fiery judgment that awaits those that reject Him.

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I\'m so convinced I\'m right I\'ll pull others down with me.

16 - 22 Woe #3 Blindly leading people to obey tradition, not God\'s Word

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People at that time would \"swear\" by things - to make their affirmations have a heavier weight. We might say \"I swear on a stack of Bibles\" or \"I swear on my mother\'s grave.\" So they would swear by gold of the temple, or a gift on the altar, but made sure not to swear by the altar itself or the temple itself because then it might actually be binding.

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It\'s just another example of how to appear holy while at the same time creating a loophole for yourself so you can be as evil as you really want to be. They basically lost sight of the fact that everything we say we say before God and He holds us accountable for our word. You don\'t get away with stuff because you think you found a loophole.

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My sense of rightness allows me to become the person my flesh wants me to be

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23 - 24 Woe #4 Majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors

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There is nothing in the law about tithing herbs, but the Pharisees had become so focused on creating little tiny ways of obedience that they ignored huge swaths of the law.

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Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

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But isn\'t that just like human nature? We focus on the things we think we can accomplish and feel really good about them-we tithe 10 percent (nothing wrong with giving to God, by the way) or we have perfect attendance at church. We don\'t smoke or dance or play cards or listen to \"the devil\'s music\" and we think God is pleased. Then we turn around and stab someone in the back by our cruel words, we divide churches, we engage in lust and power grabbing, and generally make a mess of our witness for Christ in the ways that really matter and we are insulated from the conviction because of our strict obedience to minor things.

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We major on the minors and minor on the majors. The Pharisees would strain out a gnat (the smallest unclean insect) but, metaphorically, swallow a camel (the largest unclean animal).

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It\'s a little like a magicians sleight of hand. Take the focus away from who you really are by putting the focus on what you want others to see.

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What I consider right is right, and what I consider wrong is wrong.

25 - 26 Woe #5 Looking good on the outside while being evil within

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Woes five and six are closely related. Jesus is revealing that our human nature is to appear good, even if we are bad on the inside. Goodness is born from character, not appearances. It comes from substance, not image. The person you really are is the one that acts and speaks and thinks when no one else (that matters) is around. You can\'t put on holiness as a garment; you\'ve got to have it in your character so it can flow out.

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Image is everything

27 - 28 Woe #6 Acting spiritual to cover up sin

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Some people would decorate their graves in order to make them more attractive. But it doesn\'t change the contents of the grave-a dead body. It\'s a great illustration for the unredeemed human. You can put a pretty coat of paint on, but without Jesus you are nothing but a dead person walking. We are dead in our sins and no amount of whitewash changes that.

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Jesus said they were \"full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.\" We\'ve already talked about hypocrisy. The idea of lawlessness would have seemed odd. These people were supposed to represent the Law of God. But in fact they misrepresented it. The word is also translated \"wickedness.\"

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Paint doesn\'t stick well to an evil heart

29 - 36 Woe #7 Words claim a change of heart, but actions say otherwise

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These verses are filled with irony. Several of the prophets were killed by the religious establishment of the day including Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20) and Uriah (Jeremiah 26:20). Abel was the first martyr, Zechariah the last - so humanity has consistently tried to destroy God\'s messengers from A to Z. By building monuments to dead saints they were effectively saying they would never do such a thing. Yet not only would they, they are going to kill the greatest prophet that ever lived.

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We are self justifying creatures. We have an image of ourselves that in many respects is in direct contradiction to the truth. I know it is tough to face the real self, but only when we do that can God begin to heal us through the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus!

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Words whisper while actions shout. Who you are is what you do not what you say

37 - 39

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The thoughts about the coming rejection clearly moved Jesus who cries out to a city-representing the Children of Israel, and especially its leaders, who continually put out their hands and stopped up their ears against a loving God who just wanted a loving and abiding relationship with them.

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Jerusalem was supposed to represent true worship of God (the temple was God\'s dwelling place on earth - just as Jesus was literally God living on earth). But instead it became a symbol for human-focused worship and rejection of God.

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By doing so the city had sealed its fate and within a generation it would become desolate, just as the system that replaced true Judaism would become desolate and without fruit.

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But notice something important here. Jesus has lambasted the leaders of a dead religion and marked their doom. Yet amongst that judgment we see the tender heart of God.

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Judges 2:18-19 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.? For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

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God is holy and God is merciful. He cannot abide with evil, but He is moved by the effect of evil on the life of a human and His heart reaches out with mercy to find a way to rescue and cleanse.

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This is the key to the whole thing. Jesus in His holiness says to your flesh: \"You\'re fired!\" But Jesus in His mercy says: \"Let me heal you from that evil.\"

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So the question we must face is, are you willing? Jesus wanted to throw His arms around the Pharisees and Scribes too, if they had just repented. Some, like Nicodemus, did, and were born again. He wants to throw His arms around you, to reveal and cleanse the instinctual imprinting of the flesh in your life. Romans 7:18 \"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.\" But - 2 Peter 2:3 \"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence\"