Text: Mathew 23:34-39

Intro:

  1. At this time in the Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, he is in Jerusalem, and this is only a short time before his crucifixion.
  2. In chapter 22, the Lord Jesus had the Herodians, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees all ask him questions in an attempt to trick him into saying something that they could use against him and turn the hearts of the people away from him.
  3. The Lord Jesus answered their questions and even presented the Pharisees with a question that they could not answer for fear of the people.
  4. As we come to chapter 23, the Lord Jesus Christ begins to expose these religious leaders as hypocrites who put on a great religious show but are really living for themselves rather than to please God.
  5. We have broken the chapter into the following divisions:
    • Hypocritical Holiness Exposed (Vs 1 – 12)
    • Hypocritical Service Reproved (Vs 13 – 23)
    • Hypocritical Sanctification Rebuked (Vs 24 – 33)
    • Hypocritical Religion Judged (Vs 34-39)
  1. Today we will look at the judgement that would come upon Israel as a nation due to their hypocritical religious system and rejection of the Messiah.

I. The Hypocrisy that Brings Judgement (Vs 34-36)

  1. The nation received warning of coming judgement (Vs 34a)
    a. In verse 34, they are given a reminder of the O.T. prophets and a prophecy concerning the N.T. saints.
    b. The Lord Jesus had sent messengers to Israel, the prophets, wise men, and scribes who had called the people to return unto God and who had prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. But, just as these religious leaders’ fathers had slain the prophets, so would the religious leaders of Jesus day kill the Messiah.
  2. The national response to God’s messengers was to reject them.
    a. Although the religious leaders are in view in the passage, it was the whole nation that chose false religions over God.
    b. Through all of Israels history, through the period of the judges, the time of the Kings of Israel, and then the divided kingdom, Israel continued to go after false gods and the idols of the heathen.
  3. As Israel had killed God’s messengers in the past, the Lord Jesus prophesied that they would continue to kill His disciples.
  4. The nation would bear their own blood guiltiness (Vs 35-36)
    a. The Lord Jesus very clearly draws a connection between the murderous spirit in the Pharisees of His day and their fathers who slew (presumably the prophet) Zechariah and even the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. The spirit of false worship that led Cain to slay his brother Abel was the same spirit that was driving the hateful murder of the Lord Jesus and his disciples.
    b. This murderous spirit that led Cain to kill his brother is still active today in those who want to kill God’s people and God’s messengers.

II. The Opportunity to Escape Judgement (Vs 37)

  1. The merciful heart of God is so clearly seen in passages like this.
    a. God loves the nation of Israel and He sent the prophets to warn the people of judgement if they continued to harden their hearts toward God.
    b. The Lord Jesus presented himself to the nation as their Messiah, the one who could shelter them and protect them from danger, but they rejected Him.
  2. God wanted to show mercy, but he would only do so if Israel wanted it for themselves.
    a. The phrase “how often would I have gathered” indicates that it was God’s preference and even desire that the children of Israel would place themselves under His protective care, but they had refused to do so.
  3. The nation of Israel rejected God’s offer of mercy.
    a. We can see a picture here of salvation offered to the lost. God wants to extend his mercy to the sinner, but it is dependent on whether or not the sinner will choose mercy or punishment.
    b. This is a good verse for the Calvinists who teach that God elects some to salvation and others to damnation. Here we are told that it was God’s preferred outcome that Israel would repent and accept God’s mercy, but Israel chose not to.

III. The Result of God’s Judgement (Vs 38-39)

  1. The nation would be destroyed in judgement (Vs 38)
    a. It seems very clear that the “house” being referred to in this verse is the Temple in which the Lord Jesus was standing.
    b. “It was once the Lord’s temple, God’s Own house; but now he says, Your temple or house – to intimate that God had abandoned it.”[1] Adam Clarke, Esword
  2. When King David set out to build the Temple, it was because he wanted to give a “house” to God. He wanted the Ark of the covenant, with the glory of God above it, to dwell in a proper house.
  3. The Temple had become a place for human affairs.
    a. Mark 11:17 “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
    b.     After revealing the hypocrisy of these Jewish leaders and showing the evil of their religious system, the Lord Jesus called the Temple “your house” indicating that it was no longer God’s house because it had been turned into a purely human affair for the purpose of extortion.
  4. As a church we need to be very careful that we don’t take God’s blessing or God’s presence for granted. Too many churches are more concerned about entertaining people and giving people what they want than they are concerned about honouring God in His house.
  5. The nation would be set aside temporarily (Vs 39)
    a. There are teachers who claim that God has rejected Israel as His chosen people and that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plans and promises. This is not the case.
    b. The verse makes it very clear that the Lord Jesus will return to Israel and that God will resume dealing with the nation of Israel as His chosen people.
    c. “At present God is gathering out of all nations a people to the name of His Son; not till that work is completed, will Israel as a nation look upon Him whom they pierced and acclaim Him as their Redeemer and King.[1]” H. A. Ironside, Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew. (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1948), 310.
  6. God is still offering you mercy, forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven. Accept his mercy today.

Conclusion:

  1. That brings our study of Mathew chapter 23 to a close. Over the last few weeks, we were able to study the chapter under four main divisions.
    • Hypocritical Holiness Exposed (Vs 1 – 12)
    • Hypocritical Service Reproved (Vs 13 – 23)
    • Hypocritical Sanctification Rebuked (Vs 24 – 33)
    • Hypocritical Religion Judged (Vs 34-39)
  1. I trust this study has been a blessing to you and I encourage you to put your heart into serving God and be faithful until He takes us home.