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Matthew 23:13 “Woe to
you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of
heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those
enter who are trying to.”
WHEN Jesus says “woe”, He speaks with great grief over the
Pharisees’ sin that they have “shut the
kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.”
I’m sure you
become very upset, don’t you, when someone shuts a door in your face? You’re separated,
locked out from where you want to be, and you wonder if the person who slammed
the door will open it for you.
In many ways, the
religious system the Pharisees had built in Judea was slamming the door on God’s
people. Ultimately, of course, God opens the door to all He chooses. But the
Pharisees’ false interpretations of God’s laws, their judgmental approach over
the general population, and their multitude of self-serving systems, had caused
hopeless frustration among God’s people. They wondered, “How is it possible to
get to God?”
Jesus condemns the
teachers for standing at the Kingdom door and refusing to enter themselves. Staying
outside of God’s truths, they have turned people away from God’s extraordinary
grace and promises.
The Pharisees are the
pastor who falsely teaches lies and half-truths to his church such as: “The
gospel doesn’t matter.” “You only need to read of God’s love.” “You have to do specific
works to be saved.” Such false teachers stand at the kingdom door and refuse to
go inside. They prefer their words over God’s words, their glory over God’s
glory. Such door-shutting actions will condemn them to eternal hell, and God
will shut the door on them forever.
In essence Jesus told
the Pharisees to go into His true ways or to get out of the way.
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