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Woe Number One
b.Matthew 23:14 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47
The commentary I've been following says this.
My uncle is a Presbyterian Minister. He wears the robe and such. I'm a Baptist. Our preachers generally don't wear robes. They just wear a dress suit. I often wondered, as a child, why my uncle had to wear all that fancy stuff. As I grew I was told it was the tradition of the church. As an adult I can relate the robe and such back to the Old Testament. In my rebellious years, I looked down on those who put on a robe. Now I can appreciate the fact that they keep both Testaments alive.
People who are called to teach in the church have to be really careful. A Sunday School teacher, I learned that the teacher is responsible for the students. I've had a couple of great Bible Study teachers over the years. I've known a lot of people who agreed to teach who were just taking the position because there was no one else to do it. I've known teachers and preachers who took the job because it put them out front.
The verses from Mark & Luke point out another woe that all Christians should watch out for. We are called to take care of those around us. It's a ministry. When we do the job prayerfully, we can spread the Word. I've seen it happen over and over and over again. The kindness extended is a key to a door. If a person goes into this ministry just to put themselves out front, they can ruin the opportunity.
Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
14 b.Matthew 23:14 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47
Mark 12:40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.
Luke 20:47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The commentary I've been following says this.
The religious leaders kept people from the kingdom of heaven by making human traditions and human religious rules more important than God's Word. This was clearly seen in the way that they opposed and rejected Jesus; if they had opened the kingdom of heaven to men, they would have welcomed and received Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.
"In ancient times the rabbins carried a key, which was the symbol or emblem of knowledge."
"It was written of old, that the priest's lips should preserve knowledge: God that committed the key of knowledge to the ministers and guides of his church, not that they should take it away, but that the people might seek the law of their mouths, because they are the messengers of the Lord of hosts, Malachi 2:7."
"In ancient times the rabbins carried a key, which was the symbol or emblem of knowledge."
My uncle is a Presbyterian Minister. He wears the robe and such. I'm a Baptist. Our preachers generally don't wear robes. They just wear a dress suit. I often wondered, as a child, why my uncle had to wear all that fancy stuff. As I grew I was told it was the tradition of the church. As an adult I can relate the robe and such back to the Old Testament. In my rebellious years, I looked down on those who put on a robe. Now I can appreciate the fact that they keep both Testaments alive.
People who are called to teach in the church have to be really careful. A Sunday School teacher, I learned that the teacher is responsible for the students. I've had a couple of great Bible Study teachers over the years. I've known a lot of people who agreed to teach who were just taking the position because there was no one else to do it. I've known teachers and preachers who took the job because it put them out front.
The verses from Mark & Luke point out another woe that all Christians should watch out for. We are called to take care of those around us. It's a ministry. When we do the job prayerfully, we can spread the Word. I've seen it happen over and over and over again. The kindness extended is a key to a door. If a person goes into this ministry just to put themselves out front, they can ruin the opportunity.