Holy Tuesday: A Different Side of Jesus

 

Holy Tuesday
AD 33 -- More or Less

On this day during Holy Week, we see a side of Jesus that many people don't like to see.  It was on this day; He prophesied some bad news about the Temple, and it came true, as the Temple was destroyed as He predicted. It was on this day He drove the money changers, the thieves and religious leader conmen out of the Temple in Jerusalem. And it was on this day He spoke forcefully towards the religious leaders that constantly came after Him, and who were corrupt to the core. I call this the "Seven Woes of Jesus." No, we don't hear a lot about this side of Emmanuel, God with us. But just as Jesus spoke words of love, joy and peace, as God, He also pronounced God's judgement, and this gave the religious bigots of His time on earth more motivation to get rid of Him.

The Seven Woes Pronounced on the Teachers of the Law and
The Pharisees

Here the Word of the LORD

Matthew 23:13-33

I

"'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 in, nor will you let those enter in who are trying to.

II

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

III

Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the temple sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by God's throne and by throne who sits on it.

IV

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices -- mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of law -- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain at a gnat but swallow a camel.

V

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

VI

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs of the Prophets, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but, on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

VII

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ' If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would have not taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So, you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then and complete what your ancestors started!

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to Hell?'"

Wow! That's some pretty heady stuff.  There's no "turning the other cheek" here. There's no forgiveness hear "for they know not what they do" here.  The Context of God's judgement requires something far more forceful, as Jesus finally made it clear what God, His Father, was thinking about these religious bigots and hypocrites. Sadly, and it's clear, they were going to hell. They did not know God. They put on a religious show. And, before He died on the Cross, Jesus spoke, by The Holy Spirit, prophetic words for everyone to hear and that everyone needed to hear. 

Saints, as I wrote in my books, God has a context for turning the other cheek that we should follow, but God demonstrates there is a time to stand for those people who are being led away from God by less than honorable religious people. And Jesus tells us we can also recognize them. For he tells us "By their fruit you will know them." Therefore, he does have a context for declaring His prophetic utterances, and the perfect Prophet did so ever so eloquently and forcefully. He declared the 7 Woes.

Many souls, who had been watching these religious leaders all their lives, may have changed their eternal destiny that day towards heaven. Why?  because the truth that sets us free set the stage for them to be free; indeed, therefore, as you deny yourself, and take up the Cross, and as you follow Jesus, keep in mind his actions on Holy Tuesday. Then pray the Holy Spirit will guide you in following him each and every day. Do this even though this picture of Jesus seems to have been obscured from modern teaching and preaching.

SoJourner