The 7 Woes of Hypocrites in Jesus’s Own Words during the Epoch of Antiquity to Modernity

The Parable of the Mote and the Beam by Domenico Fetti c. 1619

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PLEASE TEST MY BLOG ENTRIES WITH STUDY, RESEARCH, AND PRAYER AND JUDGE MY WORDS AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD, THE BIBLE, TO ENSURE THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT.

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Jesus, in Matthew 24:4-5, told His disciples during the Last Days to “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

I posit that some Christians believe that when Jesus warned His disciples to take heed that no one deceives them, He was not talking about “Christians LIKE THEM” BUT THOSE OTHER PEOPLE, whomever they believe THOSE PEOPLE may be.

In actuality, one of the greatest threats and deceivers to Christians are people and church leaders who profess to be Christians, but their words and actions say otherwise – “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18, NKJV).”

Jude, the brother of Jesus and James, in his epistle or letter to his friends, warned, “For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I will conclude this portion of my entry before listing “The 7 Woes of Hypocrites in Jesus’s Own Words” with what Jesus said about Not Judging Others in Matthew 7:1-5 (NKJV) – 

• “1 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

I write all of this looking at myself, knowing that I have some planks and specks that need to be removed from my eyes, and I ask that you challenge what I have written with the Word of God as Romans 15:14 and 1Thessalonians 5:12-19, admonishes us to do.

• Romans 15:14 (NKJV) - Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 (NKJV) – 12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

“He Who Has An Ear, Let Him Hear What The Spirit Says To The Churches (Revelation 2 & 3 to the Seven Churches) - The 7 Woes of Hypocrites in Jesus’s Own Words:

“Matthew 23 Jesus' Monologue.” YouTube channel MesFavoris (c.2008)

1. Matthew 23:13 – “13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

2. Matthew 23:14 – “14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

3. Matthew 23:15-22– “15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.”

4. Matthew 23:23-24 – “23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

5. Matthew 23:25-26 – “25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

6. Matthew 23:27-28 – “27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

7. Matthew 23:29-36 – “29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

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Here is the sinner’s prayer if you are moved to give your life to Christ, and please send me an email if you would like me to say a prayer for you –

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”

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Leni D. Anderson, MLIS, MA.AC, BA ArtH, AA