Luke 20-21, Matt 23 As Jesus was getting closer to His time of departure, Matthew records several woes to the experts in the law. A Woe is a statement of not just grief but of bitter grief. The heart of Jesus is broken for these whom God had placed in a position of religious leadership were blind guides. They added to God’s simple commandments and added hundreds of rules that they expected the people to obey but they themselves did not.

Over and over Matthew records this: Woe to you blind guides, hypocrites. Matthew then lists these that Jesus pronounced and we should take time to listen and then evaluate our own rules. For example: do I dress modestly or showy? Do I greet those I know but ignore those I have not met yet? Do I parade my credentials or remain humble before others? Do I give generously or meagerly?

Jesus pointed these out that we might evaluate ourselves in light of God’s Word. How say I today to these and even more that Jesus revealed?