• Matthew 23
  • Woe 1: You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
    • Matthew 23:13 - The Pharisees discouraged those who challenged their thinking.
    • John 7:45-53 - The Pharisees try to discourage Nicodemus from following Jesus.
  • Woe 2: You devour widows’ houses.
    • Matthew 23:14 - The Pharisees were acting selfishly in defrauding the widows.
  • Woe 3: You make them twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
    • Matthew 23:15 - The Pharisees were teaching their own traditions.
    • Matthew 15:9
    • Acts 8:35 - New Testament preachers taught directly from the scriptures.
  • Woes 4-5: You neglect the weightier matters.
    • Matthew 23:16-24
    • Matthew 5:33-37
  • Woes 6-7: You outwardly appear righteous to men.
    • Matthew 23:25-28
    • Titus 1:15-16
  • Woe 8: You say, “If it had been me …”
    • Matthew 23:29-36
    • Amos 7:14-15
    • We can’t imagine that there is some ideal time to serve God. We have to serve God in the time and state we are in.