Exposing and Confronting Falsehood and Hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Part 2)
Introduction
In Matthew 23:23-39, Jesus continues to address the stumbling blocks that hinder making Christ known, particularly to those imprisoned by religious systems. In the previous session, the religious leaders inspected Jesus for any spot or blemish, but He successfully defeated their challenges on questions of marriage, resurrection, and the greatest commandment. He also questioned them about the Messiah, further proving His authority. In this session, Jesus, the Lamb of God, exposes the falsehood of religious leaders. He highlights the dangers of false religious leaders, systems, and teachings that focus on legalism (works-based righteousness) and hypocrisy (hiding one’s true self through deceptive speech and actions). Jesus concludes by pointing out the effects of sin, which include peacelessness and death. We are called to evaluate our speech and actions before God.
Objectives
By the end of this session, you will have:
- Understood how the sin of hypocrisy among spiritual leaders and teachers affects the soul’s rest of their followers by reading the verses provided in Matthew 23.
- Reflected on how, as a teacher and leader, you may have negatively affected those who follow you, leading to repentance before God.
- Compared the similarities between Matthew chapter 5 (Jesus’ first public sermon) and chapter 23 (Jesus’ last public sermon) by reading the eight beatitudes (blessings) and the eight warnings against bad leadership attitudes (woes).
Outline
- Falsehood and hypocrisy of religious leaders confronted.
- False leaders.
- False religious systems.
- False religious teaching.
- Falsehood rooted in humanism, relying on works (My help comes from men, hills).
- Evaluate your motivation for what you say or do.
- Jesus’ first public sermon (Happy, blessed) and Jesus’ last public sermon (Sorrow, woe).
- When sin ripens (matures).
Group Study Time
Matthew 23:23-39
Connecting
- Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
- Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
- Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
- Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.
Comprehending
What do the verses mean?
(In small groups, attempt the following questions. Focus on God’s attitudes and the people’s character/attributes.)
- Read Matthew 23:23-24. What did Jesus say about the ninth sin of teachers and leaders here?
- Read Matthew 23:25-26. What did Jesus say about the tenth sin of teachers?
- Read Matthew 23:27-28. What did Jesus say about the eleventh sin of teachers?
- Read Matthew 23:29-36. What did Jesus reveal about the twelfth sin of spiritual leaders and teachers?
- What did Jesus say about Jerusalem? What happens when sin ripens? (Matthew 23:37-39)
- What lessons have you learned about the sins of spiritual teachers and how they burden the souls of their followers?
Committing
- Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
- List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
- Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
- Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
- Sin to confess
- Promise to claim
- Attitude to change
- Command to keep
- Error to change
- Prayer to make
- Example to copy
- Truth to obey and
- Something praiseworthy
Communicating
- Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
- Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
- Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.