Matthew 23:1-28

“26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”

**The Pharisees were well known for keeping the outside clean but leaving the inside dirty.

Jesus said this: (Matt 23:25)

“25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

Speaking of changes, Matthew, the tax collector, records some of the most blistering language in all the Bible…..and gives us three (3) ways to tell what’s on the INSIDE.

1. What we SAY! (Matt 23:1-3)

“1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.”

{Remember the old saying…….. “I can’t hear what your saying because I see what your doing”}

Question: How is our lifestyle? Can people see Jesus in us?

2. What we SEE! (Matt 23:4-6)

A blind man was holding onto the leash of a seeing eye dog and walked into a clothing store…immediately, he grabbed his dog by the tail and started swinging him around and around. Frantically, the store owner quickly ran to where the blind man was and shouted loudly, “Hey man! What are you doing?” The blind man replied calmly, “Oh…..Just LOOKING around!!”

{The Pharisees, although knowledgeable of the Old Testament laws – 600 or more, were blind to the truth and wanted others to see them as they put on a show!}

“4For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues.”

{What most people see is the outside; but God looks at the heart!}

“7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7)

3. What we DO! (Matt 23:13- 23)

“13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!……. 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”

{Professing to be righteous, although full of self-righteousness, these religious folks really thought they were following the God of the Scriptures….boy were they wrong!}

Conclusion: According to Jesus, He can tell what we are made of based on, “What we SAY”; “What we DO”; and “What He SEES”!

Today, numerous people want to be “spiritual” and can clean up the outside but the inside is what really matters. Jesus uncovers the truth and calls us to turn from our sin and self-righteousness, and to turn and trust in His righteousness! (Rom 10:3-17)

Jesus both sees and knows our hearts.

“28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity,” (Matt 23:28).

Hypocrisy means “Play acting,” “pretending.” We’ve all been guilty of hypocrisy at times! Even after being converted, a person can revert back to trying to please God by keeping the law. This results in utter failure. It’s called LEGALISM (Gal 2:16-3:3). Because none of us are righteous, we sometimes set out to try to establish our own righteousness, instead of fully relying on the righteousness of God. Our righteousness comes in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 3:10). Are you depending on His righteousness? (Titus 3:5, 6)