Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today Jesus covers a lot of ground with the Pharisees that may seem familiar.

It's possible that Matthew has collected all Jesus sayings to the Pharisees and put them

all in one convenient filing cabinet labeled chapter 23, but it's also possible

that Jesus is just giving them a big once and for all summary of everything he's been communicating

to them over the past few years. His words to them are full of woe, seven woe's to be exact. They are,

number one, Woe to those who don't enter the kingdom and who by their lies prevent others

from entering to. Number two,

Woe to those who make converts to false religions,

taking them from one lie to another.

Number three,

Woe to the blind guides who value the symbol over the source

and the creation over the Creator.

Number four, woe to those who neglect the weightier things, who tithe religiously while oppressing others.

Number five, woe to those who try to look righteous while they're greedy and selfish.

Number six, woe to those who work hard to seem perfect on the outside when they're full of sin and death.

And number seven, woe to those who repeat the sins of their fathers,

killing the prophets. There are a few things worth pointing out in these woes.

First, I think it's interesting that in verse three Jesus tells the crowds to follow the

commands of the scribes and the Pharisees but not their actions. He doesn't

wholesale condemn their practices, they're teaching the Hebrew scriptures after all,

so as long as they interpret the books of Moses

...