As believers, we simply will not grow in Christ apart from the systematic, in-depth teaching, preaching and application of the Word of God. And therefore, we will forfeit many of the blessings that could be hours. With that in mind, we return once again to the study of His Word by looking at Mark's gospel chapter 12. For those of you that, perhaps have not been with us, we go through various books of the Bible verse by verse so that we don't miss anything. And we have been in Mark 12 now, the Gospel of Mark and now we come to Mark 12, having taken a little bit of a detour into Isaiah five to better understand what Jesus is saying in this text. This is the third and final part of a little series that I've entitled "Judgment Upon the Failed Vineyard."

Let me remind you of the context here; it is now Wednesday before his crucifixion, the Lord Jesus Christ has cleansed the temple; purged it of money changers and other nefarious characters. This has infuriated the Jewish leaders. He has also been preaching the gospel, refuting the works righteousness system of apostate Judaism of that day. And as a result, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, were attacking him. In chapter 11, verse 28, they say, "By what authority? Are you doing these things or who gave you this authority to do these things?" And of course, his response, humiliated them in front of all of the people, and as a result, they stood self-condemned before the judge of heaven and earth. And because of their deliberate, conscious rejection of the truth, Jesus judicially sealed them in their unbelief, extinguishing forever in the light of divine revelation, that they might endure the eternal darkness that they loved.

So this brings us now to chapter 12. Jesus is speaking to a crowd that has surrounded him. It would have been literally hundreds of people, including the religious leaders, that are trying to trap him. They want to arrest him; they want him dead. And with that, we read in verse one of Mark 12, that Jesus, "began to speak to them in parables. 'A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. At the harvest time, he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another and that one they killed; and so, with many others, beating some and killing others. He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those vine-growers said one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' They took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read the Scripture? THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER STONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES.' And they were seeking to seize Him. And yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left him and went away."

As we look at the parable, we can see very clearly what Jesus is referring to here. The slaves that were sent and mistreated and killed depict the prophets of God from Moses all the way to the last Old Testament prophet John the Baptist. The "son" that was killed refers to Jesus, the Son of God. And the "vineyard," as we've studied over the last couple of weeks out of Isaiah five, refers to the house of Israel and the men of Judah, his delightful plant--Isaiah five seven. And the journey really symbolizes that period between God's original dealing with the descendants of Abraham, the transformation of the people into a nation, the covenantal expectations of them through the Mosaic Law, the rebellion and the divine dispersion that he caused to occur all the way through the arrival of the Messiah, the incarnate Son of God, the Lord Jesus, that stood before them. And the harvest that he expected was the spiritual fruit of godliness. Because he had called the people of Israel to be the ones that proclaim the true God. And all of this was illustrated by his miraculous works, even in their midst. They are the ones that were to reveal the Messiah, the anointed one, who would be the savior of the world. They were to be God's "priest nation." As God told Moses on Sinai, in Exodus 19, six, "'You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, and holy nation.'" A priest is a mediator between God and man and all of Israel was to serve as that mediator for God to the rest of the world. But as you know, they failed miserably. They rejected Christ. And this parable is therefore a graphic picture of the outrageous wickedness of not just Israel, but the religious leaders, the vine-growers, given the responsibility to care for God's vineyard, Israel.

And in verse one, as we come here, Jesus quotes the Parable of the Vineyard from Isaiah five that we've studied in great detail the last couple of weeks, and there you find a summary of God's lament over the rebellion of his people and the specific categories of sin that brought about his judgment upon them, and the same kinds of things Jesus accused them of. And this parable really parallels what we see in Isaiah five, Let me remind you of the six woes of Isaiah five--the categories of sin that kindled his wrath against them. There was first of all, the sin of covetousness, the avarice, greedy materialism. Secondly, the sin of dissipation; self-indulgence that really resulted in a refusal to contemplate the works of God and creation and history and redemption. The sin of mockery; they dared God to judge them. They shook their fist in his face. The sin of perversity where they called good, evil and evil good. This included by the way, the sin of homosexuality, that's an abomination to God. We read about this, for example, in Isaiah three and verse eight, and following, "For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, to rebel against His glorious presence. Their expression of their faces, bears witness against them, and they display their sin like Sodom, they do not even conceal it, Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves." And then there was also the sin of self-deification; the height of arrogance, the text says, "they were wise in their own eyes." They knew more than God, so they did their own thing. And finally, the sin of corruption; dishonest drunken leaders that could be bribed to advance the agenda of the wicked. And together, variations of this list of wickedness continued to characterize Israel even through the days of the Lord Jesus.

Now let's look more closely at the parable. Again, verse one, "He began to speak to them in parables: 'A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER.'" And you will recall that this demonstrates that there was thorough preparation and protection of this precious vineyard of Israel. He lavished his love upon them and blessed them with supernatural endowments and resources. Nothing was left to chance. Nothing more was to be desired in that land in which he placed them. And he expected his people to produce good grapes; grapes of righteousness, if you will. But the harvest was that of "beusim"-- the inedible sour berries that had to be discarded. And what a graphic picture of the vile nature of Judah's corruption. And now here it is, even in this first century, Jesus dealing with it again. He goes on to say in verse one that he rented out this vine grove to "the vine-growers and went on a journey."

Now this was a common practice in that day, even as it is today, there are tenant farmers that work the fields of other people and then they would share in the harvest. Verse two, "'At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.'" But then notice what happens, "'They took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.'" I mean, this is shockingly outrageous. The people that are hearing this would be flabbergasted. They would be overwhelmed. I mean, this is not only a violation of the contractual arrangement, but this is this is despicably cruel. But the violence gets even worse. Verse four, "'Again, he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another. and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others.'" I mean, this is an amazing display of patience, and sacrifice on part on the part of the one that owned the vineyard. He kept sending slave after slave to collect what was rightfully his. In the parallel account in Matthew 21, verse 35, we read, "'The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one and killed another and stoned a third.'" Now as you can see, the allegory here is building to a climax of sheer rage over such atrocities. Jesus is leading them exactly where he wants them to go. They are being set up. No rational person could excuse the violent reaction of the vine growers. I mean, no one could excuse that. But now the story reaches just the pinnacle of drama. Rather than being justified and sending armed forces to annihilate the wicked tenants, the owner takes an incredible risk by sending his beloved son, notice verse six, "'He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.''" Excuse me, this unexpected response would be considered equally outrageous to Jesus audience. No doubt they were saying, "my what a stupid thing to do. I mean, look what has happened, you're not going to send your son--you know what they're going to do to him." But the owner sends his son and they treated him as everyone would expect verse seven. "'But those vine growers said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!'" Now I might add that this was consistent with the laws of that day, they would have understood that land that is unclaimed for three years, reverts to the people that have been working it and they become the owners. So verse eight, "'They took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.'" In other words, they didn't even give him a decent burial. Unbelievable. Now, the scribes and the Pharisees would have been horrified with such ungrateful criminal behavior. And this is exactly the reaction that Jesus wanted them to have. However, as we will see, they did not realize at first that this whole story was an indictment against Israel in general, and them specifically.

So, to the astonishment of the listeners, the owner of the vineyard sends his beloved son hoping that they would respect him, that they would listen to him. As I reflected upon this, my mind went to the Mount of Transfiguration where, with Jesus, Peter, James and John together, saw Moses and Elijah. And then you will recall in Mark nine, seven, a cloud formed overshadowing them. And a voice came out of the cloud. "This is my beloved Son," what? "Listen to Him!" LISTEN to Him. But "He came to His own," John 1:11, "but those who were His own did not receive him." And sadly, some of you will hear the glorious truths of the gospel and see the infinite perfections of the person and work of Christ, and yet you will not receive him.

I'm also reminded of the time when Jesus would be arrested and made to stand before the corrupt high priest. And this would have happened just a couple of days later. He would hear all of the insults against him. And according to Mark 14, beginning in verse 61, it says that "Jesus kept silent and did not answer. Again, the high priest was questioning Him and saying to Him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' And Jesus said, 'I am; and you shall see the SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWERE AND COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.'"

So again, in the story, they did not listen to the son; had no respect for him. Verse eight, "'They took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.'" And then Jesus brings it to a climax and says, in verse nine, "'What will the owner of the vineyard do?'" Matthew adds this in his account in Matthew 21, beginning in verse 40. "'Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?'" Now, what he is going to record is what the religious leaders said. "They said to Him, 'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.'" And I imagine after they said that they're, you know, prancing around high five, and you know, we will nail that guy, or those guys, right? And then "Jesus said to them," in Matthew's account, "'Did you never read the Scriptures.'" I Imagine you could have heard a pin drop at that point. "'Did you never read the Scriptures? THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME TE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?" Mark puts it this way, in verse nine, "What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others." And Luke gives us even more clarification of what went on there. In Luke 20, beginning of verse 16, Jesus says "'He will come and destroy these vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.'" And then it says this; see now they're catching on. "When they heard it, they said, 'May it never be!'" The strongest way of putting a negative in the language. Suddenly they realized they were the ungrateful, ungodly vine-growers deserving of death that they had just pronounced upon themselves. Imagine the look on their faces. And then Jesus looked at them. Folks, you got to put yourself there. Can you imagine the Son of God looking at you? Jesus looked at them, eyeball to eyeball. What then, is this that is written:" He said, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but whomever it falls, it will scatter like dust.'" Mark expresses the same thing in verse 10. "'Have you not even read the Scripture: THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES.’” There by the way, Jesus is quoting a messianic psalm, Psalm 118, verses 22 and 23, pointing them to the reality of his Messiahship. Like the cornerstone of a building, whose perfect symmetry and strength was crucial for the construction and the stability of a building so too the Lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the kingdom of God.

You will remember later on at Pentecost, Peter would proclaim to the same murderers what is recorded in Acts four beginning in verse 10, "let it be known to all of you, and to all of the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead...'He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but which BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven, that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.'"

So indeed, the Jews inspected the cornerstone, but he didn't measure up to their selfish needs. They wanted a deliverer from Rome, not a deliverer from sin, like so many people today. They wanted to blesser, not a savior. They wanted someone to make them happy, not holy. They wanted a life of success and prosperity and fulfillment. Because after all, God exists for me, right? Rather than I exist for him, they rejected the cornerstone. It's interesting, in his first epistle, Peter said, this in First Peter two beginning in verse six, "'BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.' This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone and A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE'; for they stumble because they are," catch this now, "They are disobedient to the word And to this doom, they were also appointed." Meaning they were fixed conclusively, and authoritative ly as a consequence of their own unbelief. Paul describes those who are united to Christ as those who can rejoice. He said this in Ephesians, two verse 19, "You are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizens, with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone."

So, Jesus trapped the scribes and the Pharisees, causing them to literally pronounce judgment upon themselves. And once they realized that they had condemned themselves, notice their reaction. It was not one of repentance, verse 12, "And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so, they left Him and went away." And because they rejected the cornerstone, Matthew tells us this, what Jesus said, in Matthew 21 verse 43, "'Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.'" I believe this is a reference to the church of which Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, as well as a future remnant of believing Israel. This is the only vine able to produce the fruit of the kingdom. Jesus said, "'I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing.'" Peter says this in First Peter two nine referring to the church as "A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's own possession." Holy nation refers, it's literally a people that are set apart. They're divinely separated from the world, to have intimate fellowship with God. And eventually we know that the kingdom promises of Israel in the Old Testament will be literally fulfilled when the Jewish people finally embrace their King in saving faith. Romans 11:25 through 29 makes this abundantly clear. And at his second coming, they will finally receive their Messiah, Zechariah 12 and verse 10, and Zechariah 14 and verses eight and nine speak of this, and then he will finally establish his kingdom on earth for 1000 years and so forth.

But Jesus went on to offer further condemnation. Matthew records this in Matthew 21 verse 44. He says this, "'And he who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces; but on whoever it falls, it will scatter him, like dust.'" My friends herein is the eternal tragedy of those who reject Christ and fall upon him, so to speak, in rejection again. As I said, In First Peter two eight where he quotes Isaiah 8:14, he describes Christ as "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." Well, isn't that the truth? All you have to do is present Christ to people and see how offended they are. It goes on to say why. "For they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom, they were appointed." And indeed, the Jews fell upon that stone by crucifying him. But all who refuse to repent and bow the knee to Christ will eventually be as the text says, "scattered like dust." Think of it this wa, those who fall on the stone will be crushed. But those upon whom the stone falls, will be pulverized. This is judgment.

Here we're also reminded of Daniel's prophecy, if I can take you there just for a moment. Remember, the prophecy of the 10 toes of the iron kingdom. It's described in Daniel two--we've studied that before--verses 41 and following, that points to 10 future kings that will eventually come about during the rule of the Antichrist; they will control the territory of a revived Roman Empire during the 70th week of judgment upon Israel, that Daniel describes in Daniel 9:24 through 27. That will be a future seven-year period of pre-kingdom judgments that will end with sin's final judgment, and Christ's reign of righteousness, the return of Christ on the establishment of his millennial rule upon the earth. But in that passage in Daniel two verse 44, we read this. "'In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. In as much as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountains, without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.'" The symbolism of a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, clearly indicates divine origination, and clearly the kingdom of God will not replace will not only, I should say, replace every vestige of all preceding kingdoms, but it will utterly destroy them. That's my king and that's the kingdom that I'm longing for. I hope you share in that.

So here in Mark 12 one through 12, Jesus pronounces judgment upon the failed vineyard. And I wish to help you see a little bit more of the wickedness of the leaders of that day and draw some parallels with contemporary evangelicalism. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes one nine "there is nothing new under the sun." There, we can go for a few minutes to Matthew 23. Jesus unleashed a scathing denunciation on these false shepherds. I want to give you first of all, just five, briefly, five characteristics of false religious leaders. They had them then, we've got them now.

First of all, we see in Matthew 23, number one that they are self-appointed, not God ordained. Verse two, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses.'" You see, the Jews understood that the chair of Moses was a reference to divine authority. Moses was God's spokesman. He was the law giver. He was divinely appointed. He was divinely ordained, he was divinely gifted to be able to say to the people, "Thus saith the Lord." But they have seated themselves in the "chair." "Chair"-- "kathedra"--we get cathedral from that, originally referred to a position of, or even a place of, spiritual or ecclesiastical authority. For example, in universities, you know, they have department "chairs", esteemed professors. And the term also referred to the actual seat that was found in the front of a synagogue where the authoritative teacher would go and sit. And Jesus is basically saying that you scribes, and you Pharisees, you seat yourself in a position of authority. I have not put you there. You are self-appointed. Like so many people we have today in pulpits, they're self-appointed. They're not God ordained. They're not God-appointed, God-gifted. They're self-styled teachers. Peter speaks of this in Second Peter two. He describes them as those who "secretly introduce destructive heresies." He says that "many will follow their sensuality," and "in their greed they will exploit you with false words." They will "indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties." He goes on to say their eyes are "full of adultery," and they "never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed." He went on to add that they speak "out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escaped from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corruption." And all of this begins with naive, and often, very desperate people, give them that authority.

So not only are they self-appointed, rather than God ordained, but secondly, they're hypocrites that do not practice what they preach. Verse three, "'Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.'" Scribes and the Pharisees were notorious for telling everyone how to live, how to honor God, how to obey the law, and they had endless lists of duties--right and wrong, but they were unable to even practice what they preached. And the reason for that is they were unregenerate. The Spirit of God did not dwell within them; nothing to restrain the flesh. I might add, according to Romans seven and verse 22, only a person who has been born again, can quote, "joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man." If you've never been born again, then you're going to hear the Word of God, it's going to be foolishness to you, and you can't understand it and apply it.

Jesus goes on to describe them as not only self-appointed hypocrites, who don't practice what they preach, but thirdly, they lacked genuine compassion. I mean, these guys were overbearing, legalists. Verse four, and "'They tie up heavy loads and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.'" And Judaism, in that day, was absolutely unbearable for the people. They were burdened with countless rules that you couldn't even remember, much less keep. They were saddled with loads that they could not bear. And then the leaders would berate them because of their disobedience. What a way to control people. This is so indicative of false religions today; works righteousness systems. The Jews were taught basically that your good will outweigh your bad, and if it does you will, you know, make it to the kingdom. A lot of people think that way today, don't they? That God basically grades on the curve, and you know, I'm not as bad as some, not as good as others, but I, you know, I think I'll make the cut. The Jewish leaders had no compassion, no sympathy for the people. They were overbearing, abusive legalists. What a contrast to the gentle Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who according to Matthew 9:36, "felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd." That's why He said in Matthew 11 verse 28, "'Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light.'" But inevitably, these false religious leaders would contrive elaborate systems of works righteousness as an effort to maintain control of their followers. In fact, Peter said in Second Peter two and verse three, he warned how that "in their greed they will exploit you with false words." You ask anyone that's been around some of these cults, or some of these legalistic systems, and they will tell you of the onerous rules; never ending rules, bizarre interpretations of Scripture.

Fourthly, they were desperate to be noticed. Verse five, says, "'But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.'" Now, the Pharisees were notorious for ostentatious garb. If you want to get a little sense of that look at Roman Catholicism, because much of the way they dress and the things they do, came out of how the Pharisees looked and conducted themselves. There was a pretense of spirituality without the reality of it. It says that they would broaden their phylacteries. "Phylactery" is a transliteration of a Greek term, "phylakteria," meaning protection or safeguard. And frankly, there was no record of their use until around 400 BC during the intertestamental period. Sometimes it was called the "tefillin," derived from a Hebrew word translated "frontals." And it was worn on the head, and they had one that's worn on the left arm which is closest to your heart. You'll see this in various aspects of Judaism today. You see what they did is, the Jews took literally the four commands in the Pentateuch, that his law was to be on their hands and foreheads to remind them of his holy standard. And however, it should be understood figuratively, and symbolically that God's law should basically govern all that we think and all that we do. But the description was this--it was a little box made of ceremonially clean animal, and it was dyed black, with leather that was sewn into a box with 12 stitches, the 12 stitches refer to, or symbolized the 12 tribes of Israel. And the phylactery worn on the head, consisted of four compartments, each containing one of the four texts in the Pentateuch book, written on a tiny piece of parchment, and the phylactery that was worn on the hand, on the left hand, contain one piece of parchment with all four texts written upon it. And sadly, the term itself came to be used as a synonym for a magical amulet or charm in pagan cultures. And many Jews gradually adopted that, and they would use it to ward off spirits and evil spirits and so forth. Most Jewish men wore them when they prayed. Today with a bar mitzvah, when a young man turns 13, he's given a set of phylacteries to be worn during morning prayer. But what happened is the Pharisees wore this all the time. It became a symbol of pride, and the Pharisees even broadened these things so that it would be even more obvious; symbolizing the advanced status of their spiritual superiority. They even lengthened their tassels. Now Jesus did not wear phylacteries, but he did wear tassels. Remember the woman with the hemorrhage of blood that touched the tassel? In, what was it Mark, or Matthew. Matthew nine I believe it is. And this originated from Numbers 15, beginning of verse 38, where the Lord commanded Moses to tell his people to "'make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, that they shall put on the tassel of each corner, a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot in order that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.'" But sadly, what God intended to draw people unto himself, became a pretentious means of drawing attention to themselves. They were desperate to be noticed by men and anytime you see religious garb, religious clothing and paraphernalia, you know that you're dealing with a false teacher.

Fifthly, They were egomaniacs. I like to put it that way. Verse six, and "'they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called by men Rabbi.'" In other words, they looked for the place where the spotlight would shine on them. You see this with a lot of false teachers today; the most dangerous place on earth is between them and a camera, especially if it's a television camera. False shepherds thrive on being on stage. I've been around them a lot over the years. I used to work with a lot of them, especially in the music industry. Prima donnas, many of them, temperamental; explode into anger if they're inconvenienced, or they're criticized; demanding special privileges, demanding enormous fees from booking agents. Would never come to a small church, only the big churches. They had to have limos in the best hotels and eat in five-star restaurants. They had to have fruit baskets with certain favors, in the baskets in the dressing rooms. I know all about that stuff, folks--that's the stuff of false teachers. This is what the Pharisees were like. Jesus said they love the "'respectful greetings in the marketplaces and being called by men Rabbi'." This was a title that had the connotation of the most knowledgeable one. Right? The supreme one.

Jesus then pronounced a series of woes against them. I'll just read them to you as we wrap this up this morning. He went on to say, "'But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.'" By the way, I want you to know how un seeker-sensitive this is. I want you to notice how in love Jesus spoke the truth directly to them. He went on to say but, "'Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, because you devour widow’s houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore, you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.'" In other words, they had their own trickery in how they could make oaths and be obligated to some, but not to others, depending upon what they placed the oath upon. "'You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold of the temple or the temple that sanctified the gold?"

Verse 23, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they're full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them and shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you testify against yourselves, that you were sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?'" Imagine the look on their faces after enduring that, knowing full well that was absolutely true.

Folks, this is what happens when people deny the Word of God and the will of God. It's a slippery slope, isn't it? And this is what has happened even in our culture. People have a superficial understanding of the word of God. They lack biblical discernment. Little by little the world squeezes them into its mold and conforms people into its image. People begin to compromise. We see apostate churches, for example, embracing the whole LGBTQ perversions. They embrace apostate churches and preachers. I've witnessed over the years, the destruction, the damage of theological liberalism, that has morphed into political liberalism. And as a result, you have people in churches, and now in government, that are immoral, incompetent, and corrupt. I mean just look at our government. Today, it's a DEI government. People deny the inspiration and the inerrancy and the authority of Scripture. They're wise in their own eyes, they call evil good, and good evil. And as a result, you've got churches that just make up stuff. You see this in the charismatic movement. You see it in the Messianic movement, the prosperity gospel, the social gospel, on and on it goes. They despise sound doctrine, so they don't have any discernment. And there's just no end to the insanity.

And I want to close with four areas of sin that I really want us to guard ourselves against. Because it's easy for us to see these things and not apply it to our own lives. And I want to say this with great love and kindness to each of you. But these are the types of things that can cause us to forfeit God's blessing and place us in the pathway of divine chastening. One of the first sins that I see in evangelicalism is a failure to cultivate intimate fellowship with the Lord. Are you developing a deeper and deeper love for Christ? Are you hungry and thirsting for righteousness? Do you have, real practically, have an appetite for the Word, so that you long for those times when you can sit down alone with the Lord, and immerse yourself into his word, and hear His voice, and allow him to speak to your heart and nourish your soul. And give you discernment. Are you a Psalm one, kind of Christian that meditates upon the Word? If not, you're going to be subject to failure, you're going to forfeit blessing in your life.

Secondly, there's a failure in the church today to come out and be separate from the world. The internet has been blowing up over this whole issue of one prominent preacher that told a grandmother that it was okay to go to their grandson or daughter, I forget, wedding, a homosexual wedding, being married to a transsexual person, and that maybe you could even take a gift and that way you wouldn't be perceived a judgmental and maybe then have an opportunity to witness to them. And I know some of you have asked me what I think about that. Would I recommend that you go to a homosexual wedding? With them knowing that you disagree with that? And the answer is, in the most emphatic way I could possibly put it, absolutely not. Absolutely not. To attend a homosexual wedding, is a supreme act of blasphemy against the Most High God. Do you realize that God in his great love made us to be men and women as image bearers and he ordained marriage to be a picture of his love for his bridal church? And Satan has distorted all of that. And to go to something like that would communicate to them that somehow you're okay with this. I mean, when does accommodating the world and compromising with the world and making sure the world likes you become a strategy for evangelism that's better than preaching the gospel. I think of Psalm 12 and verse eight, where we read, "The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men." I mean, to affirm and to celebrate that which God sees as blasphemous is a horrific thing. I think of Second Corinthians six, where we are told that we are not to be partners with unbelievers in any kind of a religious enterprise. I mean, what does light have to do with darkness, right? What is righteousness and lawlessness, how can that work together? What fellowship does Christ have with "Belial." Later in that passage, it talks about how we're to come out and to be separate from them. You see, what I would recommend if you have a situation like this, that you tell those people forthrightly, with love, that in good conscience, I could never do something that would be so reprehensible to me and to God, because what you're doing is blasphemous. It's making a mockery of who God is, and what he has said in his word. But I tell you what I will do on your wedding day, and even in the night, when you begin to enjoy the pleasures of your wickedness--I will fast, and I will pray all day and into the night, that God will be merciful to you. And that he will make you absolutely miserable in your sin, until you come to a place of brokenness; that you will repent, and that you will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Failure to come out and be separate from the world, folks, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold, but be "transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Thirdly, there's a failure in the church to raise children in the discipline in the instruction of the Lord. Let me ask you parents, how often do you sit down with your child and talk with them about Jesus? How often do you tell them about the glories of his grace, who he is what he's done, what he's doing now, how he's transformed your life? How often do you tell your children the things that I'm telling you now about, for example, the whole LGBTQ thing? These dear people need the gospel, they need our love. They need to hear these truths. And our children therefore need to hear these things. We simply must get serious about protecting our children from the ways of the world and communicating the great truths of the gospel to them. Nancy told me something that blessed my heart the other day. Our little nine-year-old granddaughter, just out of the blue said, "Nana, what's your favorite Bible verse?" You know, Nancy is trying to think, well, which one, you know? And she talked with her second, well, I can't wait, I want to tell you my favorite verse, you know. And I forget where it was, First Peter, something and she knew a verse and spouted it off. And I was, you know, we're just thrilled. I mean, that's what you want for your kids, right?

And then the final thing, folks, that can be a sin, that we tend to overlook, and that is, a failure to evangelize because we don't have a burden for the lost. If you truly love those who are lost, you're going to get to know them, you're going to spend time with them. And you're never ever going to be ashamed of the gospel. You're going to give it to them with clarity, with conviction, and you're going to pray for them. And by God's grace, many of them will come to a place of genuine saving faith. So let's guard our hearts against these things because even as the ancient Jewish people failed, because they did not listen to the Word of God, we too, can do likewise, if we don't guard ourselves. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the eternal truths of your word. I pray that all that you have communicated through it here today will not only be a blessing and an encouragement to our heart but also that you will use it to edify us, to equip us as we do battle against the enemy of our souls. And for those that do not know you as Savior, oh God, how I pray that you will break their heart, that you will give them eyes to see who you really are and what you have provided in Christ Jesus, for it's in his name that I pray. Amen.