“THE OUTSIDE OF THE CUP”
The 23rd chapter of Matthew is an indictment against some in the Pharisee religion. It was the largest denomination among the Jews. They at least made some appeal to the law of Moses which the Sadducees and others disregarded (Matthew 23:1,2). They were very evangelistic for their cause (Matthew 23:15). They were devout by the keeping of tithes (verse 23). What Jesus condemned in them, however, was that said things about the law of Moses but failed to practice them with their daily conduct. The word used by our Lord throughout the chapter is hypocrite.
Some have used the illustration of the Pharisees to point a finger at faithful brethren who are striving to live right. Anyone then who makes the appeal to go to the Scriptures for authority is cast into the light of being a “Pharisee”. The hope is by those who are “hiding in the dark” is to confuse individuals so that no one knows what they are really up to in their actions. They throw out the word “Pharisee” and couple it with those who want a “thus saith the Lord”. If you object to their praise teams, women leading in public worship or the use of instrumental music in worship, then you are one of those Pharisees and we all know how bad they were, right?
Why not see the Lord’s Words and get the meaning that is there. The Pharisee lacked honesty. He had the law of Moses, which Jesus said to His audience, that they should keep that law. Their problem was one of a lack of honesty. In the matter of tithing, they could even tithe the things in the their homes. However, when it came to the weightier matters of the law such as judgment, mercy and faith, they chose to leave these undone. Do you see the connection? What was the basis of judgment, mercy and faith? Jesus called judgment, mercy and faith, the weightier matters of the LAW.
So if the Pharisees were guilty of using the law and, hence, anyone today who appeals to the law must be one of those old mean Pharisees. How then would one arrive at judgment, mercy and faith without the law being present? You cannot have it both ways. The same law that gave them tithing, likewise, gave them the weightier matters of judgment, mercy and faith. Their dishonesty manifested itself in their willingness to keep tithing while at the same time rejecting the application of the law in terms of judgment, mercy and faith.
Why, for example, would they be so upset with Jesus because he ate with “publicans and sinners” (Matthew 9:11). Yet some of those same kinds of men would meet behind closed doors and plot the death of Jesus. On one hand they could easily spot the sinner out in public but never considered their own actions behind closed doors. They were exactly what Jesus accused them of, they were dishonest. There are those who use the Pharisee label and speak about how unloving brethren are who appeal to the Scripture for their authority. Yet these same “loving” brethren fill their sermons with hateful language toward the law keepers. Talk about dishonest.
Do you believe the Bible to be from God? If it is, then what it reveals is the truth. Here is a precious truth that we find in the Scriptures. God is love (I John 4:8). How can you know this about God without the Scriptures? Could you stare at a tree, or a mountain, or the ocean and come away knowing that God is love? One must have the revelation from God to know who God is and what He is about (Isaiah 55:8,9). Yet, the real hypocrites today shout about grace in such a way as to avoid keeping the law. Without the law how would they know that God extends His grace? How would they prove God’s extending grace if there was no law to tell them that God would. They argue about moral problems being equal to doctrinal problems. Since the church at Corinth had moral problems then God’s grace would likewise overlook doctrinal problems associated with the denominational world. Again, where would they go to find this kind of information?
Am I to believe that God’s grace extended to the brethren at Corinth and then God demanded that Ephesus repent or else (Revelation 2:5). Would not clear reasoning help us to see that the problems in Corinth, as in Ephesus would have to be corrected or else. Do you want to know who the real Pharisees are today? It is the ones who cannot be honest between what they preach and how they live. The outside of the cup looks real pretty but the inside is full of “extortion and excess” (verse 25).