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Most often when we think of Jesus, we think of Him as our Loving Savior. He and the Father loved us so much that Jesus came to this earth to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus, Himself, said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”(1) He was not only pronouncing His love for us; He was calling us His friends. 

We also often think of Jesus as the Gentle Servant, who lived humbly and served selflessly. But we water down the Gospel when we fail to recognize Him as the Righteous Judge. Though we see Him most often in the Gospels as the Loving Savior, we see Him upon His return in the Book of Revelation as the Righteous Judge. And just as He, as our Savior, has extended His salvation to each and every one of us – each and every one of us will stand before Him as our Judge. 

One day in the temple, three days before His crucifixion, He stood as Judge over the scribes and Pharisees rendering His verdict and His pronouncement over them.(2) And He used some very strong words. But don’t think for a moment that Jesus had allowed His emotion to get the better of Him. This was not like you or i might do – allowing our anger to seize control of our tongue and spew venom upon those who have hurt us. He was speaking out of an anger that was godly and a judgement that was righteous. Let us be mindful that one day we, too, will stand before Him as our Judge, and there are three things that we never want to hear Him say to us! 

The first is, you never want Jesus to call you a hypocrite. Throughout His pronouncement to the religious leaders, Jesus repeatedly referred to them as hypocrites, who taught and said one thing, but lived another.

• Through their false leadership and false teaching, they prevented others from making their way to heaven. Instead of teaching truth, they misled the people with their lies. And though all of us are responsible for our own decisions, these men carried an even greater weight because of their part in keeping the people blinded to the Truth.

• Though they made great pretense through lengthy and showy prayers that they were servants of God, they failed to demonstrate any compassion for those around them, and actually took advantage of them, including the widows, for their own selfish greed. 

• Though they made great show of teaching others the Law, they were converting others to their man-made beliefs and not leading them to become followers of the Almighty God. They were promulgating a religion and not leading anyone to a personal relationship with God.

• The Pharisees had contrived a system  whereby people would make oaths in the temple by swearing on gold or objects of value. Thereby those elements became “dedicated to God” and could not be used for anything else. It enabled the Pharisees to build rich treasure chests for personal gain but still appear to be pious in their practice.

• The Pharisees majored on the minors. They had rules for every minute area of life. But they would totally ignore the most important things – loving God and loving their neighbor. As an example, Jesus rebuked them for tithing, but He was not denouncing the practice of tithing. He was correcting them that they were not to tithe out of obligation to a set of rules. They were to tithe as an expression of love, thanksgiving and worship to a loving Heavenly Father Who entrusts us with everything we possess.

• The Pharisees were more concerned about their outward appearance than the spiritual condition of their hearts. They sought the praise of men and were therefore most concerned about what could be seen on the outside. But God, who could see on the inside, saw their greedy and self-indulgent hearts.

• Jesus called the religious leaders “whitewashed tombs.” He was rebuking them for placing their attention on their outside appearance while totally ignoring the death and decay that was inside their hearts.

• Finally, throughout much of their history, the religious leaders had rejected the prophets of God, and in many instances, they had been complicit in their murder or persecution. Then, they turned around and built monuments to the very prophets they had murdered. And though these particular Pharisees had not had a personal hand in their murder, their hearts reflected the same attitudes – and Jesus knew what they were about to do … to Him … and, in the days to come, to His disciples.

The second thing you never want to hear Jesus say to you is “woe to you!” “Woe” is a word of judgement. It signifies that impending condemnation, doom, and wrath await you. Whatever reward the Pharisees enjoyed in this life was but momentary. What awaited them was an eternity of damnation separated from God. Their “outward” appearances and feeble attempts to earn God’s forgiveness through their works was all for naught. Jesus knew their hearts and He knew the judgement that awaited them.

i can’t finish this post without including a third statement that you never want to hear Jesus say to you. Though He did not speak these words on this particular day to the scribes and Pharisees, they were included in His Sermon on the Mount. And again, though He did not speak them here, the scribes and Pharisees would have said to you that they were spokespersons for God to the people. So it is fitting to include this statement here as well. You never want to hear Jesus say to you, “I never knew you; depart from Me.”(3)

i think that too many of us play at religion. We put on a religious front just like those religious leaders. We would do well to heed the words of Jesus – the only outcome of playing at religion is “woe”. The Pharisees rejected the Savior and rejected the salvation that can only come through Him. Jesus is the only way. Our salvation is from Him and through Him. Our walk with Him is empowered by Him. He is not fixated on our outer appearance. He sees our hearts. And if our hearts are truly where they need to be – cleansed of our sin, seeking Him, loving Him and following Him – then the outside is going to look just the way it should – like Jesus!

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This post is adapted from Taking Up The Cross, chapter 14, entitled “The Eight Woes”. This fifth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.

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(1)  John 15:13 (NLT)

(2)  Matthew 23:13-36

(3)  Matthew 7:23 (NKJ)

Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.

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