This is our nineteenth study. Please click HERE for an intro to this study.

Matthew 23:27-28

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Observations

The explanation of Jesus is quite clear. The Pharisees worked to make themselves look good and righteous, but inside their heart they were spiritually dead, and therefore all their attempts to make themselves look righteous were wicked and hypocritical. They were phonies, people in masks. People who could not be trusted, unreliable.  

Application

We ought always to watch out for these types of people. We should do what we can to test them. And if we are thinking about going to a church, always ask questions about the pastor and teachers. As for professors of a college, it may be harder to get around those who you think are as Pharisees, but in most cases you can do what they say, but you don’t have to do what they do.