Matthew 23:13, 15

Matthew 23:13, 15
With verse 13, Jesus begins a series of seven “woes” against the scribes and Pharisees. The word “woe” was used extensively in the Old Testament prophets (61 times). The word was used primarily to pronounce judgment on those who had been privileged with God’s blessings but had not taken advantage of their favored circumstance. In the New Testament, the word literally means “alas.” It is not only a pronunciation of judgment but also an exclamation of grief and sorrow. “Seven” woes may have been significant since God would often use the number seven as a perfect number to describe an event or concept.
The word “hypocrite” is also common in this section. Seven times Jesus refers to the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. “Hypocrite” comes from a Greek word meaning to be a play actor; thus one who pretends to be something he is not. The scribes and Pharisees pretended to be godly in the way they presented themselves publicly, but in actuality they were serving their own interests.
The first accusation Jesus makes is that these leaders not only did not enter the kingdom themselves but they also shut the door to the kingdom to others. Their elaborate system of adding hundreds of rules to the law of God convinced people that to truly be a citizen of the kingdom would be an impossible task.
But it wasn’t that these Jews were not interested in bringing people to what they understood as salvation. They crossed sea and land to make a proselyte, but then made them twice as much a child of hell as they were. The reason for their extensive search was because it would be rare to find a person who had the same personality as the Pharisees and was willing to follow all their rules while condemning others. When they did find such a person, he became more fanatical than they were.
The doctrine of the Pharisees still affects religion today. We see a commandment and then decide that the command needs clarification that God did not give. If we are not careful, we will eventually add laws to God’s law. When God commanded the Jews to not carry a burden on the Sabbath, the Pharisees decided that they would define “burden.” The result was that even a needle left in woman’s garment would become a burden if she took more than two steps. We make the same mistake when we do not leave God’s law where He left it. Anyone can determine a “burden” by using common sense. If that had not been possible, God would have given further instructions. The same is true with a multitude of commands given in the New Testament.
Berry Kercheville