Woe to You
A Cry of Judgment, A Call to Mercy

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” — Matthew 23:13

THE MASK THAT GOD SEES

What if I told you that the most terrifying words Jesus ever spoke were not to prostitutes, tax collectors, or even to Judas… but to religious leaders?

What if the sharpest edge of His voice wasn’t drawn against the sins of the street, but against the pride in the pulpit?

You see, in Matthew 23, the Lamb of God becomes the Lion of Judah.

And the Lion roars.

The gentle Shepherd who healed lepers and forgave adulterers now stands with fire in His eyes and grief in His soul. He is not calm. He is not reserved. He is righteously angry. And He speaks with divine wrath wrapped in divine sorrow.

Why? Because He’s confronting a religious system that looks godly but is filled with rot.
This is not just a lesson about ancient Pharisees—this is a mirror.

And it’s time we look deeply into it.

THE SEVEN WOES — THE RIPPING OFF OF RELIGIOUS MASKS

Jesus begins a spiritual autopsy of the scribes and Pharisees. Seven times He says, “Woe to you.” Seven times He pronounces judgment—not on pagans, but on the religious elite.

Let’s walk with Him.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces…” (v.13)

Woe One: You block the entrance.
These men knew the Scriptures, but they used truth as a gate—not a door. They withheld the kingdom from the broken, the humble, the childlike. They twisted the Word into rules. And Christ exposes their tactic: religion without redemption.

“Woe to you… for you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” (v.15)

Woe Two: You convert people to yourselves, not to God.
You work hard to win followers—not disciples. You build platforms—not altars. You raise up fans—not faithful. And Christ exposes this too.

“Woe to you, blind guides…” (v.16)

Woe Three: You blind the people with legal loopholes.
They knew how to split hairs on oaths and offerings, majoring in minors, and minoring in the majesty of God. Jesus calls them blind fools.

“Woe to you… for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” (v.23)

Woe Four: You trade justice for ritual.
They loved law, but not love. They’d rather count seeds than care for souls. Jesus says: “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

“You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (v.24)

What a picture! So meticulous, so legalistic, yet blind to the filth inside. It’s like washing a wine glass on the outside while the inside is filled with poison.

“Woe to you… for you clean the outside of the cup… but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (v.25)

Woe Five: You polish your image, but not your soul.
Image over intimacy. Ritual over relationship. This is the cry of false religion.

“Woe to you… for you are like whitewashed tombs…” (v.27)

Woe Six: You look holy but carry death.
You sing, you preach, you serve—but inside, there is no life. Just bones. Just coldness.

“Woe to you… for you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous…” (v.29)

Woe Seven: You honor the dead prophets but kill the living ones.
How ironic. They claim they would never have stoned the prophets—yet they are plotting to crucify the Son of God.

Jesus says, “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers!” (v.32).
And He gives them a name: “You serpents, you brood of vipers!” (v.33).
A name John the Baptist had already given. A name with venom and fire.
He asks: “How are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”

And that’s the question for us.

GOD’S TEARS IN THE TEMPLE COURTS

But hear this:

After all the fire,
after the thunder,
after the “woes”—

Jesus weeps.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children… but you were not willing!” (v.37)

There it is.
The heart behind the judgment.
The broken cry of a rejected King.

These are not the cold words of a tyrant. These are the tears of a Savior who stretched out His hands and was scorned. He speaks of gathering—like a hen gathers her chicks. He wanted to protect. He wanted to shelter.

But “you were not willing.”

Let that settle in your soul.

Jesus is not weeping because of what He did—He’s weeping because of what they refused.

The judgment is just.
The heartbreak is holy.
The mercy was offered.
The door was open.

But they closed it with religion.

HISTORY SPEAKS — RELIGION WITHOUT CHRIST KILLS

Let us travel back.

The Temple Was Left Desolate

In AD 70, the Romans marched on Jerusalem. The Temple was destroyed, brick by brick, as Jesus had foretold. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recorded the horrors—the blood ran down the steps of the altar.

God had vacated the building.
Ichabod. The glory departed.

The Fires of the Inquisition

Fast forward to the medieval era. The Church had become drunk on power. The Inquisition was born—not to protect the faith, but to control it. Priests judged men for owning Bibles in their own language. Many were burned alive.

The system had become what Jesus warned: outwardly religious, inwardly corrupt.

The Reformation

But God wasn’t done.

In the 1500s, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door. He had seen the same rot. The selling of indulgences, the empty rituals, the spiritual abuse. He called the people back to Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.

But it came at a cost. He was excommunicated. He was hunted. Others were killed.

Why? Because religion without repentance always attacks revival.

THIS IS ABOUT US

Dear Reader—don’t read Matthew 23 with detached curiosity.
Read it with trembling clarity.

Jesus wasn’t just warning them.
He’s warning us.

What if we are the Pharisees today?

What if we preach about Jesus, but don’t know Him?

What if we post Scriptures on social media, but won’t forgive our brother?

What if we serve in church, but hide secret sins?

What if we speak of holiness, but avoid the cross?

Christ is not impressed by titles.
Not fooled by followers.
Not moved by liturgy.
He looks at the heart.

And He’s still asking: “Will you let Me gather you?”

THE MERCY INSIDE THE "WOE"

Now let me speak hope into the heaviness.

Every “woe” was a warning.
And every warning was an invitation.

Jesus exposed the Pharisees not to mock them—but to call them.

He wanted Nicodemus.
He wanted Joseph of Arimathea.
He even wanted Judas.

He wants you.

The same Christ who said, “Woe to you”, also said:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

He cried “Woe” so you would cry “Mercy.”
He exposed sin so He could cover it with His blood.

But you must come broken.

Not polished. Not impressive. Not religious.

Just repentant.

THE FINAL CRY & THE COMING KING

Jesus ends this chapter with a prophecy:

“You will not see Me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (v.39)

There’s a coming day when the veil will be torn completely.
When Christ will return—not as suffering Servant, but as reigning King.

And every eye will see Him.

And the question will be:
Did you play church, or did you know the Christ?

RIP OFF THE MASK

Rip off the mask.

Stop pretending.
Fall on your face.
Let the fire of conviction become a flame of devotion.

The Lion roars because the time is short.

Do not harden your heart as Jerusalem did.

Let Jesus gather you.

Let the temple of your life be filled with His glory.

CLOSING PRAYER

Father,

You are holy. You are just. And You are merciful.

We confess, Lord, that too often we wear the robes of religion but lack the garments of righteousness. We confess that we love image more than intimacy, ritual more than relationship.

Tear down our idols.
Strip away our pride.
Expose every hidden place in us that resists You.

O Christ, cleanse the inside of the cup.
Make our lives not whitewashed tombs, but living temples.
Gather us, Lord. We are willing.

We repent of false religion.
We surrender to the truth.
We bow before the Lion and cling to the Lamb.

And we await the day when we will see You coming in glory.

Until then, keep us faithful.

In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen.

FINAL CHALLENGE

Woe or Welcome—You Choose.

You cannot remain neutral. Either you will be exposed, or you will be embraced.
Either Christ will say, “Woe to you”,
or He will say, “Well done.”

Tear down the altars of hypocrisy.
Rebuild the altar of your heart.

And let Jesus reign there—completely, eternally, visibly.

The King is coming.
Make room.
Make ready.