June 29, 2021 - The second woe that Jesus declares in Matthew 23 is found in verse 15. The text reads, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”

We should not try to interpret verses found in Scripture by themselves but read the verses surrounding it. Context is crucial. In verse 13, we read the first woe against the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says that they shut the kingdom of heaven on people’s faces without they themselves not being able to enter. This ties into the second woe.

Christ says that in their proselytizing, in their evangelism, those who they converted were now “twice as much a child of hell” that the scribes and Pharisees were.  Understand that Christ is saying that these religious leaders are already wrong in their theology. Their belief in their own righteousness and holding to the Law of God was contrary to the Gospel of Christ. They were taking their erroneous practices and belief to other people who were following them. According to Christ, these leaders are leading their people astray with their teaching!

Recall the game of Telephone. The game would start with a phrase, and by the time it reached the end of the group, the phrase would be very different from what it originally was. This is an excellent illustration for today’s text. Those who started to follow the legalists would be just as fierce, if not more, than their teachers against the Gospel of Christ. The good news that Jesus has paid it all and that by his wounds, we are forgiven.

Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at wynter@mariposachurch.org. Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.

Pastor’s Corner is a column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.

The Church has moved locations, services are now held at the Bootjack Stompers Hall (located at 4662 Morman Bar Crossing) across from the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.

Time of service is at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday.

I am happy to announce that MRBC has its own sermon podcast. Please check it out by clicking on the link below or searching MRBC Sermons on iTunes. New sermons will be posted every Wednesday. 

https://mariposachurch.transistor.fm/episodes

Note: Area churches interested in submitting Articles of Faith are welcome to contact us. 

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