Here Christ lays out seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees.  A woe was a strong condemnation.  These are in direct contrast to the seven blessings that are descried in the Sermon on the Mount.  Here they form what is called a “chiastic pattern.”  Basically, this was a popular literary form in Greek and Hebrew writings.  It literally means “to shape like the letter ‘X’.”  This mean that two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversed structure to make a point.  You can see the example below:

A:  First woe (v.31):  failing to recognize Jesus as the Messiah

B:  Second woe (v.15):  superficially zealous, yet doing more harm than good.

C:  Third woe (vv.16-22):  misguided use of the Scripture.

D:  Fourth woe (vv. 23-24):  fundamental failure to discern the thrust of Scripture.

C:  Fifth woe (vv.25-26):  misguided use of the Scripture

B:  Sixth woe (vv.27-28):  superficially zealous, yet doing more harm than good.

A:  Seventh woe (vv.29-32):  heirs of those who failed to recognize the prophets.

The month just before Passover, it was customary to whitewash with lime, grave or grave-sites that might no easily be seen.  This was so that pilgrims would not unintentionally come in contact with them and become ritually unclean.  They were not objects of beauty but of disgust.  Christ probably referred to them as “beautiful” because of their elaborate structure.  The Pharisees are preoccupied with avoiding ritual defilement.  They had the appearance of being virtuous but they were actually contaminating the people with their hypocrisy and undue burdens.  Once again they were more committed to the works of the law rather than the heart of the law.

The scribes and Pharisees were primarily responsible for teaching.  The Scribes were the professional interpretive experts on the Torah while the Pharisees were the theologians on issues from the Torah.  The “Moses seat” was a stone seat at the from of the synagogues where authoritative teachers sat.  To sit on the seat of a person of authority would indicate succession and transfer of authority.  this is why it was forbidden for anyone to sin on the throne of a king other than the king himself.  This meant that the “teachers of the law” were Moses’ legal successors.  Jesus points out that while they had authority in what they taught, they did not practice their teachings. 

The teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes were especially burdensome.  It was impossible to live up to the dictates of their teachings and they provided no relief for those who feel short.  Christ said that His yoke was easy and His burden light.  He also promises to give rest.  Christ is the only one qualified to sit in Moses’ seat succeeding him as the authoritative teacher of God’s will and mind.  With that authority, He gives us a burden that we can successfully carry and teachings we can live up to.

Earlier on, Jesus had given the disciples power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead.  However, they were surprised by their failure to heal the epileptic boy.  When they asked Jesus in private why they were not able to perform the miracle, He rebuked them for their lack of faith.  The disciples were treating the authority given to them like a gift of magic to be used at their whim.  They only way they could accomplish the miracles that Jesus described was through sincere faith and devoted prayer.  It is only through this that nothing will be impossible for His disciples. 

the disciples had seen Jesus provide for 5,00 and 4,000 with just a few loaves and fish.  Yet when they were faced with the same situation of not having any bread, they could only rely on their own means.  Christ calls them “of little faith.”  He had just rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for their demand of signs and their unbelief in spite of the miracles already performed.  The disciples were close to repeating the same offense of unbelief.  Christ’s miracles do not compel faith but rather those who have faith will realize their significance.  They are expressions of God’s salvation and glory.  Faith is essential to God’s miraculous workings.

Christ again addresses the issue of works over intent of the heart.  It was not the external rituals that made a person righteous.  He uses an “earthy” illustration on how ingested food is excreted and has no bearing on our righteousness.  Peter would learn this lesson again a few years later when he is told to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 10).  What we take into our hearts is eventually spoken and reveals our true condition.  Relying upon externals will get you nowhere as they all have the “appearance” of righteousness.  It is our heart, the seat of our emotions and motivation, where our true character and righteousness is revealed.

Christ has just miraculously provided for 5,000 people.  The disciples were given the command to feed the crowd but they had neither the understanding or the faith.  Jesus demonstrated His power and showed that He is able to provide to the point that even the leftovers are ample to sustain us. 

He immediately tells the disciples to get in the boat and cross the sea.  While He retreats to the mountain for prayer and solitude, the disciples find themselves in the midst of a storm.  Christ was fully aware of the approaching storm and knew what they would encounter.  Sometimes  storms come into our lives to correct us or to refine us.  This was the disciples opportunity to grow.  The “fourth watch” was a Roman military term which referred to the hours between 3:00 and 6:00AM.  This meant that the disciples had been battling the storm for over 9 hours and they were probably to the point of exhaustion and despair.  It was at that time that Christ came to them.  He waited until the ship was far away and there was nothing that they could depend upon other than Him. 

Because of the miracle of Christ’s resurrection, our situation is different.  For those of us who are in relationship with Him, Christ dwells within us and is with us always.  May we always remember that Christ is always with us in the midst of the storm and that our dependence is upon Him.  We must not be distracted by the circumstances around us but keep our gaze fixed on Jesus.  We no longer have to wait for Him to come, He is already there.

While Capernaum had become His home during His Galilean ministry, Nazareth was the place where Jesus grew up.  The questioning of Jesus’ lineage was motivated from a desire to know where He got His authority to have such power.  Christ had no special breeding or education to claim.  While they could not deny His works, they couldn’t accept His for who He was.  How often have we done this with others in our lives.  It’s been said that familiarity breeds contempt.  When we categorize people based upon our history with them, we rob ourselves of the ability to be able to receive what the Lord is doing in and through them.  We must always be willing to see others currently and not hold them to a perspective of the past.  When we do this, we dam a channel that God is using to demonstrate His power and blessing.  Let us always contend to see people as they are today and not the biased lens of their past.

In this parable, Christ describes the field of a man who diligently sows good seed in his filed.  While sleeping, his enemy sows weeds among the wheat that had been planted.  The fact that the man was asleep does not mean that he was neglectful, but rather it speaks to the cunning maliciousness of his enemy.  the weeds that were sown were probably darnel (also referred to as tares or cockle) which is a weedy rye grass with poisonous black seeds.  Darnel very closely resembles wheat and is only distinguishable at maturity.  In fact, it is often referred to as “false wheat.”  When the ears of real wheat appear, they are so heavy they make the plant drop down.  Darnel’s ears are light and continue to stand upright.  The seeds of Darnel are poisonous to man and herbivorous animals.  They produce sleepiness, nausea, convulsions, and sometimes death.  They can’t be pulled out because their roots are intertwined with the wheat which signifies that we are to co-exist with with unbelievers until the day of judgment.  In the end they will be separated from the wheat and destroyed.

Many will appear to be righteous but their fruit will reveal otherwise.  In fact, they will bear seeds of compromise that will render others sedated, ill, or even produce lethal consequences.  We must walk in the discernment to distinguish between the two and continue to resist the influence of deceptive compromise in our midst.

Christ used parables to communicate truth in a narrative form in order to teach a moral or spiritual lesson.  His parables produced different results in different people.  One of the functions of a parable was to present the truth in a veiled way.  When the disciples asked Him why He taught with such parables, He replied that the secrets of the Kingdom are to be given only to those who are truly disciples.  This reflects His teaching on not casting pearls before swine (7:6).  His purpose was to harden and reject those who were hard of heart; meaning that they have already resolved to reject Him and His teachings.  He simply hands them over to their resolve.  Those who are His disciples are able to receive the revelation of His teachings.  Being obedient to Christ does not make us disciples, but rather it identifies us as His disciples.  They point of the parables is to reveal the state of the heart.  If it is fully devoted to Him, then it will serve as good soil and we will know the “secrets” of His Kingdom and bear fruit.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath by his plucking heads of grain for food.  This violation was just one of thirty-nine kinds of work forbidden on the Sabbath.  It was Jewish custom to leave the edges of a field unharvested, so that the poor and hungry, orphans, foreigners, and widows could gather food for themselves.  This was way Jewish society provided for the needy.  Once again, the Pharisees miss the point.  Christ tells them that He desires mercy and not sacrifice.  Their sacrifice was the observance of religious rituals rather than the demonstration of hesed or mercy which means “steadfast love.”  This would have led the Pharisees to care for those in need and Jesus did.  It was the “steadfast love” of the Pharisees that was needed in this situation.  Programs and protocol must never come before people.