Faith without religion.
Woes on the Pharisees: A Deep Dive into Matthew 23
Pharisees, Judgment, Hell
In a recent discussion on Matthew Chapter 23, Shawn and Delaney McCraney delve into the seven woes pronounced by Jesus against the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The conversation highlights the hypocrisy and misguided priorities of these religious leaders, who, according to Jesus, shut the door to the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces and focus on superficial rituals rather than the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Shawn explains that Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their legalistic approach, which emphasizes external compliance with the law while neglecting the internal transformation of the heart. This is illustrated through metaphors like cleaning the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty, and whitewashed tombs that appear beautiful outwardly but are filled with decay inside. The discussion also touches on the Pharisees’ misplaced values, such as prioritizing the gold of the temple over the temple itself, which was meant to be sacred.
A significant part of the conversation revolves around the translation of the word “gehenna” to “hell” in the King James Bible. Shawn clarifies that gehenna referred to a literal place outside Jerusalem used as a dump, which Jesus used as a metaphor for the impending judgment on the religious leaders of that time. This interpretation aligns with the historical context of the Roman siege of Jerusalem, where bodies were indeed cast into gehenna.
The session concludes with a reflection on the broader implications of Jesus’ words, emphasizing the importance of genuine faith and the willingness to embrace the truth. The McCraneys invite listeners to explore more of their teachings on their online platform, cult.love, where they offer a variety of courses, including their podcast “I Don’t Get the Bible.”
Podcast Transcript:
all right
all right part two in Matthew chapter
23.
we are gonna go over the seven woes whoa
on the teachers and the law of the
Pharisees all right let’s do it
okay
um he says woe to you you shut the door
of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s
faces you yourselves do not enter nor
will you let those who are enter who are
trying to
so they’re in opposition of the truth
they uh they are against heaven and they
uh don’t want other people to go to
heaven either they want other people to
follow them instead of know the truth
and pursue Christ
okay
um
woe to you Hypocrites travel to sin
oh
Hypocrites you travel over land and sea
to win a single convert when you have
succeeded you make them twice as much a
child of hell as you are yeah they uh
Jesus pulls no punches here
um when he assigns to them being the
literal children of Satan yeah because
there’s a corollary between the law
death
sin and Satan okay if if you have a law
and it says do not have blonde hair
are you guilty yeah that’s right the law
made you guilty
so if you don’t have the law you’re not
guilty
so if you have a law and it says do not
have blonde hair you’re guilty and
you’re therefore a sinner
because the law accuses you okay Satan
is an accuser
so I know this is kind of a convoluted
way to express it but bottom line they
would go to extreme lengths to make a a
convert
and he says and then you just you don’t
make them better you make them worse you
make them twice the child of hell that
you are why because they embrace the law
and they accuse everybody of sin by
those laws that they’re going by instead
of dying to it and being without law so
there’s a corollary in scripture between
Satan and the law accusers and these
Jews I see
and okay let me just keep going so woe
to you blind guides you say if anyone
swears by the temple it means nothing
but anyone who swears by the goal of the
temple is bound by oath you blindfolds
which is greater the golden or the
temple that makes the gold sacred you
also say if anyone swears by the altar
it means nothing but anyone who swears
by the gift on the altar is bound by
that oath you blind men which is greater
the gift or the altar that made the gift
sacred
it’s just I’m gonna cut through it’s a
very difficult teaching on the gift and
the Altar and the history yeah and it’s
going to make it simple he’s showing
that they care more about the money
that’s what I want
what they want but they and okay rather
than the Holiness of what the temple was
supposed to represent they cared more
about the how they’re going to benefit
it’s a very simple way to go to it but I
can’t one recall all the details but I
just know it’s a really difficult
teaching the gift okay on the altar it’s
in reference to
the Old Testament it’s in reference to
even not if our memory serves it’s in
reference to something that’s not even
in the Old Testament Practice that they
created for themselves okay
so but to draw on the gold and the
Temple part the temple
like swearing by the temple would be
something that is correct at that time
like to swear on the temple is that
something they would do
they may have done that I don’t remember
the history of it but I don’t think
swearing was
they swore Oaths and he’s just saying
you won’t even swear an oath on what is
God you swear oath on what is the gold
in God’s house so that’s the best thing
to take from that okay
give a tenth of your spices but neglect
the important matters of the law Justice
mercy and faithfulness yeah spices yeah
so uh the Jews were so specific about
never breaking any of the law when I say
the Jews the Pharisees
that if someone gave them a teaspoon of
uh cumin
hate
celery rude had to choose that one all
the spices no
laughs
this is a product of Family Guy the
office no all these shows this is what
it does to your brain I mentioned a
simple beautiful spice created to us
created for us by God himself cumin
cinnamon
they would party they would parse out
ten percent of that because they wanted
to keep that law right but he says and
you ignore the most important weightier
the most important parts of the law but
to Mercy right so they were all external
they were all we do this we do to be
approved and it was just a mess and he
said you don’t even understand the heart
of God
but just really quickly you said by the
Jews I mean the Pharisees when you talk
about the Jews you usually mean the
Pharisees
yeah the people I don’t
speak of in a derogatory way because
they were under the leadership of these
Pharisees and Sadducees and the scenes
which aren’t mentioned very often mostly
the Pharisees and Sadducees and they
were the Jews who were killing Christ
they were the ones who were rejecting
them so when I say the Jews I’m talking
about their leadership yeah okay similar
to today
when you talk about the Christians yes
definitely the leadership
same problems yeah
okay so then
it seems like he’s making similar points
Over and Over clean the outside of the
cut but the inside is full a cut cup I
wrote it wrong
outside of the cut
but you don’t clean the inside of the
cut where all the germs live that’s the
Irish Beatitudes continue
audience member today that’s laughing
and ruining our audio
anyway
um the outside of the cup and Dish and
then the inside will also be made clean
that’s a really nice picture it is it’s
good
Tony is in a giddy mood today
you’re in less talkative I’m being very
succinct it is very good
carry on like white wash tombs they look
beautiful on the outside of the inside
they’re full of Bones and unclean yep
constantly talking to them about the
outside they perfect the inside is
filthy and that’s the way religion works
it’s always trying to make the outside
look right and they don’t give a rat’s
rear end about the inside the heart and
that’s how God is he doesn’t care about
the outside he wants to know what’s in
and on the heart
do you think there’s a reason that it’s
it seems like he’s getting at specific
things with each one of these points
though they’re all pointing to the same
thing but they’re all like nuanced and
different yeah
and it’s just to paint the whole picture
I suppose yeah condemn them as harsh as
harshly as he possibly can
Okay so
um you build tombs for Prophets
decorate Graves of the righteous say you
wouldn’t do what they did but then deny
that you come from them
when they say they he’s saying you
decorate the prophet’s tombs and you you
put garlands on the dead and you of the
prophets who your father’s killed and
you’re of The Same Spirit as your
father’s but you say we wouldn’t have
done what happened to them but you’re
the the children of the people who did
it yeah
okay so I mean
okay
how will you escape the condemnation of
hell you who killed the prophets how I
wanted to gather you but you weren’t
willing oh that’s so big
first of all the King James translators
decided to put hell there when that’s
not the word that’s used there the word
that’s used is gehenna
all right and gehenna is is like the
dump
site of Jerusalem
all right and it’s where they took all
their trash and it’s where they took
their dead animal carcasses criminals
they threw them in gehenna
and and uh in doing that that was a
place that burned with fire okay and so
the skull the writers of the Christian
Community say Jesus was using gehenna
the actual literal place that burned
with fire as a picture for hell so the
King James translators just put hell
there
okay they actually translate to hell
because they said that’s what Jesus was
talking about but the reality was was
Jesus was saying how are you scribes and
Pharisees you religious leaders going to
escape the literal destination of Guyana
uh because what happened was when the
Roman army came and surrounded Jerusalem
they kept everybody inside there and
they couldn’t escape and ceremonial
burials were so important to Jews that
uh they would have to do it before
Sundown they would have to be embalmed
washed all this stuff and these Jews
that Jesus is talking to were going to
be carelessly grabbed by Roman soldiers
and just tossed down this Valley of
Venom to roll on down with all the mud
and carcass and filth of that place and
and so when he says how are you going to
escape that place it’s literal it’s
literal and yet everyone tries to
spiritualize it and say no he’s talking
about hell hell no
but but those people then wouldn’t have
known what he was talking about they
would have known but they wouldn’t have
known what the hell do you mean aren’t
we gonna Escape uh the valley of henam
they wouldn’t have known what he meant
he was prophesying when the end comes of
this age and the Roman Armies come in
here they’re going to throw your bodies
into into the valley of Venom so
was a thing but they like it wasn’t
traditional for bodies to be thrown in
there it would be but for criminals
because they were just they were filthy
you know they didn’t but for a religious
Jew they would always have a proper
burial
so when he says how are you going to
escape this treatment they thought well
we’ll never be thrown down into that
place oh our burials are of supreme we
have white and sepulchers that we’re
buried in and and we’re washed and
prepared what do you mean how are we
gonna so they didn’t know that he was
saying that’s coming where you guys are
going to be tossing and Josephus the
Jewish historian writes of the stock
happening the body’s stacked up
down there of Jews so what does them
translating it to hell
do
Christians now it reinforces the idea
that if you don’t receive Jesus you’re
going to go to a place that burns
forever
by them translating a henna to Hell
there Christians use that as Saints see
Jesus said they were going to be thrown
in hell but like sorry
gehenna I understand they like it was
specific they wouldn’t have known about
it and it justifies the 70 A.D thing but
hell was a thing then yeah so I don’t
know how to get to this point but even
if 70 A.D was valid and it said hell
here it doesn’t like cancel it out
because hell was a thing then so Jesus
could be saying how could you how are
you escaping hell at that time he could
have been saying that but then he would
have used a word for hell
oh okay or Hades but he doesn’t he uses
gehenna which is that literal place okay
yeah but like even okay I guess I’m
trying to say even
Christians today should still even if it
said gehenna
just because it says hell they shouldn’t
assume that that’s still happening now
oh no hell was happening then how was
happening then and if you said hell then
that would have been true even if it
said sheol it doesn’t mean that hell is
happening now no it doesn’t because
context of the rest of scripture tells
us that’s all been fulfilled okay but
that makes it even more clear that it
was Gahanna yeah yeah that’s pretty
crazy yeah
Okay so
and so upon you will come all the
righteous blood that has been shed and
from the righteous Abel to the blood of
Zachariah to the son of barakaya
barakaya
barakaya
the reason I say that is because the
reference he gives there is not known
it’s part of their history but it’s not
in the Bible
so he says he mentions something that is
just speculative in history what is he
talking about
yeah the righteous able so what he’s
saying is all the blood that has been
Shed from Abel who was killed by Cain
all the way up to this unknown thing of
between the altars of barakaya all of
the blood that was shed there is going
to be on you
all this will come on this generation
yeah that generation
wow
wow what
why what does that mean it will come on
them
I don’t fully get that because they had
represented the law the prophets they
received the Messiah the they had
received uh the teachings everything had
come down upon them they have the whole
history from Abel on of everything and
they had the most information given to
them as a people and they still rejected
it so he’s saying all the Judgment of
all of this stuff’s gonna fall on you
the hardest it’s basically a way to
paraphrase oh I see okay
okay I mean he’s throwing down big time
on them well it makes sense as we go
into 24
23. well 24 is next just because we’re
at the very end of 23 now like
I just wondered why he’s calling the
Pharisees out in this way now huge
because he’s about to be crucified
and he’s been reaching them for three
years and they’ve been calling and
that’s why he ends with oh you know
Jerusalem Jerusalem I have called you
and and then he says but you are not
willing I was like a chicken Gathering
her uh chicks right and gathers her
chicks under her wings under her wings
but you were not willing and it shows
that the human will is plays a part in
what God is doing because they weren’t
willing you know people say oh no God
elects you to be willing and then no no
Jesus wouldn’t say that to them if uh it
was all appointed you have a choice to
believe or not believe by the evidence
you’re given and it’s all you will be
judged according to your will
you know and some people will just say
I’m not going to believe it so they
don’t so the Jews were the same you
weren’t willing
so fig tree coming down upon you
um
we look your house is left to desolate
if I tell you you will not see me again
until you say blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord yeah so this house
of Israel some most people think he’s
talking about the temple okay your house
but that’s his father’s house he would
never call it there so he says your
house has left you desolate what house
is that the house of Israel you are
Hollow you have brought nothing forward
God divorced you in Jeremiah you are now
left with what you are Sons of Satan you
are the children of the devil you do the
works that your father did all of the
Judgment that was upon able to hear is
falling upon you and that sets us up for
what’s going to come in the next chapter
because he has laid out hardcore harder
than any other place upon these
religious leaders of that day
okay
um
well that I think that satisfies for 23.
yippee we’re at 17 minutes we should say
though that
um we’re posting this on the heart of
the matter Channel now and for those I
think people are on heart of the matter
are a little confused oh but this is a
podcast of a Christian Ultra
Libertarians for truth podcast what’d
you say uh called I don’t get the Bible
and
all of his teachings if you’re looking
for them are now at colt.love so go
check that out yeah and this is just
another uh cult.love is our online
university so it says be our online
college this is just another College
course that people can take it’s called
sit in and take a course with Delaney
and Dad talking about the Bible and it’s
available at cult.gov awesome all right
okay uh on to 24th time
