“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees…"

Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, a Greek theater word referring to actors who wore large masks to play parts contrary to their true selves.

The scribes and Pharisees pretended to be super-spiritual to intimidate and rule over the people. These individuals who should have been serving the people were only serving themselves.

And they were pretty good at deceiving the people. But Jesus looks at the heart. He sees their motives and hypocrisy and calls out these charlatans in righteous anger mixed with deep sorrow and great grief.

But it didn’t have to be this way. Jesus wanted to gather them, but they were not willing to come to Him (see Matthew 23:37-39). There is no value in clinging to a phony piety that attempts to deceive others and rule over others. There is a better way. The Apostle Paul’s life is a testimony to this fact. His legalistic righteousness was off the charts, yet this was the conclusion he made after meeting Jesus:

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith…” (Philippians 3:7-9)

Like Paul, let go of your self-righteousness. Gain Christ and be found in Him.