“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.” Matthew 23:33-34
All reptiles are considered unclean in Jewish law. Not only that, but when Jeremiah prophesied that foreigners would overtake Israel he said they would come among the people like venomous snakes, like vipers [Jeremiah 8:17].
So this analogy of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to unclean animals, that were synonymous with Israel’s enemies, would have shocked the people and horrified the religious leaders.
Deeper still, the viper is an ovoviviparous animal, meaning that the babies develop inside eggs inside the mother viper. Once the babies are mature, they also hatch while inside the mother, so that she then gives birth to live young.
Again this analogy would have shocked and horrified the hearers. Everyone believed the Pharisees and the teachers of the law to be the ultimate example of God’s righteousness, the consummate expression of all that God desires in our lives. But Jesus is explaining how, not just spiritual uncleanness, but fully matured sin has found life inside mother Israel. How people born and raised on the truth of God’s Word possessed the same sin nature as those who lived without it.
*Jaws drop.*
He asks them–the self-righteous leaders–How will you escape being condemned to hell? Remember, when God asks a question, it is not for His sake but theirs.
They didn’t see the truth of their sinfulness despite their extensive studies of Scripture. Even after all of Jesus’ earthly ministry, they did not accept the truth of their sinfulness [Matthew 5:22, et al] or understand that they were leading others toward hell and not toward eternal life [Matthew 23:15].
Yes, the leaders of Israel needed to repent of their works checklist and grow a heart for God. But Jesus’s question is also pregnant with forgiveness! If they only connected the dots. If they only looked up into His eyes at this moment, let their hatred go and saw the answer to His question.
It’s me guys. I’m the only One that can keep you out of hell. And I want to!
I sent the prophets ahead of me so you would know I was coming and could recognize me.
I have preserved a remnant of wise men among you so that you would know the truth of my coming.
I came as your teacher so that you might learn from Me yourself.
Instead–out of pride, jealousy, fear–the religious leaders hunted down, flogged and killed the ones God sent.
And still God loved them. Just as He loves us though we deny Him.
Even 2,000 years later, we have to be so careful not to stand in judgment on the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. For we are like them. Today we have the full knowledge of Scripture in the completed Bible, but we are capable of missing God. If Jesus were to come minister on the earth today, would He find an unclean viperous heart within you? Would He see sin’s venom flowing from your life into others?
KCS
Generation Heroes 