Woe in Matthew (part 8) Pride and How Easily We Forget

Matthew 23:29-33

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers. ‘You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?...”

First, I always thought there were seven woes, but after studying them, I found 8. One is in the reference section, but there are 8.

 Second, I think this woe is saying be careful what you say. Be careful that pride does not sneak into your heart and make you think more of yourself than you really are. For example, I hear a little contempt when Eve is talked about. It seems she has a bad rap for her actions. It seems we would have done it differently. I can’t say that I would do differently than Eve in the garden, because I would not! It is easy to think that I would, but I wouldn't.

Our pride needs to be kept in check! It is interesting how the farther out you go from a situation, the less intense it is. Or the less you remember. Have you ever been caught saying something horrible about a situation and someone says, "Hey, remember, you did the same thing a while back."? (guilty!)