Open Doors or Obstacles?

By Rob Nieminen

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”—Matthew 23:13–15 (NIV)

If you’ve ever been at the receiving end of scathing criticism, you can probably relate to what the Pharisees and teachers of the law must have felt when Jesus spoke these incredibly harsh words to them. Why would Jesus, who described Himself as “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29 NIV), speak like this to a group of people? Doesn’t He love everyone?

Of course, He does! But Jesus is unafraid to speak hard truth when it’s needed. In this case, the Pharisees were “sworn enemies of the gospel of Christ and consequently to the salvation of the souls of men,” according to bible commentator Matthew Henry. Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat His message because the teachers of the law were standing in direct opposition to His mission for coming to the earth, which He described by quoting Isaiah 61:1–2 (NIV): “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The Pharisees and teachers of the law, who diligently studied the Torah (or the Law of Moses) and the teachings of the Old Testament prophets, held positions of authority and should have been the ones to open the way for people to enter the kingdom of heaven and point to the Messiah. Instead, they imposed all kinds of extra rules, regulations, and burdens on the people that were so heavy, that they effectively shut the doors to the kingdom—so much so that Jesus said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them” Matthew 23:2–9 (NIV).

That’s why Jesus responds the way He did in today’s passage. If you want to upset Him, try telling other people they’re beyond salvation or that they have to live by all the rules and regulations you think they should follow. Jesus called these people hypocrites, or “play actors” as the dictionary defines it. They pretended to be for God, but denied what was happening right in front of them—He was standing in their midst, ushering in a New Covenant and reconciling sinners to Himself and His Father!

Matthew Henry continues his commentary by saying: “Thus they [the Pharisees] might have facilitated that great work, and have helped thousands to heaven; but, instead of this, they shut up the kingdom of heaven; they made it their business to press the ceremonial law, which was now in the vanishing, to suppress the prophecies, which were now in the accomplishing, and to beget and nourish up in the minds of the people prejudices against Christ and his doctrine.” Sadly, the Pharisees weren’t interested in advancing God’s kingdom; they wanted to build their own by making more converts and maintaining their positions of power. Woe to them, indeed.

It’s a sobering passage, to be sure. If there’s one point we should take away from today’s reading, it’s that we should be people who are opening the way for others to enter the kingdom of heaven, not standing in their way.

Pause: Read through the Gospels and take note of how Jesus speaks to different groups of people. To whom (and about whom) does He speak the most tenderly? To whom does He offer firm, but loving correction? To whom does He rebuke with the harshest criticism? Why do you think He speaks the way He does to these people?

Practice: As you are sharing the gospel with others, consider not only the “what” of your message but the “how.” Are you opening the door to the kingdom or creating obstacles?

Pray: Jesus, thank You for saving me and making a way for me to be reconciled to the Father. Help me clear the way for others, especially those who don’t look like me or with whom I may not agree, to enter Your kingdom and not place any unnecessary burdens on those who are seeking You. Amen.