by Gary L. Evans
(revised 8/3/2023)
The Woes — Part 1
Mat 11:21-22 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
The name “Chorazin” is of unknown derivation. Even Dr. Smith who wrote The Smith’s Bible Dictionary had no idea what it means. Its name soon disappeared from history, however it did exist and its former location was only a few miles north of Capernaum. Not all of our Lord’s works are recorded, and there is no record of what miracles Jesus did there. But since He claims here to have done some, we know that He must have.
“Bethsaida” means “house of fish,” and is commonly recorded as having been on the west side of Jordan. But there must have also been another part of that city on the east side of Jordan. Some historians state there was a much larger city also named Bethsaida on the east side, which corresponds to the place where Jesus fed the five thousand.
“Tyre” or “Tyrus” means “rock” and was an island city off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea which was famous for its commerce and also for its wickedness. It was very likely a Kenite stronghold. In fulfillment of prophecy, although an island fortress and invincible by sea, it was finally destroyed by Alexander The Great who had his troops literally carry large stones and push them into the sea to make a land bridge from the coast to the island. Then he sent his army over that man-made peninsula and was successful in breaking down the walls and destroying the city.
“Sidon” or “Zidon” means “fishing or fishery” and was reported to have been involved in the slave trade. It was about twenty miles north of Tyre. It was also very wealthy and wicked. No doubt that the Kenites were busy ripping people off in that city as well as Tyre. The Persians destroyed Zidon when it revolted against their rule of the city.
Jesus cursed Chorazin and Bethsaida because they did not repent and turn back to God’s Law, even though He had performed miracles for them to witness. And He said that at the Judgment, even the two mentioned ancient cities of the Kenites would receive greater mercy than those two cities.
The Woes — Part 2
Mat 11:23-24 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
“Capernaum” means “village of Nahum,” on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was also in the land of Gennesaret. There our Lord frequently taught in a synagogue, and performed many miracles, and He and His disciples had a residence there. His teaching in that city was considerable. Recall that Chorazin was only a few miles north of Capernaum.
“Sodom” means “burning” and was one of the most ancient cities of Syria. It was extremely wicked such that the people there were in constant fear, with mobs of sexually crazed homosexuals preying on the residents. Note that all angels appear as males. When the angels came to Lot’s house, one mob of demon possessed men and boys tried to tear down the door in order to rape the angels. They were so insanely aroused they literally clawed grooves into the wooden door with their fingernails. The Angels opened the door and blinded them, then managed to get Lot and his family out of the city to a nearby mountain before they destroyed the city with fire and brimstone.
Jesus said that if He had done all the “mighty works” in Sodom that He had performed in Capernaum, which included casting out devils as well as all of the teaching He did there, Sodom would have repented and would have been spared. But Capernaum in spite of all His works refused to repent. So Capernaum was destined to suffer even greater judgment than Sodom.
The Woes — Part 3
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
The word “offend” is from the Greek “skan-dal-id’-zo” which means “to entrap, that is, trip up (figuratively stumble [transitively] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure).”
The “little ones” are those little children Jesus spoke of in the previous verses that trusted in Him.
Children start out with open minds, and are eager to imitate their parents in every way they observe them speak and behave. Regarding the Gospel, this open minded attitude is necessary at the very beginning for a new convert. At first he or she has insufficient knowledge of the Scriptures to be able to think logically precept by precept in order to perceive contradictions. But just as a child can be easily deceived by a malicious person and so must be protected by his parents and soon taught to always be on guard of strangers, so new converts are easy prey to false prophets and teachers. So Jesus cursed anyone who dared to deceive a convert in The New Covenant causing him or her to fall away into apostasy, saying that it would have been better for him on The Day of Judgment if he had been murdered before he had ever done such a thing.
Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
The word “offenses” is from “skan’-dal-on” which is the root word of “skan-dal-id’-zo” and means “a trap stick (bent sapling), that is, snare (figuratively cause of displeasure or sin).” Another use of this word is in the figurative sense “to place a stumbling block” in someone’s way causing them to fall. But its implied meaning is simply to cause someone to sin thereby causing them to become apostate by falling away from The Truth of God’s Word.
The word “woe” is from “oo-ah’ee” which means “A primary exclamation of grief.”
So Jesus sums up the eventual judgment of everyone in this world who does such a thing with a single word, direct and to the point.
The Woes — Part 4
Mat 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Recall that some of the scribes were actually Kenites, who were actually a murderous brood of vipers. The Pharisees were one of two predominant sects of religious zealots. The other sect was the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in life after the death of the flesh body. But the Sadducees believed like the pagans did that the body was all there was to it, and that once the body died a man did not exist anymore.
The word “hypocrites” is from the Greek “hoop-ok-ree-tace'” which means “an actor under an assumed character (stage player), that is, (figuratively) a dissembler (‘hypocrite’).” So the term is from the Greek theater and simply means “a stage play actor.”
They were only pretending to be devout worshipers of Jehovah, and were not going into The Kingdom of Heaven, and also they taught and did things that prevented other people from entering into The Kingdom because of their hypocrisy.
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
The hypocrites made up little laws out of their own imaginations so that they could make more money from the people at the temple, thus taking the very substance of widows and of their children who would otherwise take care of their mothers. But they sure did make a big stage production of how pious they were by praying out loud in public using flowery religious sounding words and phrases. Nothing has changed. Hypocrites are the same today as they were two thousand years ago.
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
The word “hell” is from “gheh’-en-nah” which means “valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment.”
This was literally the garbage dump just outside of the city of Jerusalem. Fires burned there night and day. They dumped not only trash but also dead animals and occasionally a dead stranger that had no one locally to pay for his or her burial. So the stench of the dead animals and people smelled up the place pretty bad. Jesus used this word to describe the condition of the spiritually dead during The Millennium, because they would not have Eternal Life and therefore were still dead in that sense, although in angelic bodies.
Jesus explains that those hypocrites, or people among their sects, traveled all over the place making new converts, no doubt in order to increase their financial incomes, but the result was that their so-called converts became even more wicked than they were.
The Woes — Part 5
Mat 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
The word “temple” refers to the actual Temple building consisting of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The hypocrites taught the people that if they swore by the gold of The Temple, then they would be required to fulfill their oaths, but if only by The Temple itself, then their oaths were not binding.
Mat 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Now we should not swear at all, but in making legal contracts some sort of binding agreement was necessary. What Jesus is explaining is that The Temple is what actually sanctifies the things brought into it unto God. Therefore the hypocrites were blind to this truth themselves and in turn teaching falsehood to the people.
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
The hypocrites were more interested in making the people pay tithes so that they could make lots of money than they were in teaching them God’s Law and about justice, fairness, compassion, and belief in The Lord’s promises coupled with action (faith), which are much more important matters. The priests and scribes were obligated by The Law to teach the people those very things at every feast and on every Sabbath. They had no excuse.
Mat 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Our Lord does have a way with words. A “blind guide” cannot possibly lead people anywhere, because he cannot see. Why people would pay a blind guide, who could only pretend to be leading them somewhere, is beyond me. Can you imagine that some people are dumb enough to do that? The only people I can envision disabled enough must be blind themselves, because obviously they cannot perceive that their guide is just as blind as they are.
Then Jesus used the analogy of “straining at a gnat,” meaning that they greatly trouble the people about relatively less significant matters of The Law (now tithing is important, but…), but easily “swallow a camel,” meaning that they themselves engage in major transgressions of The Law with no apparent difficulty at all.
The Woes — Part 6
Mat 23:25-26 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
The hypocrites made up all kinds of little laws such as ceremonial washing before eating a meal and ceremonial washing of dishes. Keeping things clean is one thing, but making up religious laws regulating the washing of hands and the washing of dishes was to the extreme.
First of all, The Law forbids anyone to add to or diminish from The Law, because when God gave it to Moses it was already perfect.
So it is a crime to make up new laws or to change or try to revoke any one of God’s Laws!
Jesus is using their insistence of ceremonial cleansing in this case as the figurative subject to make a point; they were full of “extortion and excess.” No doubt, along with each new law they made up, they also assigned a redemption payment in terms of shekels that the people would have to pay whenever the temple police caught anyone in violation. And guess who got the money? The priests, scribes, and Pharisees of course. They were laying heavy, meaningless burdens on the people in order to take their money.
Mat 23:27-28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
We know not to judge by the appearance of people. Jesus declared they “were full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” The remains of dead bodies are very unclean, but in context it suggests they were guilty of much greater offenses, because He also declared they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. They were terrible sinners no matter their appearance.
The Woes — Part 7
Mat 23:29-31 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Jesus accused some of those scribes and Pharisees of being descendants of the very murderers of the prophets of old time. And after killing them, they would make a great stage production in their honor, decorating their tombs and making their burial sites historic monuments to their memory. And of course they would offer their services of telling all about their lives and their dedication to The Lord at a price to all visitors who came to see the tombs to pay their respects. The diabolical attitudes of those murderers was an example of Satanic irony at its best.
Mat 23:32-33 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Jesus knew what their forefathers had done, and now He tells them to go ahead and complete the murderous mission of their ancestors throughout history, no doubt by their conspiracy in the works to have Christ crucified.
Mat 23:35 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Our Lord’s reference to “Zacharias son of Barachias” is obviously a perfect match for Zechariah the prophet:
Zec 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Therefore we know that the Kenites murdered The Lord’s prophets, at least very many of them, beginning with Abel, who was murdered by Cain in about 4,000 BC, until Zechariah in about 400 BC. It also is possible that our Lord was making a future reference to “Zachariah the son of Baruch” who was martyred some thirty-six years later according to the historian Josephus. What is important is that these men were descendants of a very murderous bloodline, guilty of innocent blood from the beginning of this world through the crucifixion of Christ. Nothing has changed since then. It is impossible to even begin to understand why this world is so wicked without the knowledge of this Satanic bloodline which continues to this very day.
The Woes — Part 8
Mat 26:23-24 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Our Lord was speaking of Judas Iscariot who was in the process of betraying Him even during The Last Supper. So Judas would suffer because of his betrayal of Christ. In fact, he was murdered, cut from the abdomen up to his chest so that his guts fell out of his body onto the ground. But Judas was unbelieving of what Jesus had taught all the disciples, that He would be crucified. It just didn’t make sense, because they believed that Jesus would soon become The King of Israel.
My conjecture, of course, but perhaps Judas thought that bringing about the final conflict between Jesus and those hypocrites would force Him to finally take the throne. After all, He had done so many miracles, overthrowing a bunch of religious hypocrites shouldn’t be a problem, now should it?
And the truth is, as soon as Judas realized that those Kenites he had helped were planning to have Jesus executed, he repented and threw their blood money onto the temple floor because he would have no part in it. So Judas knew who those men were who conspired to have Jesus, an innocent man, put to death, therefore he was an inconvenience that could not remain alive.
Jesus said that anyone who spoke a word against The Son of Man could be forgiven, therefore let us not judge Judas, that’s up to The Lord.
Luk 6:24-25 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Our Lord cursed those people in general who had it very good, explaining that they were already being satisfied with luxurious things in this world, and so had no desire to seek God from a humble heart and mind.
Luk 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
As a minister of Christ, it is a cause of great concern whenever many people begin to say nice things, flattering things, because that is a sign of demonic possession at best, or a sign that we, as ministers, are not doing God’s Will! Why would any large group of people, no doubt mixed in with some wicked, say nice things about a man of God? And even sincere Christians are humbled by the teachings of a true preacher of Righteousness, and therefore usually don’t say much other than an “amen” once and a while as their consciences are convicted by The Truth.
A true servant of Christ does not go around flattering people, telling them that they have Eternal Life when he knows that they do not have it. True preachers are not popular.
The Woes — Part 9
Luk 11:43-44 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
The hypocrites enjoyed taking their seats at the front row of the churches so that the other folks would see them sitting up there, because they were so righteous and all, you know. Nothing has changed. But Jesus said they were like “graves of dead men” walking around, and that whenever other people came around them, they just didn’t realize that those guys were actually dead as hammers!
Our Lord does have a way with words, and He has such a dry sense of humor, sometimes it gets to me.
Luk 11:45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
One of the scripture lawyers says, “Rabbi, don’t you realize that you are insulting us?”
Luk 11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.
The word “expert” is a compound; “ex” is a has-been, and a “spurt” is a drip under pressure.
So our Lord did not have anything nice to say to those “experts” of The Law. Why? Because they were actually disobeying God’s Law by making up new laws out of their own imaginations and imposing them on those poor people who attended their synagogues, and were unwilling to teach them anything that would bring the people any comfort or hope. In other words, those hypocrites were putting the people on heavy guilt trips so that they could take their money! What else can you expect of lawyers?
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.