Bible study · Matthew 23:1-39
Matthew 23: Woe to you
Read Matthew 23:1-39 before you meet.
In a few lines
Jesus tells the multitudes and his disciples to "observe and do" what the scribes and Pharisees tell them, "but don’t do their works" (23:3). Seven of his eight woes are to "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!", and one is to "you blind guides" (23:16). And the verb of "I send to you prophets" (23:34) is the verb of "those who are sent to her" (23:37).
The verse to carry
“But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:11-12
To talk about
1. "But he who is greatest among you will be your servant" (23:11). Where could you serve someone this week?
2. Jesus says, "first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also" (23:26). What helps you put the inside first?
3. "How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings" (23:37). What stays with you from this picture in Jesus's words?