indeed a seat that involved judgment (remember the first set of tablets?). The Pharisees, like Moses, sat in a
seat of authority. The audience in Matthew 7 are the disciples. They had no earthly authority. Furthermore,
Y‘shua was teaching His students in Matthew 7 about how to live as one of His followers with each other on
this earth. They had no authority to judge, the Pharisees did.
Judgment without mercy is legalism. It becomes condemnation and breeds an attitude of superiority. Merciful
judgment is righteous judgment. Judgment without mercy is totalitarianism. The mercy of the Scriptures is
one of clemency, ultimately found in the merciful gift of eternal life that Y‘shua‘s death and resurrection
provided for all who believe on Him. Mercy is not ignorance. Mercy is not allowance for wanton
disobedience. Mercy is not a get out of jail free card, for the very act that placed one in jail undoubtedly had
some price for others. Mercy is the very essence of our Messiah. One who was merciful enough to sit and
teach His disciples for long periods of time following the Torah teaching method, ―And thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up‖ (Deut 6:7). This kind of teaching takes
dedication, patience and love. These same qualities can be found in true Scriptural mercy. Mercy should
never be taken for granted or abused. Mercy should be cherished. Mercy must be honoured; and just like
judgment, mercy is not a solo act. To come to the place where mercy is needed, one must first apply
judgment; otherwise, there is no need for mercy. A prisoner has no use for clemency without first having
received judgment. Judgment and mercy go hand-in-hand.
―Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen‖ (Heb 11:1). The third part of
this equation is faith. For what good is our mercy without faith? Why do a merciful act if we do not have the
faith that it will produce good fruit? Furthermore, why judge someone without the hope that the act of
judgment will lead to true repentance. Your faith acts as the link between judgment and mercy. You cannot
separate the three entities because they are dependent upon each other for their true fulfillment. We are all
familiar with the verse, ―faith without works is dead‖; the works here are indeed judgment and mercy. These
are works of the Mighty One of Israel. YHWH issues the judgment, we see the merciful sacrifice of Y‘shua;
and the thing that makes them both real to us is our faith – just like the empowering element of the echad is
the Ruach haKodesh [Holy Spirit]. Indeed, in the ―weightier matters‖ of judgment, mercy and faith, we can
see a picture of the Father, Son and Spirit. Take one away and you diminish the other two, for they are
inseparable.
The Death of the Prophets―(29) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. (31) Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves,
that ye are the children of them which killed the Prophets. (32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
(33) Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
As our gentle Saviour addressed the Pharisees here in Matthew 23, it was very apparent that He had no
tolerance for the prideful sin that consumed the Jewish leaders. Most of us may find it difficult to concede
that these same sins are rooted in our own lives. After all, most of us have never broadened our phylacteries
or enlarged the borders of our garments (Matt 23:5). Most of us are not called "Rabbi" (Matt 23:7) and most
of us don't have problems getting our dishes clean (Matt 23:25-26). Very few of you can say that someone in
your recent lineage has killed a Prophet...or have they?
In reality, the sinful pride of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 dwells in the majority of us. But can it also be said
that we are the children of them that killed the Prophets? Or to take it one step (generation) further, will it be
said to our children that they are the children of those that killed the Prophets? Throughout history, it has
been proven that it is easier to follow an evil world into hell than follow one righteous man into Heaven. Such
was the time of Isaiah. Isaiah 8:11 says, ―For YHWH spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I
should not walk in the way of this people...‖ ―This people" ―caused the inhabitants of the earth to be defiled, because they
transgressed the Laws, changed the ordinances, and broke the everlasting covenant" (Isaiah 24:5). ―This people" hated
YHWH's precepts and would not listen to the warnings of the Prophets. Still today, ―this people" transgress,
change, and break the everlasting covenant: the ordinances of a holy Law. ―This people" ―killed" the pleading
words of the Prophets who dedicated their lives to bringing repentance to an unrighteous people. The very
words of our Father in heaven were spoken through the voices of the Prophets, but ―this people" are not
listening.
For those who have ears to hear, listen to the voice of YHWH as Jeremiah weeps for his people, ―Hear, O
earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not
hearkened unto My words, nor to My Law, but rejected it" (Jer 6:19). In arrogance, the prideful but eloquent
pastor preaches grace without repentance while the submissive Prophet is saying, ―They are not humbled
even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in My Law, nor in My statutes, that I set before you
and before your fathers" (Jer 44:10). Jeremiah was, in the people's words, a man ―worthy to die" (Jer 26:11).