The Warning of Jesus Concerning the Scribes

In this part of the sermon: Martin identifies the direct recipients as Jesus' disciples and the indirect recipients as the great multitude, explaining why Jesus directed this public warning to immunize his…

Martin uses the analogy of a pastor speaking directly to children in the hearing of the whole congregation, or to unconverted friends, to explain how Jesus spoke to his disciples in the hearing of the multitude.

but indirectly exposed to the entire auditory on that occasion. And as I was thinking of an illustration of how this happens, often with public teachers, I thought of the many times when in the midst of preaching, one of us will say, now, you children, listen to what pastor's going to say to you. And we try to zero in on little groups of the children, and we speak to the children in the hearing of the entire congregation. Sometimes we may say, and to you among us are strangers to the grace of God, and though we may not single you out and look directly at those whom we know make no profession o...

11:55 - 13:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If we were to give a literal rendering of Mark's account of it, it would be this, be continually looking away from them. That is, do not in any way set them up as valid patterns and models of the scribes.

He creates an elaborate analogy of someone shouting 'Beware of the cardinals!' during a papal address in St. Peter's to convey the shocking impact Jesus' warning against the scribes would have had on the temple crowd.

If hearing or finding out in some official publication that three months from now, there was to be a gathering of all of the cardinals from all over the world at St. Peter's in Rome, and the Pope was going to convene the College of Cardinals in order to make some great official pronouncement with reference to the future of Catholicism. And St. Peter's is packed.

16:11 - 16:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the scribes' most observable vices: their desire for excessive personal and official recognition (long robes, salutations) and their desire for excessive personal…

Martin uses the term 'ecclesiastical dandies' to describe the scribes who dressed in distinctive robes and strutted about, seeking attention and recognition.

In order to draw attention to themselves. And where the common peasants ordinarily wore varied colored common robes, you could always mark out a scribe and a Pharisee by his pure white robe with its abnormally wide fringes, so that if you had even 20, 40 or 20, 50 vision, from 50 to 100 yards away, you could always spot a scribe because he was prancing about. We had a word when I was a kid, at least my dad did, it's from another generation, and some of you older folks, you'll appreciate this. They were the ecclesiastical dandies of their day. They were the dandies. They dressed up in their whi...

21:17 - 22:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the scribes' most observable vices: their desire for excessive personal and official recognition (long robes, salutations) and their desire for excessive personal…

He compares the scribes prancing about in their robes, seeking greetings in marketplaces, to 'peacocks with their tails spread to the full' to illustrate their vanity and desire for adulation.

There was this desire for excessive personal and official recognition, and then our Lord says, and they constantly desire greetings in the marketplaces. They strutted through what we would call the bazaars in current Middle Eastern culture. Not marketplaces such as we have in our malls and other places, but open marketplaces where masses of people gathered. And you see the picture of them is that once having put on their distinguishing clerical garb and become the ecclesiastical dandies of their day, they pranced about like peacocks with their tails spread to the full, so that when they would ...

22:17 - 23:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the scribes' most observable vices: their desire for excessive personal and official recognition (long robes, salutations) and their desire for excessive personal…

Martin draws an analogy to young people who dye their hair multiple colors and spike it to attract attention, distinguishing this craving for recognition from the scribes' desire for both recognition and exaltation.

you see there are some people like some of the pathetically twisted young people of our day and my heart grieves for them I'm not angered at them I grieve for them who feel the only way to attract attention and have somebody know that I exist is to have my hair four different colors and spiked out in abnormal and unnatural configuration well you see they have a craving for personal recognition but they certainly know they're not going to win a beauty contest or be given the first place of honor in this or that social situation so there is you see a distinction there are some who thirst for per...

25:20 - 26:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details the scribes' most observable vices: their desire for excessive personal and official recognition (long robes, salutations) and their desire for excessive personal…

He compares the layout of a simple Reformed church building to an old synagogue, with a raised platform and prominent seats, to help the audience visualize the 'chief seats' the scribes desired.

and chief literally couches at the feasts now what is our Lord talking about well in the configuration of the synagogue there was a platform similar to what we have here in fact a simple reformed church building is in many ways patterned after an old synagogue the congregation would sit there would be a raised platform the word of God the books of the law the Torah would be in a special place a special body box and there would be seats near to the front of the platform where the leading men the elders prominent men would be seated in those were the chief seats the first seats the seats of firs...

26:22 - 27:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: According to the scriptures prayer more than any other religious exercise is the most immediate form of access to god and as such prayer is generally the most certain index of the health of a man's soul

Martin explains the Greek verb 'katas theo' (devour) as 'to eat kata down,' picturing someone 'utterly consuming, wolfing down his food' to illustrate the scribes' greedy exploitation of widows' houses.

is more true to the sense of the original you notice it in the asv you have a cold and after feasts now our lord says they that devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers such as these shall receive greater or more abundant judgment and here our lord focuses upon the practice of unrighteous personal accumulation of goods covered by hypocrisy look at the language they that devour widows houses katas theo the greek verb as theo is to eat kata down it's the picture of someone utterly consuming wolfing down his food we say well that's the picture and it's a very almost grotesque ill...

29:53 - 31:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not grow weary of explicit, specific warnings based on Scripture that focus on the 'scribes of our day' (e.g., charlatans who exploit people for personal gain).

He uses the analogy of sheep needing to be kept from wolves and poisonous grass, but also needing to be led to green pastures, to explain that ministry requires both warnings and positive feeding.

And why don't you warn against this? I would be doing nothing but giving warnings, warnings, warnings, warnings. And I've said to such people, Look, the sheep not only need to be kept from the wolves, and kept from poisonous grass, but they need to be led to green pastures where they can lie down and nibble and chew, and be healthfully. But, oh God, have mercy on any ministry that fits the description of the false prophets in the Old Testament, dumb dogs that cannot bark.

47:11 - 47:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not grow weary of explicit, specific warnings based on Scripture that focus on the 'scribes of our day' (e.g., charlatans who exploit people for personal gain).

Martin uses the Old Testament metaphor of 'dumb dogs that cannot bark' to condemn ministries that fail to issue warnings against evil and false teaching.

And why don't you warn against this? I would be doing nothing but giving warnings, warnings, warnings, warnings. And I've said to such people, Look, the sheep not only need to be kept from the wolves, and kept from poisonous grass, but they need to be led to green pastures where they can lie down and nibble and chew, and be healthfully. But, oh God, have mercy on any ministry that fits the description of the false prophets in the Old Testament, dumb dogs that cannot bark.

47:11 - 47:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not grow weary of explicit, specific warnings based on Scripture that focus on the 'scribes of our day' (e.g., charlatans who exploit people for personal gain).

He shares a personal anecdote about wanting a watchdog to bark at intruders, not lick his head, to emphasize that prophets must 'bare their lip and to snarl' when evil approaches.

And I tell you, if I've bought a dog to be a watchdog, and I've fed the hungry beast to be a watchdog, and the moment of truth comes when an undesired comes within the precincts of my property, I don't want him licking his head. And God says there's a time for the prophets to bare their lip and to snarl. And God condemns dumb dogs who cannot bark. Dear people, don't grow weary of explicit, specific warnings based upon a responsible, balanced exposition of the Scripture that focus upon the scribes of our day. You cannot help but see them in Papa Paul and his father, or you see them in the ruler...

47:50 - 49:18 Read in full sermon

The point: Consider the danger signs of unsafe spiritual leaders: selective use of Scripture, desire for notice through special clothing/titles, seeking prominence, and using official positions for personal advantage while feigning…

Martin discusses his own consideration of wearing a simple Genevan robe for practical reasons but deciding against it to avoid any perceived affinity with the scribes' desire for distinguishing clerical garb.

nor the reverend falwell nor the reverend anybody else men who stroke and fawn their denominational colleges hoping they'll get a dd thrown at them and no sooner does the school tell them that three months hence they're going to have it conferred they've got their letterhead changed before they even have their degree on their wall dr so-and-so they love the titles love the recognition they suck it in you find a man that loves his clerical garb wouldn't reach without a role wouldn't be seen in public without his turn collar now follow closely i'm not saying everyone who preaches in a role busin...

53:56 - 55:24 Read in full sermon