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THE LORD’S POWERFUL “WOE TO YOU!” REBUKATHONS (PART 2)
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By the time the Woe’s come it is apparently too late…
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GOSPEL OF MATTHEW [14]
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” [Matthew 11:21-24]
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” [Matthew 18:7]
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:13]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” [Matthew 23:14]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” [Matthew 23:15]
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’” [Matthew 23:16]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” [Matthew 23:23]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” [Matthew 23:25]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” [Matthew 23:27]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,” [Matthew 23:29]
“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” [Matthew 24:19]
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” [Matthew 26:24]
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GOSPEL OF MARK [2]
“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” [Mark 13:17]
“For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” [Mark 14:21]
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GOSPEL OF LUKE [15]
“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” [Luke 6:24]
“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” [Luke 6:25]
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” [Luke 6:26]
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!” [Luke 10:13-15]
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” [Luke 11:42]
“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.” [Luke 11:43]
“Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.” [Luke 11:44]
“But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” [Luke 11:46]
“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them.” [Luke 11:47]
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” [Luke 11:52]
He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” [Luke 17:1]
“Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people.” [Luke 21:23]
“For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” [Luke 22:22][1]
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© 2023 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued…]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE LORD’S POWERFUL “WOE TO YOU!” REBUKATHONS (PART 1)
Much of Christianity in America has either rejected or forfeited its spiritual vitality and strength. Christians must seek the Lord’s full anointing.
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WOE
The following is a study of every occurrence of the word “Woe” in the four gospels. We will look closely at this list to see who the Lord directed His “Woes” against and why.
This word “Woe” occurs in 27 gospel verses.
It occurs a total of 31 times.
Each time it is spoken by the Lord Jesus.
Each time it is spoken by Him in great intensity and emotion in His powerful anointing.
He speaks it against His wicked enemies, against wayward cities, and against errant clueless Israelites.
The word “Woe” is from the Greek word οὐαί (oo-ah’-ee): Alas! Woe!
It is defined as “a primary exclamation of grief” and “an interjection of grief or of denunciation.”
WOE TO YOU!
He used this word primarily against evil Israelite religionists.
Of the 31 total occurrences in the gospels, 14 Woes were directed in strong rebuke against religious leaders. They are listed as follows as they appear in Scripture:
- Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites [7 occurrences]
- Pharisees [3 occurrences]
- Lawyers (Torah teachers) [3 occurrences]
- Blind guides [1 occurrence]
In addition to the preceding 14 Woes, 3 more Woes were directed against Judas Iscariot—the apostle who betrayed Him—the duplicitous deceitful man who took a bribe and joined up with the religious leaders and played a major part working in concert with their diabolical conspiracy to murder the Lord.
These 3 bring the total to 17 Woes.
17 out of the 31 are thus directed toward religious authoritarians and their supporters. This accounts for more than half the total (55%).
These facts should ring a bell.
They should ring church bells.
They should ring every conceivable bell, buzzer, and alarm all across the country.
WOE TO YOU!
He also spoke Woes against those who act as stumbling blocks against the innocent, against small children, and against His spiritual children, tripping up the ones seeking and living for the Lord:
- The world [1 occurrence]
- That man through whom the stumbling block comes [1 occurrence]
- Him through whom they (stumbling blocks) come [1 occurrence]
WOE TO YOU!
The Lord likewise spoke a number of Woes against those Israelites who would suffer from the severe judgment coming upon the nation at the very end when all would be destroyed including the temple and the city of Jerusalem less than forty years into the future.
Remember, His Woes were also exclamations of grief. The Lord was pouring His heart out.
Those people would also be guilty and deserved such strong rebuke since they supported the wicked primary instigators who brought on the destruction or never did anything to stop them.
The people may otherwise have prevented it or at least saved themselves if not for their cowardice and great fear of the religious authoritarians, their refusal to repent, and their rejection of their Messiah.
The following recipients of Woes are listed as they appear in Scripture:
- “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” [Matthew 24:19 and Mark 13:17] “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people!” [Luke 21:23] [3 occurrences]
- “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” [Luke 6:24] [1 occurrence]
- “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.” [Luke 6:25] [1 occurrence]
- “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” [Luke 6:25] [1 occurrence]
- “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” [Luke 6:26] [1 occurrence]
WOE TO YOU!
The Lord also singled out three particular Israelite cities located at the northern area of the Sea of Galilee for severe rebuke, pronouncing Woe’s against:
- Chorazin [2 occurrences]
- Bethsaida [2 occurrences]
- (Capernaum) [2 occurrences]
These three Israelite cities, though they had experienced the Lord’s complete ministry, refused to repent.
He said the first two cities were worse than the sinful Phoenician port cities of Tyre and Sidon.
He said Capernaum was worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine that.
The Lord said the non-Israelite cities of Tyre, Sidon, Sodom, and Gomorrah all would have repented if they had been blessed with the Lord’s ministry.
Scripture also states that first-century Jerusalem was mystically called Sodom and Egypt (See Revelation 11:8).
What kind of hell holes were these? —Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem?
What would He say about many American cities of the present?
He could obviously also say the same thing about many “Christian” churches, ministries, groups, and institutions of today that, regardless of outward beauty-is-skin-deep faux appearances, have apparently partnered with Tyre, Sidon, Sodom, and Gomorrah as sister cities and are candidates for Woe proclamations as well as the following:
And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” [John 2:14-16][1]
© 2023 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued…]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
