by Pastor Wendall Ward
Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You SHUT THE KINGDOM
OF HEAVEN IN MEN’S FACES. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying.”
(Matthew 23:13-14 NIV)
As we said previously, until Jesus returns, we are to make the invisible kingdom visible by living
in a manner that bears witness to the RULE OF CHRIST IN OUR HEARTS. The kingdom begins in
the heart and is to be made evident in EVERY sphere of life. The only way the kingdom of heaven
is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes, is if we demonstrate it in the way we
live as citizens of heaven on the earth (Ephesians 4-6).
The Challenge of Burdensome Religion
The Pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel at the time of Christ. They were known for
their strict interpretations and adherence to the Law of Moses. This led to a practice of adding
protective requirements to the Mosaic Law in order to avoid transgressing the actual law itself.
These hedges were not the Law, but they were additional requirements placed on the people to
help them avoid breaking the Law. Although not the law itself, they functioned as a buffer to
prevent the more serious repercussions of breaking the actual Law of Moses. By the time Jesus
came preaching The Kingdom, Judaism was a burdensome, legalistic religion that did not
recognize its own Messiah (John 1:11). In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus described the practice of
Israel’s religion as shutting the door to “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN MEN’S FACES” (23:13-14).
The Challenge of Spiritual Fatigue
Earlier in Matthew Jesus implied that Israel’s religion produced a kind of spiritual fatigue in the
very people it was supposed to liberate. That is why he said, “Come to me, all of you who are
WEARY AND CARRY HEAVY BURDENS, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. LET ME TEACH
YOU, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT).
As Christianity grows and develops, hedging occurs when God’s people forget to keep it simple
and direct. If we are not careful to distinguish between the temporal and eternal; doctrines,
traditions, and practices can get in the way of the Holy Spirit as he leads God’s people (Romans 8:12-
17). This practice can deafen the spiritual ear and divert the energies of the Body of Christ into
activity that will wear out the Saints.
The Call of the Kingdom
What can we say the answer is to these challenges? The simple answer is to come to Jesus Christ
the faithful One! Come to him as he is revealed in Scripture.
“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not
“Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is
God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us,
and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:19-22 NIV).
Jesus came to complicate things for the Pharisees and simplify things for those put upon by their
religious tyranny. Jesus made it clear to those hearing his voice that the way to escape their
oppressive religion was to COME TO HIM, to let him become your teacher and interpreter of a
new and life-giving way of salvation the Father was bringing to earth.
Jesus Christ is the revelation of all things that make us free. He will deliver us from the unbiblical
barriers that limit our liberty and hide the benefits of God’s kingdom. A clear vision of Christ and
submission to him AS HE IS in the Scriptures will relieve us of the weariness and burden of living
in the religious expectations of others.
Here’s a song to help you get closer to Jesus and enter the rest.