The Eight Blessings and Eight Curses of Yeshua

Matthew 23:13–33, The Eight Woes. There is a one-to-one correlation between the eight benediction of the beatitudes of Matthew 5:3–12 and the eight maledictions or woes Yeshua pronounces on the hypocritical religious leaders of his day in Matthew 23:13–33.

  1. The kingdom of heaven is opened to the poor, humble or contrite in spirit (Matt 5:3), while the door to kingdom of heaven is shut by and to the prideful and exclusive religious hypocrites (Matt 23:13).
  2. Those who mourn will be comforted (Matt 5:4), while greedy and pretentious religious hypocrites bring grief and sorrow to those they rule over (Matt 23:14).
  3. The meek will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5) versus religious zealots who compass the earth to expand their own kingdoms to make new converts, all of whom are shut out of the kingdom of Elohim and will inherit hell (Matt 23:15).
  4. Those who hunger and thirst for true righteousness will be filled (Matt 5:6) versus those who pursue a false, man-made religious system that involves twisting YHVH’s word for their own carnal purposes (Matt 23:16–22).
  5. The merciful will obtain mercy (Matt 5:7), while the religious hypocrites major in spiritually minor things and overlook mercy and the weightier matters of the Torah (Matt 23:23–24).
  6. The pure in heart will see (the heart of) Elohim (Matt 23:8), while hypocritical religionists put on an outward or superficial show of “purity,” but in reality, they overlook and neglect the inward purity of the heart. This equates to Torahlessness, which is equivalent to spiritual blindness and misses the heart of Elohim (Matt 23:25–26).
  7. The peacemakers will be called the sons of Elohim (Matt 5:9) versus Torahless religious hypocrites whose actions cause strife, confusion leading to spiritual uncleanness and death, which is the opposite of peace or shalom,which is physical and spiritual well-being in all areas of life (Matt 23:27–28).
  8. Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake will inherit the kingdom of Elohim (Matt 5:10–12) versus religious hypocrites, while claiming to be followers of Elohim, are themselves the persecutors of YHVH’s righteous saints (Matt 23:29–33).
 

Yeshua on Self-Promoting, Self-Appointed Leaders and Teachers

Luke 6:40, Perfectly/fully trained. Those disciples of Yeshua the Master-Teacher who are properly trained, fit out, prepared or equipped can become like Yeshua the Master-Teacher. Those who aren’t properly equipped or trained to teach are like the blind leading the blind and will cause others to fall into a spiritual ditch (Luke 6:39).

Those who aren’t properly trained not only will be like a blind man leading the blind, but will also be hypocritical in his judgments and assessments of things. This is because he lacks the experience, wisdom and skills to be able to point out the faults of others because he is still inexperienced and has too many blind spots himself and is still like the blind leading the blind (Luke 6:41–42).

This is why Paul very carefully lays out the qualifications for those in spiritual leadership in the local congregation. A spiritual leader was not to be an inexperienced individual, a new convert or a novice (1 Tim 3:6), but well-discipled in YHVH’s truth before hand (Tit 1:9).

Paul says that it is good thing for a man to desire to be a spiritual leader (1 Tim 3:1), but it isn’t a good thing if he doesn’t meet the criteria or qualifications, which Paul then lays out (1 Tim 3:2–13).

The problem is that in our day, there are many individuals who desire to be leaders and teachers, who are self-appointed, and who have not been perfectly or fully trained. Since the advent of the internet, such people now have an easily accessible pulpit-platform from which to influence others. Sadly, they are like the blind hypocrite in Yeshua’s parable leading many astray and causing many to stumble and to fall into spiritual ditches of false doctrines and errant teachings.

Just because someone has a website, a YouTube channel, has published a book, spoken at a conference, has academic credentials or been on radio and television doesn’t mean they have been perfectly equipped or fully trained for the position of Bible teacher or a spiritual leader in the spiritual body of Yeshua.

We may not always know what a person’s background or qualifications are, but the spiritual fruit they produce, whether good or bad, can be an excellent indicator as to what type of spiritual tree they are, as Yeshua goes on to say in the next verses (Luke 6:43–45).

Those who sense a divine calling on their lives to teach or to lead YHVH’s people need to be first discipled and raised up by older and mature, wise spiritual leaders who have a proven track record of good spiritual fruit. This is the biblical way!

 

The Eight Beatitudes Versus the Eight Woes

Matthew 23:13–33, The Eight Woes. There is a one-to-one correlation between the eight benediction of the beatitudes of Matthew 5:3–12 and the eight maledictions or woes Yeshua pronounces on the hypocritical religious leaders of his day in Matthew 23:13–33.

The kingdom of heaven is opened to the poor, humble or contrite in spirit (Matt 5:3), while the door to kingdom of heaven is shut by and to prideful and exclusive religious hypocrites (Matt 23:13).

Those who mourn will be comforted (Matt 5:4), while greedy and pretentious religious hypocrites bring grief and sorrow to those they rule over (Matt 23:14).

The meek will inherit the earth (Matt 5:5) versus religious zealots who compass the earth to expand their kingdoms to make new converts, all of whom are shut out of the kingdom of Elohim and will inherit hell (Matt 23:15).

Those who hunger and thirst for true righteousness will be filled (Matt 5:6) versus those who pursue a false, man-made religious system righteousness that involves twisting YHVH’s word for their own carnal purposes (Matt 23:16–22).

The merciful will obtain mercy (Matt 5:7), while the religious hypocrites major in spiritually minor things and overlook mercy and the weightier matters of the Torah (Matt 23:23–24).

The pure in heart will see (the heart of) Elohim (Matt 23:8), while hypocritical religionists put on an outward or superficial show of “purity,” but in reality, they overlook and neglect the inward purity of the heart. This equates to Torahlessness, which equates to spiritual blindness and misses the heart of Elohim (Matt 23:25–26).

Peacemakers will be called the sons of Elohim (Matt 5:9) versus Torahless religious hypocrites whose actions cause strife, confusion leading to spiritual uncleanness and death, which is the opposite of peace or shalom,which is physical and spiritual well-being in all areas of life (Matt 23:27–28).

Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake will inherit the kingdom of Elohim (Matt 5:10–12) versus religious hypocrites, while claiming to be followers of Elohim, are themselves the persecutors of YHVH’s righteous saints (Matt 23:29–33).

 

Beware of Blind Leaders Leading Many Astray

Luke 6:40, Perfectly/fully trained. Those disciples of Yeshua the Master-Teacher who are properly trained, fit out, prepared or equipped can become like Yeshua the Master-Teacher. Those who aren’t properly equipped or trained to teach are like the blind leading the blind and will cause others to fall into a spiritual ditch (Luke 6:39). Those who aren’t properly trained not only will be like a blind man, but will also be hypocritical in his judgments and assessments of things. This is because he lacks the experience, wisdom and skills to be able to point out the faults of others because he still inexperienced and has too many blind spots and is still like the blind leading the blind (Luke 6:41–42).

Blind Businessman

This is why Paul very carefully lays out the qualifications for those in spiritual leadership in the local congregation. A spiritual leaders was not to be an inexperienced individual, a new convert or a novice (1 Tim 3:6), but well-discipled in YHVH’s truth before hand (Tit 1:9). Paul says that it is good thing for a man to desire to be a spiritual leader (1 Tim 3:1), but it isn’t a good thing if he doesn’t meet the criteria or qualifications, which Paul then lays out (1 Tim 3:2–13).

The problem is that in our day, there are many individuals who desire to be leaders and teachers, who are self-appointed, and who have not been perfectly or fully trained. Since the advent of the internet, such people now have an easily accessible pulpit-platform from which to influence others. Sadly, they are like the blind hypocrite in Yeshua’s parable leading many astray and causing many to stumble and fall into spiritual ditches. Just because someone has a website, a YouTube channel, has published a book, spoken at a conference, has academic credentials or been on radio and television doesn’t mean they have been perfectly equipped or fully trained for such a vocation. We may not always know what a person’s background or qualifications are, but the spiritual fruit they produce, whether good or bad, can be an excellent indicator as to what type of spiritual tree they are, as Yeshua goes on to say in the next verses (Luke 6:43–45).