“Jesus used his harshest words for the religious crowd.”

This phrase is often said many times. As you read the Gospels, certainly you could come to that conclusion. But what if there was more to Jesus’ words than just anger? We certainly want to be balanced on this and not ignore the whole of Scripture, but Jesus’ biggest condemnation when He was on earth was condemning unbelief. His rant, if you want to call it that, here in Matthew 23 was more than just a rant. Certainly, it was a condemnation of the religious system that existed and it was incredibly harsh, but there was more to it. So let’s look at that today, because as we approach these woes Jesus says in Matthew 23, you may be surprised at what is being communicated.