AI Summary
5 min readAre You Missing the Heart of God?
When a young man walked into church for the first time wearing a hat, a deacon walked over, grabbed it, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it. The kid got up and walked out the door. That story, told by Pastor Matt Carter on this episode of Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin, frames the central tension of Matthew 23: a religious system so obsessed with external rules that it shut the door of the kingdom in people's faces. The conversation revolves around Jesus' seven "woes" against the Pharisees—and the uncomfortable question of how modern Christians replicate the same patterns.
The Opposite of Blessed
The episode opens by situating Matthew 23 within Jesus' broader ministry. Pastor Joby Martin notes that Jesus began his teaching with the Beatitudes—"blessed, blessed, blessed"—and now pronounces seven woes, which are essentially curses. "Seven is the number of completion," Joby explains. "What he's saying is you are completely cursed." The crucial distinction is that Jesus could always tell the difference between a wounded sheep and a wolf. To the sheep he offered compassion; to the wolves who were leading people astray, he brought a cursing.
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What you'll learn
- 1 Are You Missing the Heart of God? - Matthew 23 (S6E5)
- 2 Timestamped Outline
- 3 (00:02) **Opening Story: The Hat Incident** - A deacon throws a first-time visitor's hat on the ground and stomps on it, illustrating religious legalism
- 4 (00:17) **Introducing the Text: Matthew 23** - Pastor Matt Hardy joins to discuss one of the most intense chapters in the Bible
- 5 (02:01) **What Is a "Woe"?** - The seven woes are the opposite of the Beatitudes, meaning "cursed" rather than "blessed"
- 6 (04:14) **The Danger of Self-Exemption** - Jesus addresses the crowds and disciples while pronouncing woes on the Pharisees, using it as instruction
- 7 (06:08) **The Seat of Moses: Authority Without Integrity** - The Pharisees sat in Moses' seat, meaning they had positional authority to teach Scripture
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
What happens when following the rules becomes more important than knowing the heart of God?
This week on Deepen, we’re talking hypocrisy, legalism, grace and what it looks like to follow Jesus from the inside out. In Matthew 23, Jesus confronts the Pharisees for looking righteous on the outside while missing what matters most.
The challenge for us is not just to see where they got it wrong, but to look in the mirror and ask where we may be doing the same.
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:27 What Are the Seven Woes, and Why Do They Matter?
07:39 What Does It Mean to Sit in Moses’ Seat?
09:20 Where Did the Pharisees Go Wrong?
14:00 When Do We Elevate Our Theology Over Others?
21:52 How Should We Think About Leaders Who Teach Truth but Don’t Live It?
22:30 How Should We Understand the Seven Woes?
32:14 How Are We Still Pushing People Away From Jesus Today?
36:04 What Are the “Weightier Matters” Jesus Talks About?
55:24 How Do We Move From “Have To” to “Get To” in Discipleship?
1:03:47 Closing Prayer
📖 Scripture References
• Matthew 23
• Matthew 23:4
• Matthew 23:23
• Matthew 5
• Matthew 7:23
• Matthew 15
• Mark 2:27
• Mark 7
• Acts 15
• Genesis 4
• Genesis 14
• Galatians
• Romans
• Colossians 3
• Song of Solomon
📌 Supplemental Resources From This Week:
• Sermon
• Claire's Story
• This Week’s Full Service
• Matthew Season 6
The Church of Eleven22® is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eleven22 is led by Pastor Joby Martin and based in Jacksonville, Florida, with multiple campuses throughout Jacksonville and the surrounding areas.
To find out more about how God is moving in and through The Church of Eleven22, visit coe22.com
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