Matthew23
New American Standard
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses.
3Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them.
4And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger.
5And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
6And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues,
7and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people.
8But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.
9And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
11But the greatest of you shall be your servant.
12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14
15“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.
16“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.’
17You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?
18And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’
19You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
20Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
21And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it.
22And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, 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.
24You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25“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.
26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.
27“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.
28So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
33You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
34“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
35so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
38Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
39For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Matthew 23.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Jesus reproves the scribes and Pharisees. (1–12). Crimes of the Pharisees. (13–33). The guilt of Jerusalem. (34–39).
vv1-12
The scribes and Pharisees explained the law of Moses, and enforced obedience to it. They are charged with hypocrisy in religion. We can only judge according to outward appearance; but God searches the heart. They made phylacteries. These were scrolls of paper or parchment, wherein were written four paragraphs of the law, to be worn on their foreheads and left arms, Ex 13:2–10; 13:11–16; De 6:4–9; 11:13–21. They made these phylacteries broad, that they might be thought more zealous for the law than others. God appointed the Jews to make fringes upon their garments, Nu 15:38, to remind them of their being a peculiar people; but the Pharisees made them larger than common, as if they were thereby more religious than others. Pride was the darling, reigning sin of the Pharisees, the sin that most easily beset them, and which our Lord Jesus takes all occasions to speak against. For him that is taught in the word to give respect to him that teaches, is commendable; but for him that teaches, to demand it, to be puffed up with it, is sinful. How much is all this against the spirit of Christianity! The consistent disciple of Christ is pained by being put into chief places. But who that looks around on the visible church, would think this was the spirit required? It is plain that some measure of this antichristian spirit prevails in every religious society, and in every one of our hearts.
vv13-33
The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckoned double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that they might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests. They were very strict and precise in smaller matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. It is not the scrupling a little sin that Christ here reproves; if it be a sin, though but a gnat, it must be strained out; but the doing that, and then swallowing a camel, or, committing a greater sin. While they would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. We are really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. The deceitfulness of sinners' hearts appears in that they go down the streams of the sins of their own day, while they fancy that they should have opposed the sins of former days. We sometimes think, if we had lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised and rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word, in his ministers, is still no better treated. And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts' lusts, who obstinately persist in gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters.
vv34-39
Our Lord declares the miseries the inhabitants of Jerusalem were about to bring upon themselves, but he does not notice the sufferings he was to undergo. A hen gathering her chickens under her wings, is an apt emblem of the Saviour's tender love to those who trust in him, and his faithful care of them. He calls sinners to take refuge under his tender protection, keeps them safe, and nourishes them to eternal life. The present dispersion and unbelief of the Jews, and their future conversion to Christ, were here foretold. Jerusalem and her children had a large share of guilt, and their punishment has been signal. But ere long, deserved vengeance will fall on every church which is Christian in name only. In the mean time the Saviour stands ready to receive all who come to him. There is nothing between sinners and eternal happiness, but their proud and unbelieving unwillingness.
Key Words
τότε (tóte): the when, i.e. at the time that (of the past or future, also in consecution)
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs): Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites
λαλέω (laléō): to talk, i.e. utter words
ὄχλος (óchlos): a throng (as borne along); by implication, the rabble; by extension, a class of people; figuratively, a riot
καί (kaí): and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words
αὐτός (autós): the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
μαθητής (mathētḗs): a learner, i.e. pupil
γραμματεύς (grammateús): scribe, town-clerk
Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaîos): a separatist, i.e. exclusively religious; a Pharisean, i.e. Jewish sectary
καθίζω (kathízō): to seat down, i.e. set (figuratively, appoint); intransitively, to sit (down); figuratively, to settle (hover, dwell)
Cross References
Matthew 23Parallel lamentation over Jerusalem and the metaphor of gathering her children under her wings.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Identical accusation against lawyers for binding heavy, unyielding burdens on men.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The martyrdom of Zachariah in the temple court, representing the climax of Old Testament martyr blood.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
The messianic greeting from Psalm 118:26, echoing the crowd's acclamation of Jesus.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Jesus' key proverbial maxim: whosoever exalts himself shall be abased, and vice versa.
Supported by JFB
Parallel accusation of shutting the kingdom of heaven by taking away the key of knowledge.
Supported by JFB
The Law's declaration that the altar is most holy, sanctifying whatever touches it.
Supported by John Calvin
Scripture asserting that God dwells in the sanctuary, giving validity to the temple oath.
Supported by John Calvin
Jesus' foundational teaching on oaths, prohibiting swearing by heaven as God's throne.
Supported by John Calvin
Summarizes the weightier matters of the Law as doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul calling the high priest a 'whited wall', demonstrating Christ's sepulchre metaphor in action.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The biblical pattern of an apostate generation filling up the measure of their fathers' sins.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The literalist misapplication of bound laws on hands/foreheads leading to the physical phylacteries.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel warning to beware of scribes who love long clothing and chief synagogue seats.
Supported by JFB
John the Baptist's identical denunciation of the Pharisees as a generation of vipers.
Supported by Matthew Henry