Matthew 22 contained a number of failed efforts by the religious leaders to trap Jesus; here in Matthew 23, we have Jesus give a lengthy monologue against the religious leaders, all the while instructing His followers.
1) V1-12 – 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples: 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ [Messiah]. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus begins with what seem to be kind words, that since the religious leaders are in fact the religious leaders, sitting in the place of Moses in their present culture, the crowds and disciples should “obey them and do everything they” say to do (v1-3a). But Jesus adds a disclaimer in v3b: “Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” He goes on to give examples of their hypocrisy in v4-8. First, Jesus says that the religious leaders put immense burdens on the laity, but refuse to help them carry those burdens (v4). In v5-8, Jesus says the religious leaders do everything to try to gain respect in the eyes of men, including engaging in showy religious rituals (phylacteries were the little scripture boxes that hung from their garments), taking prominent places at banquets and front row seats at church, and strolling through the marketplace hoping to be greeted as “Rabbi.”
Beginning in v8, Jesus issues a series of rather surprising instructions to further illustrate the importance of a right understanding of our place under the sovereignty of God our Father. He says, “You are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.” And again in v10, you are not to be called “‘teacher,’ for you have only one Teacher, the Christ [Messiah].” Furthermore, Jesus says in v9 that we should not “call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for” God in heaven is the only Father we have. Is Jesus being literal here? Should we really avoid calling our dads “father”? Should we avoid calling our grade school teachers by that title? I don’t think that’s what Jesus is getting at. Rather, He’s using some extreme language to convey the truth of what He says next, in v11-12. Exhibiting the virtue of humility makes one worthy of exaltation; serving others makes one great. So seeking the title of teacher, or rabbi, is the wrong motive for being a teacher or rabbi. And by referring to a leader or mentor as father, we may be guilty of worshiping someone other than God the Father. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him – including our earthly parents, mentors, teachers, and leaders – and He alone is worthy of praise. His Son, Jesus, is the one from whom we should ultimate learn. Follow Him and Him alone. It seems that one’s motive and attitude is absolutely the critical factor to Jesus in judging whether that person is a hypocrite or not. Is there genuine humility? Is there a desire to service others on behalf of God? Or is there selfish pride in leadership? Is service extending from a desire to be noticed?
2) V13-33 – 13“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 to. [14Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be punished more severely.] 15Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 16Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. 23Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! 33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
This lengthy passage includes the seven woes that Jesus pronounces against the religious leaders. First, in v13, Jesus calls them hypocrites, saying, “You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” This may be the most significant error of all, for Jesus points out that they keep people out of the kingdom of God. It reminds me of the words of Paul from Romans 1:32, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” The religious leaders, as such, should have known how to enter the kingdom of heaven (John 3:6-12). Not only do they not enter themselves, but they keep others from entering. What a terrible thing to be true of you!
V14 appears only in some manuscripts, and it is similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47. It would be the eighth woe in the passage if we include it. In this verse, Jesus again calls the religious leaders hypocrites and refers to a couple of their errors – devouring widow’s houses and saying lengthy prayers – as well as the announcing the more severe punishment that awaits them. They preyed on vulnerable widow’s, who looked to the religious leaders for guidance, often in exchange for monetary contributions. They prayed lengthy prayers to gain attention for themselves, rather than draw attention to God.
In v15, we have another instance of Jesus calling the religious leaders hypocrites. He says they are zealous for making converts to Judaism, but then they corrupt the converts into Satan’s minions by their falsehood. Again, this reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 10:2-4, “I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Likewise, we might think of Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, who strive for converts but end up leading astray any they draw into their fold. It’s a significant error, worthy of a pronouncement of woe.
In v16, Jesus calls the religious leaders “blind guides.” They make up ridiculous rules about swearing oaths that reveal their foolishness and even faulty logic, which Jesus points out in v16-19. Jesus corrects their teaching in v20-22, explaining that all oaths are serious (Matthew 5:34; Hebrews 6:16; James 5:12), because God is sovereign. In other words, when you swear an oath, you are swearing by God Himself.
In v23, Jesus again calls the “teachers of the law and Pharisees” hypocrites. He says they tithe, even down to the miniscule parts of their income (spices), but they fail to guard the more important things of God, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Jesus says, “You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (v23). Jesus sums up this circumstance by saying to the religious leaders, “You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (v24). In other words, they make a really big deal of the small things and completely overlook the importance of the things that matter most. That’s hypocrisy, Jesus says.
In v25, Jesus says the religious leaders are hypocrites, because they make efforts to be clean on the outside, but they neglect the inside, remaining “full of greed and self-indulgence.” Jesus teaches that we should “first clean the inside, …and then the outside also will be clean.” That’s a great lesson for us!
In v27, we have yet another proclamation of woe against the hypocritical religious leaders. It’s essentially the same story as the previous one, where they appear “beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” Hypocrites may seem righteous on the outside, but remain wicked inside, where it matters most. There are certainly particular sins that lend to this circumstance, and we should be firm in guarding against such wickedness.
The final woe appears in v29, when Jesus accuses the hypocritical religious leaders of thinking themselves far more righteous than they are. He says they honor the righteous dead outwardly, thinking that they would not have been guilty, as their precursors were, of killing the prophets. But Jesus says that mentality testifies against them, and He tells them to “fill up…the measure of the sin of your forefathers” (v32). In other words, they are sinning in their mentality and attitude, which was essentially the same thing their ancestors did in killing the prophets. This fact frustrates Jesus to the point where He lashes out with righteous anger, calling them “snakes,” and a “brood of vipers,” knowing that they can’t “escape being condemned to hell” (v33).
3) V34-39 – 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ [Psalm 118:26].”
Jesus concludes His rant with a response. Jesus will send more “prophets and wise men and teachers” to them. Because the religious leaders are so hypocritical, He tells them what will happen, that they will kill, crucify, flog, and pursue those Jesus sends, bringing the wrath of God for the righteous blood of the prophets squarely down on them (v34-36). In v37, Jesus cries out with emotion, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Jesus loves His people. It pains Him greatly to see the stubborn hypocrisy of their leadership keeping them from coming to Him. The leaders were not willing to let the people enter the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus points out to them that their house is left to them desolate (v38). In other words, God gave them leadership positions over His flock, and they have led the flock astray. They can keep their leadership positions for now, but it’s an empty fold, and God’s no longer involved. Jesus is taking the sheep that belong to Him even though the leaders wouldn’t allow it. The concluding remark in v39 announces that Jesus will not be seen again until, according to Scripture, quoting from Psalm 118:26, the people of Jerusalem will say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus had already made His triumphal entry into the city (Matthew 21), where the people did cry out their Hosannas, so I allow Calvin to offer his understanding of these words:
“So then the true meaning of the present passage, in my opinion, is this: ‘[Before now] I have lived among you in humility and kindness, and have discharged the office of a teacher; and now having finished the course of My calling, I shall depart, and it will not be possible for you any longer to enjoy My presence, but Him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and a Minister of Salvation, you will find to be your Judge.’ In this manner the passage agrees with the words of Zechariah, They shall look on him whom they pierced, (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37). But Christ appears also to make an indirect allusion to their vain hypocrisy, because, as if they ardently longed for the promised salvation, they sung daily the words of the psalm, ‘Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord’ (Psalm 118:26), while they treated with scorn the Redeemer that was offered to them. In short, He declares that He will not come to them until, trembling at the sight of His dreadful majesty, they shall exclaim – when it is too late – that truly He is the Son of God. And this threatening is addressed to all despisers of the Gospel, more especially to those who falsely profess His name, while they reject His doctrine; for they will one day acknowledge that they cannot escape the hands of Him whom they now mock by their hypocritical pretensions. …We are also reminded, that so long as Christ exhibits Himself to us in the name of the Father as the herald of salvation and Mediator, we ought not only to honor Him with our lips, but sincerely to wish that He would make us and the whole world subject to Himself.”
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