A Free Online Commentary of the Bible.
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Doers of the Word not Just Teachers 1 - 12.
23.1 - 2. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.
Jesus addresses these next ten verses to the crowds about Him and His disciples. He wants them to show respect to the scribes and Pharisees because they are the teachers of the Law of God they are the experts in the Law of Moses.
23.3. Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
They are to obey everything they are taught by them from the Word of God but not to follow their example because they do not practice what the teach (Romans 7:12, Galatians 3:24).
23.4. They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.
They impose their own rules and regulations that are heavy burdens and too oppressive to be borne. They will not lift a finger to help anyone.
23.5. They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.
They are nothing but show-offs. Everything they do openly is only to attract attention to themselves. They wear extra-large phylacteries, that are prayer boxes with scripture, verses in, on their arms and foreheads (Deuteronomy 6:6-8). All their good deeds are done so that everybody can see and know about them. They attach long fringes on the edges of their robes (Numbers 15:38-39).
23.6. They love the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues.
They love to have the seats of honour at banquets and to sit in the best seats in the meeting places.
23.7. And elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’
When they are going about the marketplaces they delight to hear the people giving them respectful greetings and acknowledge them as Rabbi’s.
23.8. But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.
Jesus tells His followers that they should not seek or have anyone call them Rabbi for there is only One Teacher and that is Jesus Christ. They are brothers in Christ.
23.9. And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.In a religious or priestly sense do not call any man father on earth for there is only One Father of the soul who is God in heaven.
23.10. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ.Again Jesus tells His followers not to let anyone call them teacher for He alone is their teacher.
23.11. The greatest among you will be your servant.
The person who is an elder or leader among them is to serve the others.
23.12. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Those who put themselves above others with haughtiness and false pride shall be brought down. Whoever humbles himself in spirit and manner shall be raised to honour.
Religious Hypocrites 13 - 33.23.13.
“But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.
Jesus now addresses His remarks to the scribes and Pharisees who are not ignorant of the law and teach the people its ordinances. Because of their knowledge they will suffer much sorrow because by their hypocrisies (their insincerity by pretending to have qualities or beliefs that they do not really have) they keep shutting the door into the kingdom of heaven in the peoples face. They will not go in themselves and will not allow others to enter in.
23.14. (NKJV) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
Great sorrow awaits these teachers of the law for they cheat widows out of their homes and them pretend to be very holy and religious by offering long prayers to God. Because of this they will receive the greater condemnation.
23.15. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!
Again great sorrow awaits these people because they go to great lengths to convert one person to their kind of religion and when they ensnare one they make him/her twice as bad as themselves. In fact Jesus says they make him/her a child of hell like they are!
23.16. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’
For the fourth time He tells them that great sorrow awaits them for they are spiritually blind trying to lead the people into spiritual truths they cannot see or understand, or rather do not want to see or understand themselves. They tell the people that if they make an oath by the temple it is meaningless. But if they make one by the gold of the temple then it is binding.
23.17. Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
As far as spiritual things are concerned they are “blind fools” if they think that the gold of the temple is greater than what the temple represents. It is the God of the temple who sanctifies the gold that adorns it.
23.18. And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’If anyone should make an oath by the altar it doesn’t signify anything. But if anyone makes an oath by the sacrificial gift offered on the altar to God they are bound by it.
23.19. You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?Are these hypocrites so blind that they cannot see which is the greater the altar or the sacrificial gift?
23.20 - 21. So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.
Whoever makes on oath by the altar and everything that is on it is bound by it. Likewise whoever makes on oath by the temple and by whose dwelling place it is i.e. God’s.
23.22. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
Again whoever makes an oath in the name of heaven or by the throne of God and He who sits on it is bound by it.Note. Jesus is addressing the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees when He speaks about making oaths. He is not advocating that Christians should make an oath by anything (James 5:12).
23.23. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.These hypocrites make a big show of tithing on every little thing down to the herbs they grow. Yet they neglect to do the most important parts of the law, which are to do justice to love mercy and faithfulness. These ought to be particularly done without neglecting any other point of the law.
23.24. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!
Jesus does not spare them at all again He says they are spiritually blind guides. The illustration He uses is that if they have a gnat or fly in their water or soup they will strain it out but will swallow a camel! What He means is that they will take great care in keeping the minor parts of the law but the most important parts they neglect. This is in reference to the preceding verse.
23.25. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
And so it goes on. They are most particular about washing cups and dishes hands and feet and clothes, all the outward adorning. But inside they are still unclean and full of greed and selfishness and sin (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10).
23.26. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!Particularly addressing the Pharisees who were full of self-righteousness He tells them that it is the heart they need to get clean first and then the outward life would become clean too (Jeremiah 4:14, Ezekiel 18:31, Hebrews 1:3, 10:12).
23.27. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.These scribes and Pharisees are like tombs that have been whitewashed and look beautiful on the outside but inside lie dead corrupting bodies.
23.28. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
They are like these tombs on the outside they look very clean and righteous but in their hearts they are full of hypocrisy and sin (Ephesians 2:1).
23.29 - 30. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
These hypocrites build elaborately decorated tombs for the prophets and adorn the graves of the righteous. They make the boast that if they had lived in the days of these prophets whom their forefathers had murdered they would not have participated with them.
23.31 - 32. By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!By this false declaration they were condemning themselves and showing that they were the descendants of those who had killed the prophets. Jesus knew that they were plotting to kill Him and that they had rejected the message of John the Baptist (Matthew 26:4). So He tells them to go ahead and finish what their ancestors had started.
23.33. You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Jesus’ final caustic words of truth to them were to tell them what they were. Snakes and the sons of vipers (The snakes poison is in its tongue). How will they be able to escape the eternal punishment of suffering in hell!Jesus foretells the Destruction of Jerusalem 34 - 39.
23.34. “For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,
Because of the eternal danger they were in Jesus will be sending to them prophets andwise people and those that will be experts in the law of God. Some of these they will kill and crucify, and others they will flog and throw them out of the synagogues and chase them from town to town (Acts 5:40, 7: 57 -58, 9: 1-2, 12:2).
23.35. so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
As a result of their treatment of the prophets this present generation of Jews will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people. From righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah who they slew between the temple and the altar.
23.36. I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!
It will certainly come to pass that on the people who were living then, in Jesus Christ time, this punishment will fall for they will be held responsible. For it was they who finally rejected the Son of God who had come to save them.
23.37. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!
It is evident from this beseeching cry of the Lord Jesus Christ that He earnestly desired the salvation of the Jews. Those who had killed and stoned the prophets that had been sent to them and would hand Him over to be crucified. In His love He reached out to them continuously and yearned for them to come into His outstretched arms that He might protect and comfort them as a mother does for her chicks. But they would have none of it.
23.38. Look, your house is left to you desolate!
Here in this verse He foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the complete destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 by the Romans.
23.39. For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’
At the end of His final conversation with the scribes and Pharisees He tells them that they will not see Him again until they welcome Him with outstretched arms saying ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (Romans 11:26 - 27, Revelation 1:7).
