Matthew 23:13-28 Lesson 47

Matthew 23:13-28 Lesson 47

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The seven woes.

Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees.

Study Tip:

Cling to the Bible, open your heart to its teachings and practice them in your life.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The King James Bible

Matthew 23:13-28
Hypocrisy

13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Margin notes:

"Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." (23:13) - Means, "You shut the gates of heaven to people, you aren't getting in, and you don't allow others to enter either."

"For a pretence make long prayer." (23:14) - "For show (not reverence) you pray a long time."

"Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte." (23:15) - "You travel over sea and land to make one convert."

"He is a debtor." (23:16) - "He is bound (to his oath)."

"Whether is greater." (23:17) - "Which is greater."

"He is guilty." (23:18) - "He is bound."

"And by all things thereon." (23:20) - "And by all gifts on it."

"He that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God." (23:22) - Heaven is God's throne (Acts 7:49).

"Ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin." (23:23) - Three common garden herbs. The Pharisees were careful to pay tithe even on these inexpensive herbs (Leviticus 27:30) yet neglected the "weightier matters."

"Have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." (23:23) - "Have neglected the important aspects of the (Mosaic) Law, justice, mercy, and faith."

"Strain at a gnat." (23:24) - The Pharisees carefully strained their drinking water to avoid accidentally swallowing anything forbidden, even if it was something as small and insignificant as a gnat (Leviticus 11:22-23), yet inside they were unclean and dishonest.

"Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter." (23:25) - Jesus is cleverly rebuking the Pharisees with a metaphor. The Pharisees carefully tended to the outward things such as cleaning their dinnerware as prescribed by Mosaic Law but inwardly they rejected God (Isaiah 29:13; Mark 7:4-9).

"They are full of extortion and excess." (23:25) - "They are full of greed and self-indulgence."

"Ye are like unto whited sepulchres." (23:27) - "You're like whitewashed tombs." Another insult aimed at the hypocritical Pharisees. Freshly whitewashed sepulchres looked beautiful on the outside, but inside they were filled with decaying bodies. Paul used a similar insult against the High Priest Ananias in Acts 23:3. Perhaps it could be said of most sinners.

Jesus also warned us about false religious leaders in Mark 12:38-40 and Luke 20:45-47.

New Living Translation

Matthew 23:13-28

13 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either.

15 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

16 "Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple,' but that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.' 17 Blind fools! Which is more important-the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear 'by the altar' is not binding, but to swear 'by the gifts on the altar' is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important-the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear 'by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear 'by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear 'by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

23 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law-justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

25 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy-full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

27 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs-beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Who is a "child of Hell" (23:15)?

Remember to spend time with your Bible each day, there is much to learn.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. A "child of Hell" is anyone the Pharisees converted to Judaism and then taught them to worship their man-made laws, rites, and ceremonies over worshipping God (Isaiah 9:16; Matthew 5:19-20; Luke 11:52; Romans 10:3).

Advice from Jesus:

"Mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done." (23:23)

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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