Matthew
23:13-28
Lesson 47
23:13-28
Lesson 47
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. *Many older manuscripts omit verse 14 |
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) - "You shut the gates of heaven to people, you yourselves won't enter, and you don't let those who are entering go in." "For a pretence make long prayer." (23:14) - "For show (not reverence) you make long prayers." "Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte." (23:15) - "You travel over sea and land to make one convert." "Woe unto you, ye blind guides." (23:16) - The scribes and Pharisees were the blind guides Jesus spoke of in Matthew 15:14. See also Isaiah 56:10-11 and Malachi 2:8. "Whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor." (23:16) - "Whoever swears (an oath) by the gold in the Temple, they are bound (by the oath)." "Whether is greater." (23:17) - "Which is greater." "He is guilty." (23:18) - "He is bound (to their oath)." "And by all things thereon." (23:20) - "And by all gifts on the altar." "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 native to the Near East. The Pharisees meticulously paid tithe on the inexpensive herbs they sold (Leviticus 27:30) but 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 unclean or forbidden, even something as small as a gnat (Leviticus 11:22-23). However, their inner selves were unclean. "Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter." (23:25) - Here, Jesus uses a metaphor to rebuke the Pharisees. The Pharisees carefully tended to the outward things prescribed by the Mosaic law, like ritually cleaning their dinnerware. But inwardly, they rejected God (Isaiah 29:13; Mark 7:4-9). Once we accept Christ, it's crucial to transform both our outward behavior (the outer cup) and our hearts (the inner cup). "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." This was another insult that Jesus directed at the 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 we could say this about most sinners. |