Matthew 23:1-4
1 Then spake Jesus to the
multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses'
seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them
with one of their fingers.
Then, Jesus spoke to the
crowd, and to his disciples. He told
them, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat of authority. So, whatever they tell you to religiously observe,
observe it! But, don’t do as they actually do, because they don’t do what they
say. They put undue burdens on people that they are personally unwilling to
deal with.”
Again, the four gospels were
written during the Church age, but they were written about the age of the
law. Jesus fulfilled Moses and god’s
Law. In saying this He was not
validating the lifestyles of the religious leaders, but he was recognizing the
God-given authority, until it was destroyed in 70 AD.
Matthew 23:5-9
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men:
they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the
chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of
men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one
is your Father, which is in heaven.
Jesus continued, “All their
good deeds are done for public display.
They make phylacteries broad and put large tassels on their
clothes. At the religious feasts, they
love to dine in uppermost rooms, and have the most prominent seats in the
synagogues. In the public markets, they
enjoy being called Rabbi. However, you
are not to be called Rabbi because only one is your Master, the Messiah, and
you are all brothers of equal status.
You are to call no man on earth father, because there is One Father, the
Father in heaven.”
Do you understand that teaching?
That simple statement, “call
no man on earth father,” is a rebuke of Roman Catholicism and all other systems
of Church hierarchy!
Matthew 23:10-12
10 Neither be ye called
masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased;
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
As Jesus continued, “Neither
are you to be called masters, because only One is your
Master, and that is the Messiah, the Christ. However, the one who would be
greatest among you shall be your servant. And, whoever wishes to be exalted
shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Far too many Pastors have
become overlords, and have given up their call to be servants, and overseers. It is in our weakness that God’s strength is
manifested (2 Cor. 12:10).
Matthew 23:13 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.
Christ continued, “But, woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! Because, you attempt to lock
others out of the Kingdom of heaven. And in deed, you do not go in yourselves,
nor do you help others to go in.”
As we will see, Judaism was
supposed to be evangelical, but has ceased all evangelical activity. Today’s Judaism is a mere shell of its
original self. Most Jews hate
evangelism! They are too busy looking
the mirror and telling themselves how spiritually superior they are.
We who support Israel do so
not because of what they are, but because of what they shall be.
Matthew 23:14 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.
Jesus added another woe, “Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You take away widows' houses,
and yet pretend to make long prayers. Because of that you shall receive the
great condemnation.”
God’s supposed people are the
only ones who can offer vain prayers.
Prayers without faith and prayers for the sake of public display are
vain prayers.
Matthew 23:15 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.
Then, Jesus said, “Woe to
you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel across the sea and go to
other lands to make one convert. And, when he is converted to Judaism, you make
him twice the child of death than you are.”
Christ came to bring freedom
from sin. And yet, many Church members know no liberty in Christ. They are in mental bondage.
Matthew 23:16 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!
Jesus called the Pharisees
blind guides! They taught tradition.
Today, most Church denominations teach their denominational
traditions! Those who do so are modern blind
guides.
Matthew 23:17 Ye fools and
blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the
temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Christ called them fools and
blind. He asked, “Which is greater, the
gold in the Temple, or the Temple that houses and sanctifies the gold?”
How would you have answered
that question?
Matthew 23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar,
it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift
that is upon it, he is guilty.
Then, Jesus said, “And,
Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that
is upon it is guilty.”
Today, there is no alter to profane. The alter Christ referred to was destroyed in
70 AD. Jesus was speaking to Jews about
Jewish matters in His earthly day.
Christians are now the Temple
of the Holy Spirit, and our hearts are the alter to
God. What is on your heart?
Matthew 23:19 Ye fools and
blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar
that sanctifieth the gift?
Jesus persisted, “You fools
and blind. Which is greater, the gift or
the altar that sanctifies the gift?”
Matthew 23:20 Whoso therefore
shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all
things thereon.
Jesus’ response is found in
the next few verses.
He told them, “Whoever swears
by the altar swears by the alter, and what is on the
alter!”
Matthew 23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth
therein.
“And, whoever swears by the
temple swears by it, and by Him that resides in the Temple.”
Now, you are the temple of
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God
resides in you.
Matthew 23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
“Anybody who swears by heaven
also swears by the throne of God, and by Him that sits on it.”
Matthew 23:23 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.
Here, we find another woe. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay tithe
of mint, anise, and cummin, and have omitted the
weightier matters such as judgment, mercy, and faith. You should have also done
those things, but not left the others undone.”
Pharisees, Levites owned land
and grew crops. Therefore they were
required by the tithe law to pay a tithe.
The tithe was not incumbent upon all Israelites. Only those that owned land and raised crops
or animals paid a tithe. For an
explanation of the tithe, read my comments on the tithe.
Matthew 23:24 Ye blind
guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Christ called them “blind
guides.” A blind guide has never seen where he is leading others. He has not first-hand knowledge.
Then, he said that they
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
What does that mean?
The religious leaders of His
day were religious, but not godly. They
taught minor issues as major points and accepted unfounded tradition as true
without question.
That sounds a lot like us!
Matthew 23:25 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.
Christ again pointed out that
the scribes and Pharisees were spiritual hypocrites!
Some say that cleanliness is
next to godliness. They cleaned their
eating utensils with great care. However, their personal hearts and minds were
filled with “extortion and excess.”
Matthew 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that
which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also.
Jesus told them to first
cleanse the inside of “the cup and platter.” Then deal with the outside. When the whole is clean, the dish is clean.
God looks on the heart (1
Samuel 16:17)!
Matthew 23:27 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.
Just so the point is not
missed, now Christ gets very personal.
He said that they were like white-washed tombs. They look good on the outside, but inside
they are filled with “dead men's bones” and “uncleanness.”
Looking good on the outside
is not the goal. Being clean before God
is!
Matthew 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Outwardly the Pharisees and
scribes appeared righteous, but their hearts were “full of hypocrisy and
iniquity.”
Who knows know what is in
your heart?
You and God!
Matthew 23:29-30
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in
the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the
blood of the prophets.
The scribes and Pharisees
built the tombs of the prophets, and covered them with special ornaments to
indicate that they were righteous. But
the fathers of the Pharisees killed the prophets.
We are far more humane than
those of Jesus day. Or, are we?
Do not think that we would
have acted in any other way. The outwardly
righteous are still outwardly righteous. And, the truly converted are still
truly converted.
Matthew 23:31-32
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Our hearts witness both for
and against us. Are we the spiritual children of those that murdered the
Prophets? Or, are we children of the
Living God?
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
In Jesus’ day the scribes and
Pharisees were spiritual snakes.
Jesus asked, “How can you
escape the damnation of hell?”
The only escape is though the
faith of Christ.
Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works
of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)
Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (KJV)
If you do not use the KJV,
your Bible may says “in
Christ.” And, in this matter your Bible is inaccurate, mistranslated!
Matthew 23:34-35
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and
wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of
them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed
upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and
the altar.
Again Christ Jesus became
very personal in His speech.
He told the scribes and
Pharisees, “I (Gr. ego-egw) sent you prophets, and
wise men, and (godly) scribes. You
killed some and impaled others. You scourged others in the Synagogues. And,
throughout the country you persecuted them.
“So, upon your heads shall
come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. From the blood of Abel to
the blood of Zacharias, whom you murdered within God’s holy place.”
Matthew 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things
shall come upon this generation.
Then, Jesus hit home when he
told them, “Truthfully I say, all these things shall come upon this
generation.”
Let me be blunt, it happened!
At the crucifixion, the crowd
shouted, “Let His blood be on us, and on our children.” (Matt 27:25)
In 70 AD, the Romans
destroyed the Temple and the surrounding buildings, and killed all the Temple
Priests and most other Levites. Later, in the summer of 135 AD, at the end of
the “Bar Kochba revolt,” the Romans utterly destroyed
all Jerusalem, except for one retaining wall, the Wailing Wall. Then, the city
was rebuilt as a Roman military city and the name was changed to Aelia Capitolina. At that time,
the province name was changed from Judea to Syria Palestina. Jerusalem’s current old city is the Roman
designed colony. It is not the original!
For 200 years, no Jews were
allowed inside Aelia Capitolina. Jewish Christians were exempted, because the
Christians of that day were pacifists.
Following the capture of
Jerusalem in 70 AD, the city became the headquarters for the 10th
Roman Legion. After the bar kochba revolt, Jewish and Gentile Christians were allowed
to remain in the city and lived on Mt Zion.
During the period of exile, Jews could---once a year---come to the Mount
of Olives one day each year to look at the place where the Temple had been.
The Jews called down death on
them and their children.
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!
Jesus continues His discourse
with a statement of compassion, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that killed the
prophets, and stoned those that were sent to you, how often would
I have gathered your
children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you
would not!”
Compassion is God’s
nature. His mercy and grace are results
of His compassion.
Matthew 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate.
Then Jesus proclaimed
Israel’s future, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
It must have been difficult
for Christ to say those words. He had given Israel many opportunities to be reconciled
to God, but they refused. Now, the matter would be taken out of their hands and
placed firmly in the Messiah’s hands.
Matthew 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye
shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord.
Jesus told the scribes and
Pharisees, “You shall not see me again, until you proclaim, ‘Blessed is He that
comes in the name of the Lord.’”
That may be a quote from Psalms
118:26a Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the
LORD (literally: Blessed is he
that comes in the name Yahweh-יהוה)!