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Matthew Chapter Twenty-three

 

I. Content of the Chapter

 

The King’s Warning, Blame and Sigh

I. The Lord’s warning towards His disciples:

  A. Do not imitate the deeds of the Pharisees (v.1-4).

  B. Do not follow the Pharisees’ vainglory (5-12).

II. The Lord’s blame towards the Pharisees: 

  A. They shut up the kingdom of heaven (v.13).

  B. They devour widows’ houses (v.14).

  C. They win one proselyte (v.15).

  D. They are blind guides (v.16-22).

  E. They concentrate on details and forget the main purpose (v.23-24).

  F. They are clean outside and inside are unclean (v.25-26).

  G. They are like the whitewashed tombs (v.27-28).

  H. They murder prophets (v.29-36).

III. The Lord’s sigh towards Jerusalem:

  A. The Lord is “willing” many times, however, they are “not willing” (v.37).

  B. He predicted that the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple would become desolate (v.38).

  C. He predicted that they must know Him as the Messiah in the last day (v.39).

 

II. Verse by Verse commentary

 

Matt. 23:1 “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,

   YLT: “Then Jesus spake to the multitudes, and to his disciples,”

   Literal Meaning: before this time, when the Lord preached, He usually did not mix His disciples with the multitudes. He taught according to different audiences (See Matt. 5:1-2, 10:5, 13:10-11, 18:1). Now He “spoke to the multitudes and His disciples”. This shows that the following teachings were said especially for the Jews, including His disciples (at this time His disciples listened to the teachings standing on the position of the Jews). Therefore, to believers in the dispensation of grace, it is not suitable for us to keep some sentences in this chapter literally, for example “whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do” (See v.3), “swear by…” (See v.20-22), etc.

 

Matt. 23:2 “saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.

   YLT: “saying, `On the seat of Moses sat down the scribes and the Pharisees;”

   The Background: usually the “Moses’ seat” was set in the synagogue of the Jews. It was hewed by big stones and the scribe was invited to sit on it and interpret the meaning of the Law to the multitudes.

   Literal Meaning: “the scribes and the Pharisees” were a group of people who were zealous in the traditions of the Jewish elders. They asked the Jews to keep the Law of Moses first and the regulations made by the elders of all generations in addition.

  “Sit in Moses’ seat” “Moses’ seat” indicates the position to teach and instruct the Law of Moses. Therefore, it has the authority of representing the Law (See Ezra. 7:6, 25-26).

 

Matt. 23:3 “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

   YLT: “all, then, as much as they may say to you to observe, observe and do, but according to their works do not, for they say, and do not;”

   Literal Meaning: “whatever they tell you to observe” indicate their teachings about the Law; the “whatever” here is the tone of emphasis and this does not mean all the words that they tell (See Matt. 16:6, 12).

  “That observe and do” “You” were the Jews, including His disciples. At that time the Lord had not been crucified. It was the joint point between the dispensation of the Law and the dispensation of grace and the disciples had not been delivered from the Law. And therefore they still needed to observe and do the Law. Today, believers have already entered into the dispensation of grace and we do not need to keep the laws of ceremonies (See Col. 2: 14, 20-21), however, we still need to keep the laws and regulations concerning morality (not the letter).

  “They say, and do not do.” This is the feature of the hypocrites (See Rom. 2:21).

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Believers should not despise the teachings preached by the preacher according to the Bible. After we have proved it, we should hold fast what is good (See 1Thess. 5:20-21).

2) The feature of the Pharisees is that “they say, and do not do”. Today, there are many preachers who also “say, and do not do”. We who receive teachings should not only pat attention to “listen” but also pay heed to “see”.

3) The common fault of religious believers is that they say and do not do------what they do does not accord with what they say------“the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Gen. 27:22).

4) Those who “say and do not do” must not know what they are truly saying because the true knowledge certainly brings in the true practice.

5) Only the Lord Jesus is “mighty in deed and word” (Luke. 24:19). He says and does. Anyone who lives by the life of the Lord is able to say and do.

6) The true witness of the Lord must have both spiritual knowledge and spiritual experience, i.e. the one who says and does. We should imitate this kind of people (See 1Cor. 11:1, 1Thess. 1:6).

 

Matt. 23:4 “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

   YLT: “for they bind together burdens heavy and grievous to be borne, and lay upon the shoulders of men, but with their finger they will not move them.”

   Literal Meaning: “they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders.” “Heavy burdens” especially indicate the burdens of the Law; they bind many strict letters and regulations on men and make it difficult for them to carry out.

  “They themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” It means that they use the strict regulations to demand others instead of themselves.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Believers not only should not lay burdens on others’ shoulders but also should bear one another’s burdens (See Gal. 6:2).

2) Religious believers are not only “unable” to do but also “unwilling” to move. Anyone who only knows to teach others and will not move himself with one of his fingers is unworthy to be a leader of the church.

 

Matt. 23:5 “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

   YLT: “`And all their works they do to be seen by men, and they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments,”

   Meaning of Words: “borders of their garments”: guard keeper.

   The Background: “borders of their garments” The ancient Jews wrote four passages of words in the Scriptures (Exod. 13:1-10, 11-16, Deut. 6:4-9, 11:13-21) in sheepskin scroll and put them into the square leather box with a leather belt. They usually brought two this kind of boxes and bound them upon the arm and the forehead respectively. The original meaning of this action is to remind them not to forget the words of God (See Deut. 6:6-8).

  “Their phylacteries” is a lace of blue which was put upon the fringe of borders of their garments and its original meaning is to remind them that they should keep the commandments of God (See Num. 15:38-39).

   Literal Meaning: the Pharisees purposely broaden the small leather box which takes the Scripture and enlarge the borders of their garments in order to attract attention. Common people only bind the box of scriptures when they pray, however, the Pharisees always bind them in the aim of letting others know their piety and gain others’ praise.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Those who do only to be seen by others are the hypocrites and they want to have glory of men (See Matt. 6:1-2, 5, 16).

2) Religious believers like to show off themselves, denote money, bear witness, do service, preach and write books and many spiritual good works, perhaps the motives of them are to seek vain glory (See Pill. 2:3).

 

Matt. 23:6 “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,

   YLT: “they love also the chief couches in the supper, and the chief seats in the synagogues,”

   Spiritual Meaning: “they love the best places at feasts” symbolizes the status of the world; “the best seats in the synagogues” symbolizes spiritual status.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) The greatest temptation of leaders of the church is from their inner hearts------they like to be held high by others and show their importance in the multitudes.

2) Anyone who cares about titles and status in the church cannot service well.

 

Matt. 23:7 “greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.'

   YLT: “and the salutations in the market-places, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.”

   Meaning of Words: “Rabbi”: my master, my teacher, my great one.

   Literal Meaning: “greetings in the marketplaces” means that they like to be flattered, honored and respected in the multitudes.

  “Be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’” “Rabbi” is the honorific title for the class of teachers (See John. 1:38, 3:26) and usually the Jews call the scribes “Rabbi”.

 

Matt. 23:8 “But you, do not be called Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.

   YLT: “`And ye ye may not be called Rabbi, for one is your director the Christ, and all ye are brethren;”

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) “One is” shows the sole respect of God and Christ and anyone else cannot be mentioned with Him in the same breath.

2) In the church, believers only have the diversities of gifts and operations (See 1Cor. 12:4-6). We do not have the distinctions of classes and we are all brothers (See Heb. 3:1, Rev. 1:9).

 

Matt. 23:9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

   YLT: “and ye may not call [any] your father on the earth, for one is your Father, who is in the heavens,”

   Literal Meaning: “do not call anyone on earth your Father,” “Father” is the fountainhead of life. Here it did not mean that we couldn’t call our own parents “father”. It meant that we should not treat men on earth as the fountainhead of spiritual life.

  “One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” It shows that only God Himself is the fountainhead of our spiritual life.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) To the believers whose spiritual lives are young, those whose spiritual lives are much maturer could have the heart of a father (See 1Thess. 2:11), however, they could not have the place of a father.

2) The most important is that no one can replace the place of the Father in heaven in the hearts of believers.

 

Matt. 23:10 “And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

   YLT: “nor may ye be called directors, for one is your director the Christ.”

   Meaning of Words: “teachers”: instructor, director, conductor, explainer, guide.

   The Background: at that time, the Jewish disciples of “teachers” should obey the teachers’ instructions concerning their every movement and every action.

   Literal Meaning: “do not be called teachers.” Rabbi, Father and teacher were honorific titles for the Jews to call the teachers (scribes) of the Law.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Some of the clergy in Christianity like to be called “the Reverend” because of the vainglory.

2) Believers should not treat the commandments of men as doctrines to obey and we should hear “Him” (See Matt. 17:5).

3) Teachers of the New Testament (1Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11) help us to understand the Bible and know the will of God. We should not despise their prophecies, however, we should prove all things (See Thess. 5:20-21).

4) The teachings given by anyone else is external and objective. Only Christ who lives in us is our subjective teacher of our personal concern.

5) Believers only have one teacher and one Father. Our sole fountainhead is the Father in heaven and we are only instructed by one who is Christ; Father is the fountainhead and Christ is the way.

 

Matt. 23:11 “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

   YLT: “And the greater of you shall be your ministrant,”

   Meaning of Words: “servant”: deacon, minister, steward.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) The principle of the spiritual circles: the true “great”, disregarding of one’s appearance, status and titles, is the one who is able to do and serve (See Matt. 20:26-27).

2) The more one serves others in the church, the “greater” he is.

 

Matt. 23:12 “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

   YLT: “and whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

   Literal Meaning: “who humbles himself will be exalted” “Humble himself” indicates the modest attitude and it does not mean the self-abasement of one’s personality.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.” It is the track of the fall of Satan (See Is. 14:12-14); “who humbles himself will be exalted.” It is the way to gain glory of Christ.

2) The more one has been dealt with by cross, the more glory will he have. Conversely, the more one’s natural part is, the more will he be despised.

 

Matt. 23:13But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for ye do not go in, nor those going in do ye suffer to enter.”

   The Background: “hypocrites” In the original it means actors on stage who speak under masks so as to play an assumed character vividly. Their works and deeds on stage do not represent their “true personalities”.

   Literal Meaning: “woe” means that “they will receive just deserts of evildoing” and “how sorrowful and miserable it is”.

  “For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.” It means that they hold back men from entering into the kingdom of heaven; “the kingdom of heaven” is the realm where the heaven reigns. The scribes and the Pharisees only pay attention to the earthly things and make the Jews not find the door (the door of the kingdom of heaven) to enter in.

  “For you neither go in yourselves” means that: a) they themselves are unrighteous and stumble others; b) their teachings are wrong and therefore they mislead others.

   Spiritual Meaning: the appearance of religious believers does not accord with the reality of them. They purposely do not let others know their nature of corruption. “The kingdom of heaven” indicates the realm where the heaven reigns. Therefore “shut up the kingdom of heaven” means that do not let men live under the heavenly authority. They make men solely stress on vain ceremonies, letters and teachings, and do not make their hearts turn to the Lord (See 2Cor. 3:6, 16).

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) On spiritual way, the moment one does not grow (“you neither go in yourselves”), he will hold back others from growing (“nor do you allow those who are entering to go in”). Spiritual leaders who walk “in front” should never be conservative and complacent and then shut up the door for others to receive grace because they themselves are at a standstill.

2) Religious leaders not only do not magnify the Lord themselves but also hold back others from listening to the words of the Lord simply. Once they meet the teachers of heresy who refuse to obey them, they excommunicate them in excuse of the so-called disobedience to the “delegation of authority”. This situation is often seen in the history of the church.

 

Matt. 23:14 “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.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, because of this ye shall receive more abundant judgment.”

   Meaning of Words: “condemnation”: judgment, conviction.

   Literal Meaning: some hand-written scrolls do not have this verse.

  “For you devour widow’s houses” indicates that they extort money from the helpless and make them fall into the bind of debts.

  “For a pretence make long prayers” indicate that they make others fall into trouble, however, they themselves maintain the form of piety.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) “Widows” here indicate the believers who are helpless and easily bullied and oppressed (See 1Tim. 5:5, Zech. 7:10). Religious believers hold gain to be piety (See 1Tim. 6:5) and deceive the hearts of the simple by good works and fair speeches in order to serve their own belly (Rom. 16:18).

2) Religious believers like to have a spiritual form of piety and lead captive silly women (2Tim. 3:5-6) and make them be willing to dedicate money. These religious believers who are greedy for money have been erred from the faith and the Lord condemns that they will receive greater condemnation and they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1Tim. 6:10).

 

Matt. 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye go round the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and whenever it may happen ye make him a son of gehenna twofold more than yourselves.”

   Literal Meaning: “For you travel land and sea” indicates that they do missionary work to faraway overseas countries.

  “Win one proselyte” “Proselyte” indicates that the Gentiles are converted to Judaism and become a member of the group of the Jews. Its conditions include worshiping God, obeying the commandments of the Law, the male’s being circumcised, receiving the baptism to enter into Judaism, offering sacrifice and so on.

  “You make him a son of hell” Because those who follow the zealous Letterism and become one proselyte, they will be led to be more zealous in letters and cannot extricate themselves from the wrong faith. Consequently they will receive the everlasting punishment.

  “Twice as much” The evil nature of the blind followers and the evil they have learned from the hypocritical Pharisees make the dual evil.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) There is a strange phenomenon in the world that persons with impure faith of religious groups (such as Mormon Church and Jehovah’s witness) are more zealous to preach than Christians with pure faith. They indeed “travel land and sea” to countries in the world to “win one proselyte”.

2) Some Christians are zealous to preach the gospel, unfortunately they do this out of contention (See Pill. 1:17). They do so in order to enlarge their own “assembly” instead of for the witness of the Lord. Woe to this kind of people.

3) Religious believers only win one “proselyte”------to become a member of the man-made originations. They do not lead men to walk on the way of life and contrarily make men stress on letters which kill men (See 2Cor. 3:6) and consequently they both perish------“make him a son of hell”.

 

Matt. 23:16Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'

   YLT: “`Wo to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary is debtor!”

   Meaning of Words: “temple”: sanctuary.

   Literal Meaning: “blind guides” “Blind” indicates that he himself is in darkness and is unable to see the correct way. However, he is confident that he is a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish and a teacher of babes (Rom. 2:19-20) and therefore he likes to be lead others. The blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (See Matt. 15:14).

  “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.” The scribes and the Pharisees in order to help the common people abandon oaths, taught the common people that there were two grades of oaths and whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.

  “Whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.” They held that “the gold of the temple” was more important than “the temple” and therefore whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it. “He is obliged to perform it” in the original means that “he is in debt”. 

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Religious believers teach others with the sight of men and judge what kind of oath is effective with the purpose of finding excuse for their disobedience to oaths and shirking the responsibilities.

2) The principle that they have set up shows the condition that they transpose the order and despise God.

 

Matt. 23:17 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

   YLT: “Fools and blind! for which [is] greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that is sanctifying the gold?”

   Literal Meaning: “for which is greater” The Lord meant that they did not know the original order and fundamentality of things.

  “The gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?” “Sanctifies” means to “be separated to God”; the sanctification here is not the sanctification of nature (See Rom. 6:19) but the positional sanctification. Though the gold is valuable, if it is used beyond the temple, it is “common”. Only when it is used in the temple, the gold is sanctified and therefore the temple is greater than the gold. In other words, what sanctifies something is greater than the thing that has been sanctified.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Religious believers do not know how to discern the importance and greatness and therefore the Lord judge them as “fools and blind”.

2) “Gold” could typify that one seeks to be spiritual. “Temple” typifies to build the church for a habitation of God (Eph. 2:21-22). Religious believers stress on their own pursuit and do not know that God’s will is to gain the church on earth. 

3) If any spiritual person or person is not unto the church or used for the church, its value is limited.

 

Matt. 23:18 “And, Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'

   YLT: “`And, whoever may swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever may swear by the gift that is upon it is debtor!”

   Literal Meaning: “alter” indicates the sacrificial alter which is used to offer sacrifices; “gift” indicates ox, sheep, dove, etc. The scribes and the Pharisees hold that whoever swears by the alter, it is nothing and so that they do not need to perform it. However, whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it. “Is obliged to” in the original means “is in debt”.

 

Matt. 23:19 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

   YLT: “Fools and blind! for which [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that is sanctifying the gift?”

   Literal Meaning: When a sheep is in the flocks of sheep and has not been separated to God, it is common. However, once it is separated to offer to the alter, it is holy and therefore the alter is greater.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Religious believers lack spiritual insight (“fools and blind”) and therefore they do not know to value the things (such the alter and the temple) with heavenly value and on the contrary, they value the things (such as the gift and the gold) with earthly value.

2) If believers want to be useful in the hands of the Lord, they have to put themselves on the alter and let the cross of the Lord (the meaning of “the alter”) deal with their natural life more.

 

Matt. 23:20 “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.

   YLT: “`He therefore who did swear by the altar, doth swear by it, and by all things on it;”

   Literal Meaning: this verse indicates that when men come to the alter to offer sacrifice and swear, they equally come to God to offer sacrifice and swear.

 

Matt. 23:21 “He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.

   YLT: “and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it;”

   Literal Meaning: this verse indicates that when men come to the temple to worship and swear, they equally come to God to worship Him and swear.

 

Matt. 23:22 “And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

   YLT: “and he who did swear by the heaven, doth swear by the throne of God, and by Him who is sitting upon it.”

   Literal Meaning: the Lord corrects them that and no matter what kind of oath it is, it is swore by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it and therefore men could not violate oath.

  Here the Lord pointed out the wrongness of the scribes and the Pharisees. It did not mean that the Lord approved men to “swear”; in the final analysis, all men’s oaths are swore by God and therefore we should not swear at all (See Matt. 5:34-37).

 

Matt. 23:23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye give tithe of the mint, and the dill, and the cumin, and did neglect the weightier things of the Law the judgment, and the kindness, and the faith; these it behoved [you] to do, and those not to neglect.”

   Meaning of Words: “justice”: judgment, righteous.

   Literal Meaning: “pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin” The scribes and the Pharisees stressed on tithe and they were even concerned about the small products in the field (See Lev. 27:30, Deut. 14:22). “Mint and anise and cummin” are the plants used to make medicine or flavor.

  “The weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” The spirit of the Law could be divided into three items: being justice to oneself, being merciful to others, and being faithful to God (See Mic. 6:8).

  “These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” It indicates that “justice, mercy and faith” should be done, and “tithe” should not be left aside and neglected because of these things.

  This verse shows that the Pharisees only obeyed the least regulations of the Law such as the tithe (though these things should not be left undone), however, they neglected “the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy and faith” which should have been done.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) The Lord did not ask men to despise the tithe. He asked men to know the relative importance.

2) If believers only talk about justice, mercy and faith with their lips today and do not have actual actions and misunderstand that the tithe is not important, contrarily they are not as good as the Pharisees.

 

Matt. 23:24 “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

   YLT: “`Blind guides! who are straining out the gnat, and the camel are swallowing.”

   The Background: the Jews usually used a cloth to strain the wine before they drank in case they may touch or swallow something unclean. “The gnat and came” are unclean (See Lev. 11:4, 41); the former is a kind of very tiny insect and the latter is a large animal.

  In the Syrian which was used in the land of Palestine at that time, “gnat” and “camel” were very similar. Therefore the saying that “strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” existed to show that men haggle over insignificant things and ignore significant things.

   Literal Meaning: if there is a small gnat falls in the wine, they will try their best to strain it out. However, they do not feel unclean to swallow the large camel. The Lord blamed them that they did not discern the relative importance. 

   Enlightenment in the Word: if believers only argue about some words and teachings of the Bible (such as the ways of “baptism’) and neglect the spiritual reality that the teachings involve (such as the “die and resurrect with the Lord together” that the baptism symbolizes), it is to strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

 

Matt. 23:25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye make clean the outside of the cup and the plate, and within they are full of rapine and incontinence.”

   The Background: “you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish” The cup and dish which the Pharisees used in worship should be cleansed through ceremonial procedures.

   Literal Meaning: “but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” Just like the vessels which are clean in the outside could be full of poisonous things, those who have been cleansed through ceremony may be full of extortion and self-indulgence.

  “Extortion” is related to the deceitfulness of the riches (See Matt. 13:22) and self-indulgence is the lust of the flesh (See 1John. 2:16); “extortion” indicates to oppress others in order to fulfill one’s selfish desire and “self-indulgence” indicates to indulge himself to fulfill his selfish desire.

  In this verse the Lord blamed them that they only stressed on the cleanness of letters (See Mark. 7:4) despite that inside they are dirty and unclean.

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Many people restrict their own behaviors before a big crowd (“cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish”) and show their lust to swallow others and indulge themselves when others are unaware (“inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence”).

2) Religious believers have a form of godliness but deny the power of it (2Tim. 3:5).

 

Matt. 23:26 “Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

   YLT: “`Blind Pharisee! cleanse first the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside of them also may become clean.”

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) If we live in the spiritual reality, we should pay attention to deal with our inner intentions, and naturally we will bring forth good and pure words and deeds out of the hearts (See Matt. 12:35, 15:18-19).

2) The outside behaviors originate from the inside life------the more Christ has been informed in men (Gal. 4:19), the more the outside behaviors are able to magnify Christ (Pill. 1:20).

 

Matt. 23:27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye are like to whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly indeed do appear beautiful, and within are full of bones of dead men, and of all uncleanness;”

   The Background: if the Jews step on the tomb, they held that they may be infected with the uncleanness of the dead and they were unclean according to the religious ceremony (See Lev. 21:1, Num. 19:16). Therefore the Jews painted the tombs in white and before the Passover every year, they whitewashed the tombs in the countryside as usual in order to discern for men easily (especially at night), lest they may be careless and defile themselves (See Luke. 11:44).

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Religious believers think in one way and behave in another. They are dead without lives in them. But they outside hide (“whitewash”) their dead situation (See Rev. 3:1).

2) The outside behaviors of religious believers are not out of lives, and therefore they appear beautiful outwardly. However, they are still unclean before God because God has perspective sight (See 1Cor. 2:10) and He is able to search reins and hearts (Ps. 7:9, Rev. 2:23).

 

Matt. 23:28 “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

   YLT: “so also ye outwardly indeed do appear to men righteous, and within ye are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

   Enlightenment in the Word: religious believers fear men instead of God (See Rom. 3:18). They are only concerned about their behaviors to men and the outward appearance instead of that before God and the inner part.

 

Matt. 23:29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

   YLT: “`Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous,”

   Literal Meaning: “build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous” indicates the behaviors of showing their respect towards the prophets and the righteous. “Prophets” are those who speak for God; “the righteous” are those who die for God.

 

Matt. 23:30 “and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'

   YLT: “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.”

   Literal Meaning: they build the tombs of the prophets and the righteous whom their fathers had killed in order to show that they are different from their fathers.

   Enlightenment in the Word: the Pharisees respected the former prophets and could not bear the current prophets. Men in the religious circles usually hold high the dead ones, however, they despise the living ones.  

 

Matt. 23:31Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

   YLT: “So that ye testify to yourselves, that ye are sons of them who did murder the prophets;”

   Literal Meaning: this verse shows that they are the clear proof for the saying that “like father, like son”.

 

Matt. 23:32 “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.

   YLT: “and ye ye fill up the measure of your fathers.”

   Meaning of Words: “measure”: degree.

   Literal Meaning: this verse means that “you fulfill the evil which your forefathers had started to do” .The forefathers of the Jews committed all sorts of wickedness and their present leaders continue to do all kinds of evil and make the existing evil reach a climax.

 

Matt. 23:33 “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

   YLT: “`Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?”

   Meaning of Words: “brood”: offspring.

   Literal Meaning: “serpents, brood of vipers!” It shows that their nature comes from the evil nature of Satan (See Matt. 3:7, 12:34); their teachings contain evil (Matt. 16:12).

  “How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” They are exactly like their forefathers and only know to condemn others and justify themselves. Therefore they cannot escape the wrath which God would show to their forefathers, i.e. the condemnation of hell.

 

Matt. 23:34 “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

   YLT: “`Because of this, lo, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and of them ye will kill and crucify, and of them ye will scourge in your synagogues, and will pursue from city to city;”

   Literal Meaning: here the Lord predicted that how the leaders of Judaism would persecute and kill all the apostles, prophets and teachers of the New Testament who are sent by the Lord (See Acts. 5:40, 8:1-3 and etc).

 

Matt. 23:35 “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

   YLT: “that on you may come all the righteous blood being poured out on the earth from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar:”

   Literal Meaning: “from the blood of righteous Abel” “Abel” was the first righteous one who was killed (Gen. 4:8-11).

  “To the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the alter.” There are two kinds of statements about the “Zechariah” here:

  a) It indicates Zechariah, the son of the priest Jehoiada and he was stoned by men in the temple of Jehovah (See 2Chron. 24:15, 20-22). The contraction of this statement is that the father of Zechariah was not “Berechiah”. Maybe “Berechiah” was another name of Jehoiada or Jehoiada was the grandfather of Zechariah because son also means the offspring in Hebrew. Those who held this statement believed that the Jewish arrangement of the Hebrew Bible started from Generation and ended in Chronicles. When the Judaists talk about “from Generation to the Chronicles”, it is just like Christians’ saying about “from Generation to Revelation” and this means the whole Bible. Therefore, “from Abel in Generation to Zechariah in Chronicles” means to summarize all the martyrs of the Old Testament.

  b) It indicates Zechariah, the son of Berechiah (See Zech. 1:1). According to time, this Zechariah was the last prophet recorded in the Bible after the kingdom of Israel had been conquered and carried captive. However, the Old Testament did not record that he was killed and therefore it is uncertain that the Lord mentioned him here. If the Lord mentioned him here, it means the first martyr (Abel) and the last one (Zechariah) in the Old Testament and therefore it also means all the martyrs of the Old Testament.

 

Matt. 23:36 “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

   YLT: “verily I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”

   Literal Meaning: it should mean that the sin of the blood of all the prophets and the righteous would come on the leaders of Judaism. God would let them take on the condemnation which their forefathers should take on and this was fulfilled in A.D. 70 as expected.

 

Matt. 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

   YLT: “`Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.”

  Literal Meaning: “stones those who are sent to her!” Usually the Jews stone four kinds of men to death: a) those who serve other gods (See Deut. 17:5, 7); b) anyone who has a wizard (See Lev. 20:27); c) those who commit adultery (See Deut. 22:22, John. 8:5); d) the false prophets (See John. 8:33, 11:8). Here it must indicate that the apostles who had been sent by the Lord were misunderstood as false prophets by Judaists (See Matt. 21:35) and therefore they were stoned to death by them.

  “How often I wanted to gather your children together.” “How often” shows that Jesus had visited Jerusalem many times (See John. 2:13, 5:1, 7:10 and etc); “Your children” means “your sons” in the original, and it indicates the inhabitants of Jerusalem and it also indicates believers in Judaism.

  “As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” Most of religious believers rebel the will of God because of their ignorance. God bears with them again and again and contrarily He, with the mood as hens with outstretched wings (See Is. 31:5), wants to gather them to trust under the shadow of His wings (Ps. 36:7) in order that they may obtain His protection.

  “But you were not willing.” “You” indicates the leaders of Judaism. The Lord is “willing” many times, unfortunately, they keep “unwilling” all the time. How hard were their hearts.

   Spiritual Meaning: Jerusalem” is the holy city of Judaism and it represents the inner circle of religious organizations. Anything that has the appearance of worshiping God and lacks the reality of it is religion. All the leaders and groups of religion in the world strangle God’s words (“killed the prophets”) and persecute the servants who are really of God (“stones those who are sent to her”).

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) Leaders of the church who lack spiritual knowledge and experience will become the ones who block the fulfillment of the will of God.

2) The great harm the leaders may bring to the will of God is that they strangle God’s words, close God’s revelations and put the witnesses who have been entrusted to spread God’s message to death.

3) The Lord “is willing many times” and men keep “unwilling” all the time. How difficult it is for the heart of heaven to receive the response of hearts on earth.

 

Matt. 23:38 “See! Your house is left to you desolate;

   YLT: “Lo, left desolate to you is your house;”

   Literal Meaning: “your house is left to you desolate” The “house” here and “temple” are the same word in the original (See Matt. 21:13). It was originally “my temple” and now it became “your house” because Judaism made it “the den of thieves”. “Desolate” predicted that God would abandon the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple (See Matt. 24:2, Jer. 12:7, Ezek. 11:23); the Lord here predicted again that this would be fulfilled in A.D. 70.

  “Left to you” means that the Lord gave them up and let them walk in their own counsels (See Ps. 81:12).

   Enlightenment in the Word: our individual body or the corporate believers (the church) is the temple of God (1Cor. 6:19, Eph. 2:21), however, if we could not let Him settle down and dwell in, we will become desolate and the desolation is of no use.

 

Matt. 23:39 “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’’”

   YLT: “for I say to you, ye may not see me henceforth, till ye may say, Blessed [is] he who is coming in the name of the Lord.’

   Literal Meaning: “you shall see Me no more” It predicts that Jesus will depart from this world.

  “Till you say, ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD’” Here it predicts that when Christ comes for the second time, the Jews will admit that He is the Messiah. Here it also implies that when the Lord comes back, the whole house of Israel will repent and be saved (See Rom. 11:26, Ps. 118:24-26).

   Enlightenment in the Word:

1) No matter the individual believer or the church, if one does not magnify the name of the Lord (“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD”), he will lose the presence of the Lord (“shall see Me no more”). However, once one is willing to repent and turn to the Lord, he will still receive the Lord’s blessing.

2) If men reject the Lord, they will be rejected by the Lord. If men respect the Lord, they will be respected by the Lord.

 

III. Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons

 

The King’s Judgments towards Religious Believers

I. The king’s judgment towards religious believers:

  A. They say and do not do (v.1-4).

  B. They like to show off themselves and like best seats and honorific titles (v.5-12).

II. The eight disasters of religious believers:

  A. The first disaster------for they neither go in themselves nor allow those who are entering to go in (v.13).

  B. The second disaster------for they devour widows’ houses (v.14).

  C. The third disaster------for they win one proselyte and when he is won, they make him twice as much a son of hell as themselves (v.15).

  D. The fourth disaster------for they are blind guides and put the incidental before the fundamental (v.16-22).

  E. The fifth disaster------for they stand on points and ignore the fundamental things (v.23-24).

  F. The sixth disaster------for they stress on the outside cleanness and the inside they are unclean (v.25-26).

  G. The seventh disaster------for they have a name that they live, and are dead (v.27-28).

  H. The eighth disaster------for they remember the dead prophets and kill the living prophets (v.29-36).

III. The king’s judgments towards religious originations:

  A. It will be rejected by the Lord (v.37-39).

  B. It will be demolished by men (Matt. 24:1-2).

 

The mistakes of religious circles which the Pharisees stand for

I. Their deeds do not accord with their words------they say and do not do (v.1-4).

II. They seek vain glory------they like to show off and like best seats and honorific titles (v.5-12).

III. They obstruct the way of grace------they neither go in themselves nor allow those who are entering to go in (v.13).

IV. They bully the weak members------they devour widows’ houses (v.14).

V. They mislead others------they win one proselyte and when he is won, they make him twice as much a son of hell as themselves (v.15).

VI. They do not have spiritual sight------they do not know the relative importance of things (v.16-22).

VII. They stick to outside behaviors and neglect the inner reality------they pay the tithe and neglect the justice, mercy and faith (v.23-24).

VIII. They stick to the outward behaviors and neglect the inside nature------they cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. (v.25-26).

IX. They stick to the outward beautifulness and neglect the inner uncleanness------they are like whitewashed tombs (v.27-28).

X. They quench God’s revelations-----they murdered prophets (v.29-36).

XI. They are unwilling to repent and turn to God------they disregard God’s grace and bring about the judgment (v.37-39).

 

── Caleb HuangChristian Digest Bible Commentary Series

   Translated by Sharon Ren