Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Matthew 23

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  Christ admonishes the people to follow the good doctrine, not the evil examples, of the Scribes and Pharisees.
5  His disciples must beware of their ambition.
13  He denounces eight woes against their hypocrisy and blindness,
34  and prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem.
Verse 1

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
15:10-20, Mark 7:14, Luke 12:1,57, 20:45
Verses 1-12

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
15:10-20, Mark 7:14, Luke 12:1,57, 20:45
Verse 2

Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
Nehemiah 8:4-8, Malachi 2:7, Mark 12:38, Luke 20:46
Verse 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.
whatsoever
15:2-9, Exodus 18:19,20,23, Deuteronomy 4:5, 5:27, 17:9-12, 2 Chronicles 30:12, Acts 5:29,, Romans 13:1
for
21:30, Psalms 50:16-20, Romans 2:19-24, 2 Timothy 3:5, Titus 1:16
Verse 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.
23, 11:28-30, Luke 11:46, Acts 15:10,28, Galatians 6:13, Revelation 2:24
Verse 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,
all
6:1-16, 2 Kings 10:16, Luke 16:15, 20:47, 21:1, John 5:44, 7:18, 12:43, Philippians 1:15, 2:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:4
they make
Deuteronomy 6:8, Proverbs 3:3, 6:21-23
the borders
9:20, Numbers 15:38,39, Deuteronomy 22:12
Verse 6

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
20:21, Proverbs 25:6,7, Mark 12:38,39, Luke 11:43-54, 14:7-11, 20:46,47, Romans 12:10, James 2:1-4, 3 John 1:9
Verse 7

And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
Rabbi
John 1:38,49, 3:2,26, 6:25, 20:16
Verse 8

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
be
10, 2 Corinthians 1:24, 4:5, James 3:1, 1 Peter 5:3
one
10:25, 17:5, 26:49, John 13:13,14, Romans 14:9,10, 1 Corinthians 1:12,13, 3:3-5
all
Luke 22:32, Ephesians 3:15, Colossians 1:1,2, Revelation 1:9, 19:10, 22:9
Verse 9

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
call
2 Kings 2:12, 6:21, 13:14, Job 32:21,22, Acts 22:1, 1 Corinthians 4:15, 1 Timothy 5:1,2, Hebrews 12:9
for
6:8,9,32, Malachi 1:6, Romans 8:14-17, 2 Corinthians 6:18, 1 John 3:1
Verse 11

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
20:26,27, Mark 10:43,44, Luke 22:26,27, John 13:14,15, 1 Corinthians 9:19, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 11:23, Galatians 5:13, Philippians 2:5-8
Verse 12

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
5:3, 18:4, Job 22:29, Psalms 138:6, Proverbs 15:33, 16:18,19, 29:23, Isaiah 57:15, Daniel 4:37, Luke 1:51,52, 14:11, 18:14, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5
Verse 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.
woe
14,15,27,29, Isaiah 9:14,15, 33:14, Zechariah 11:17, Luke 11:43,44
for ye shut
21:31,32, Luke 11:52, John 7:46-52, 9:22,24,34, Acts 4:17,18, 5:28,40, Acts 8:1, 13:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:15,16, 2 Timothy 3:8, 4:15
Verse 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.
for ye
Josephus says that this sect pretended to a more exact knowledge of the law, on which account the women were subject to them, as pretending to be dear to God.
Exodus 22:22-24, Job 22:9, 31:16-20, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47, 2 Timothy 3:6, Titus 1:10,11, 2 Peter 2:14,15
long
That these were long we learn from Bab. Berachoth, where we are told that the very religious prayed nine hours a day.
therefore
33-36, 11:24, Luke 12:48, James 3:1, 2 Peter 2:3
Verse 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.
for
Galatians 4:17, 6:12
proselyte
Esther 8:17, Acts 2:10, 13:43
ye make
John 8:44, Acts 13:10, 14:2,19, 17:5,6,13, Ephesians 2:3
Verse 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!
ye blind
17,19,24,26, 15:14, Isaiah 56:10,11, John 9:39-41
Whosoever shall swear by the temple
5:33,34, James 5:12
it is
15:5,6, Mark 7:10-13
he is
Galatians 5:3
Verse 17

Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
Ye fools
Psalms 94:8
or
19, Exodus 30:26-29, Numbers 16:38,39
Verse 18

And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
guilty
or, debtor.
or bound
Verse 19

Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
or
Exodus 29:37, 30:29
Verse 21

And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
and by
1 Kings 8:13,27, 2 Chronicles 6:2, 7:2, Psalms 26:8, 132:13,14, Ephesians 2:22, Colossians 2:9
Verse 22

And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
by the
5:34, Psalms 11:4, Isaiah 66:1, Acts 7:49, Revelation 4:2,3
Verse 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.
for
Luke 11:42
anise
Gr. [anethon] dill. Dill is a species of plant of the pentandria digynia class, growing native in Spain and Portugal. The root is fusiform and long; stems, erect-groved, jointed, branched, and about two feet in height; leaves, doubly pinnated, sweet and odorous; flowers, flat, terminal umbels; corolla, five ovate, concave, yellow petals, with apexes inflected; germen, like that of fennel; seeds, scarcely the length of a carraway seed, but broader and flatter, of a brown colour, aromatic, sweetish odour, and warmish, pungent taste.
cummin
Gr. [?] Cummin is a plant of the same class as dill: it rises eight or ten inches on a slender round procumbent, branching stem; leaves, a dark green, narrow, linear, and pointed; flowers, purple, in numerous four rayed umbels; corolla, five unequal petals, inflected, and notched at the apex; seeds, oblong, striated, of a brown colour, strong, heavy odour, and warm, bitterish taste.
the weightier
9:13, 12:7, 22:37-40, 1 Samuel 15:22, Proverbs 21:3, Jeremiah 22:15,16, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:8, Galatians 5:22,23
these
5:19,20
Verse 24

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
7:4, 15:2-6, 19:24, 27:6-8, Luke 6:7-10, John 18:28,40
Verse 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.
for
15:19,20, Mark 7:4-13, Luke 11:39,40
full
Isaiah 28:7,8
Verse 26

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
cleanse
12:33, Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 4:14, 13:27, Ezekiel 18:31, Luke 6:45, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 10:22, James 4:8
Verse 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.
like
Isaiah 58:1,2, Luke 11:44, Acts 23:3
sepulchres
Numbers 19:16
Verse 28

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
ye also
5, 1 Samuel 16:7, Psalms 51:6, Jeremiah 17:9,10, Luke 16:15, Hebrews 4:12,13
but
12:34,35, 15:19,20, Mark 7:21-23
Verse 29

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
ye build
Luke 11:47,48, Acts 2:29
Verse 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 blood
34,35, 21:35,36, 2 Chronicles 36:15, Jeremiah 2:30
Verse 31

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
witnesses
Joshua 24:22, Job 15:5,6, Psalms 64:8, Luke 19:22
that
Acts 7:51,52, 1 Thessalonians 2:15,16
Verse 32

Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
the measure
Genesis 15:16, Numbers 32:14, Zechariah 5:6-11
Verse 33

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
serpents
3:7, 12:34, 21:34,35, Genesis 3:15, Psalms 58:3-5, Isaiah 57:3,4, Luke 3:7, John 8:44, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Revelation 12:9
how
14, Hebrews 2:3, 10:29, 12:25
Verse 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:
I send
10:16, 28:19,20, Luke 11:49, 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:3-11, Ephesians 4:8-12
prophets
Acts 11:27, 13:1, 15:32, Revelation 11:10
and wise
Proverbs 11:30, 1 Corinthians 2:6, 3:10, Colossians 1:28
scribes
13:52
ye
10:16,17, John 16:2, Acts 5:40, 7:51,52,58,59, 9:1,2, 12:2, 14:19, Acts 22:19,20, 2 Corinthians 11:24,25, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, Hebrews 11:37
Verse 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.
upon
Genesis 9:5,6, Numbers 35:33, Deuteronomy 21:7,8, 2 Kings 21:16, 24:4, Isaiah 26:21, Jeremiah 2:30,34, 26:15,23, Lamentations 4:13,14, Revelation 18:24
the blood of righteous
Genesis 4:8, Hebrews 11:4, 12:24, 1 John 3:11,12
unto
2 Chronicles 24:20-22, Zechariah 1:1, Luke 11:51
Verse 36

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
24:34, Ezekiel 12:21-28, Mark 13:30,31, Luke 21:32,33
Verse 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!
Jerusalem
Jeremiah 4:14, 6:8, Luke 13:34, Revelation 11:8
thou
30, 5:12, 21:35,36, 22:6, 2 Chronicles 24:21,22, Nehemiah 9:26, Jeremiah 2:30, 26:23, Mark 12:3-6, Luke 20:11-14, Acts 7:51,52, 1 Thessalonians 2:15, Revelation 11:7, 17:6
how
2 Chronicles 36:15,16, Psalms 81:8-11, Jeremiah 6:16,17, 11:7,8, 25:3-7, 35:15, Jeremiah 42:9-13, 44:4, Zechariah 1:4
even
Deuteronomy 32:11,12, Ruth 2:12, Psalms 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 63:7, 91:4
and ye
22:3, Proverbs 1:24-31, Isaiah 50:2, Hosea 11:2,7, Luke 14:17-20, 15:28, 19:14-44
Verse 38

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
24:2, 2 Chronicles 7:20,21, Psalms 69:24, Isaiah 64:10-12, Jeremiah 7:9-14, Daniel 9:26, Zechariah 11:1,2,6, 14:1,2, Mark 13:14, Luke 13:35, 19:43,44, 21:6,20,24, Acts 6:13,14
Verse 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.
Ye shall not
Hosea 3:4, Luke 2:26-30, 10:22,23, 17:22, John 8:21,24,56, 14:9,19
Blessed
21:9, Psalms 118:26, Isaiah 40:9-11, Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:25, 2 Corinthians 3:14-18

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