In the last lesson we finished the parable of the minas, which if you remember took place as Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem for the last time. His entry into Jerusalem amid much fanfare is recorded in Matthew 21. As you go through this chapter you’ll see the second purification of the temple (the first is recorded in John 2:13) and the beginning of an extended confrontation with the chief priests and scribes in the temple (beginning in 21:15). This confrontation escalates through chapter 21 and 22 where Jesus confounds the religious elite with His answers to their questions and uses several parables to illustrate, again, the hypocrisy of their self-righteous, religious viewpoint.
Then in chapter 23 Jesus embarks on a direct condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees. In verse 2 Jesus says the scribes and Pharisees “sit in Moses’ seat”. In other words, they demand respect as teachers of the Law, but don’t deserve it, as they continually distort the Law. This can be assumed by what He says in verse 3, that they teach, but do not practice. In verse 4 Jesus says they demand that others carry heavy burdens (observe strict man-made rules), but exempt themselves from them.
Then He continues in verse 5 by saying they only seek the praise of men by displaying their religious activities in public. In verse 6 Jesus says they love the places of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogue (these were the seats in front of the ark facing the congregation). And in verse 7 He tells them they put great importance on titles and the personal attention those titles bring (the title “Rabbi”, or teacher, was conferred by the laying on of hands by the Sanhedrin, and a key was given that was worn around the neck, so they could be easily recognized in public).
Then in verse 8 Jesus tells them not to use the titles they love so much (“Rabbi” or teacher, and “Master”, from kathegetes, a leader or guide), and they are all equal brothers under His authority. In verse 9 He tells them not to use the title “father” as there is only One Father, Who is in heaven. And in verse 10 He tells them they should not be called masters (leaders), as there is only one leader, the Christ. Verses 11 and 12 are a lesson in true humility, “the one who is greatest will be your servant” and “the one who exalts himself will be brought low and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”.
And in verses 13 through 39 He further criticized these religious elitists by announcing 8 “woes” on them. The word “woe” is from ouai and is an interjection or exclamation of condemnation. Here’s the first one: “But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut up the kingdom of heaven to men, for you neither enter in yourselves, nor do you allow others to enter.” In other words, they have no intention of abandoning their self-righteous religion and prevent others from understanding the principles of the kingdom by withholding the truth from them and by teaching their false doctrines.
The next verse (14) is not found in some manuscripts, but is included in most translations. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You take away widows houses and for a pretense to cover it up make long prayers in public. Therefore, you will receive the greater condemnation.” This is a reference to a practice common in Jesus’ day when religious leaders would accuse single women of gross sin and confiscate their property. Then to make themselves appear to be righteous, they would make long public prayers (historians say these prayers could last as long as 3 hours, several times a day) exposing the accused to justify their actions. This is another reference teaching degrees of punishment in hell (compare Matthew 10:15).
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You’ll travel over sea and land to find a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you work to make him twice as much a child of hell as you are.” A proselyte was someone who had converted from a Gentile religion to Judaism (compare Acts 2:10, 6:5 and 13:43). To explain this verse you have to understand there were two classes of proselytes. One was a proselyte of righteousness. These were converts who submitted to circumcision and vowed to keep the whole Law of Moses and all the man-made requirements of Judaism. The other class was proselytes of the gate. These converts go all the way back to Exodus 20:10. These converts did not get circumcised, but agreed to observe what was called “the seven precepts of Noah”. These were laws against idolatry, blasphemy, homicide, unchastity, theft, rebellion against religious rulers, and the eating of flesh with the blood. They were the scabs of the Jewish religion. History records this class was even more bitter and violent against Christ and Christians than were the Jews, thus fulfilling what Jesus says in the verse above.
The next woe in verse 16 is a great example of convoluted logic. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the sanctuary of the temple, it is not binding. But, if anyone swears by the gold of the sanctuary, he is bound by his oath.” In other words the Pharisees were teaching they were not responsible to keep promises when they tried to legitimize that promise by swearing on the temple or the altar (verses 16, 18). But Jesus told them all promises were to be kept and the temple was greater than any material and the altar greater than any gift that was put on it (verses 17, 19-22). This was simply a transparent attempt by the religious elite to use a device that allowed them to make promises they never intended to keep.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint and anise and cumin, but have omitted more important matters – justice, mercy and fidelity. The first you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” (Verse 23) Again, for the Pharisees, appearance was the important thing. They were meticulous when it came to keeping the outward forms, but cared little for the more important matters of inward righteousness. Verse 24 is Jesus’ way of saying; you pay close attention to the smallest details, but ignore the more important, bigger issues.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” (Verse 25) In the next verse (26) Jesus tells them they’re “blind”. This term is used 10 times by Jesus to describe the Pharisees and is used several times by Paul and then by Peter in their epistles (see Matthew 15:14, Romans 2:19 and 2 Peter 1:9 for examples). The term suggests a rejection of light (truth) and illustrates spiritual blindness or shortsightedness. In context, as Jesus continues in the same line of thought in the following verses, this kind of blindness results in eternal blindness or hell (verse 33). Again, this is another condemnation of the Pharisees taking more care to present a self-righteous outward appearance, while ignoring the true inward requirements of the Law they only pretend to follow. Jesus tells them in verse 26 that the outside cannot be really clean until the inside is clean.
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! In the same way you are like tombs that have been whitewashed and look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of dead men’s bones and everything that is impure.” (Verse 27) This is the same idea. In the next verse (28) He explains they look just and upright to people, but are really full of pretense and lawlessness.
Finally in verses 29-30 He announces the last woe. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments you build for the righteous. Then you say, if we had lived when our forefathers did, we would not have helped them shed the blood of the prophets.” In the following verses to the end of this chapter Jesus makes it clear that this present generation is no different than those of the past. They are admitting they are true descendants of those who murdered the prophets (verse 31). They will do the same thing their fathers did (verse 32). So, they will suffer the same fate (verse 33).
Jesus continues telling them He will send them other prophets (those who correctly interpret the will of God), wise men (those able to teach truth) and scribes (those able to understand the Old Covenant and how it changed to the New) and they will kill them and even crucify some, and some they will flog in their synagogues and others they will pursue with hatred from town to town (verse 34). The result will be that the blood of these righteous men from Abel to Zechariah will be on their heads (verse 35). All of these things will happen in this generation (verse 36). It is this generation that will reject the most obvious signs of God’s mercy and truth in their determination to see the Son of God crucified. And it is this generation that will witness and try to explain away some of the greatest signs and wonders ever witnessed by men that accompany the death and resurrection of the Savior (which we will explain in detail in future lessons).