Introduction
‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So, you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’ Matthew 23:1-4
A WARNING AGAINST HYPOCRISY
Jesus speaks to the crowds and the disciples and tells them that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, Matthew 23:1-2, that is, they enjoy the position of authority and were supposed to teach the law according to Moses. They sat there but they didn’t have any authority, and they certainly didn’t practise what they preached.
They didn’t lead by example but rather led by command, Matthew 23:3. Interestingly, Jesus tells the people to do whatever they tell them but don’t do what they do, this again implies they didn’t practise what they preached. The teachers of the law and the Pharisee’s ideas of religion and their traditions became very heavy, Matthew 23:4 / Acts 15:10, that is, they made it almost impossible for people to obey their legalistic traditions, Mark 7:1-9.
Their hypocrisy was that they didn’t preach ‘justice, mercy and faith,’ Matthew 23:23. They kept binding non-essential burdens on the people that couldn’t be perfectly obeyed in order to accomplish justification before God, Matthew 23:4 / Romans 3:20 / Galatians 2:16.
‘Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.’ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ Matthew 23:5-12
Everything they did was only for public show, Matthew 23:5-7 / Luke 20:46 / Mark 12:38-39 / 3 John 9-10. They make their phylacteries wide, Phylacteries were small leather boxes that contained Scriptures.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In Exodus 13:16 / Deuteronomy 6:8 / Deuteronomy 11:18, it was said to Israel concerning the teachings of the law, that they should be bound, ‘for a token upon thy head, and for frontlets between thine eyes’. In the inter-biblical period, we find the Jews converting this figure into outward fact. They took four passages adjacent to the thrice-repeated injunction, namely, Exodus 13:2-10 / Exodus 13:11-17 / Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-22, and writing them on strips of parchment, encased the folded strips in minute leather boxes. These four boxes were set on edge and fastened upon one leather base, which was placed in the middle of the forehead, and held there by a string tied round the head with peculiar knots which had a mystical meaning. Borders of the garments were considered sacred by the Jews, and the enlargement of the border was another device for ostentation and gratification of the pride of its wearer.’
We also read of how much they loved their authority, as they loved to sit in places of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogue, Matthew 23:6 / Luke 20:46 / Mark 12:39. This was all about the show, ‘look how important we are!’ We can almost imagine them becoming upset with people if no one greeted them at the marketplace or even took the time to call them ‘Rabbi’, which means teacher, Matthew 23:8. Oh, how they loved to be seen by people, sit in positions of authority and liked to have a title.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the word ‘Rabbi’.
‘This word literally signifies great. It was a title given to eminent teachers of the law among the Jews, a title of honour and dignity, denoting authority and ability to teach. They were gratified with such titles and wished it given to themselves as denoting superiority. Every time it was given to them it implied their superiority to the persons who used it, and they were fond, therefore, of hearing it often applied to them. There were three titles in use among the Jews, Rab, Rabbi, and Rabban, denoting different degrees of learning and ability, as literary degrees do among us.’
Jesus turns and speaks to His disciples and tells them three things they were not to do, Matthew 23:8-10.
1. Do not be called ‘Rabbi’, Matthew 23:8.
They weren’t to receive such a title of distinction. Jesus says the reason for not doing so was simply He was their Teacher, and all the disciples were equal, that is, they were equal in authority.
2. Do not call anyone on earth ‘father’, Matthew 23:9.
This obviously doesn’t apply to calling our physical fathers, father. The word used here implies someone with authority, someone who is superior and has the right to command.
The reason Jesus gives is because they have one Father, who is in heaven, Matthew 6:9-13, He is the One with all authority, He is superior, and He certainly has the right to command.
3. Do not be called ‘instructors’, Matthew 23:10.
The word instructor implies a teacher, someone who was considered a leader in Bible times because of their position, James 3:1. The word refers to those who go before others, those who claim the right to direct and control others. The reason Jesus gives for this is simply because they have an instructor, the Messiah, Jesus Himself.
Notice how Jesus tells them the greatest among them will be their servant, Matthew 23:11 / Matthew 20:26. They don’t need any titles, they just need an attitude which is willing to serve others, Mark 10:43-44. Leadership doesn’t begin at the top, it begins at the bottom, it begins by serving others and putting their needs first, Philippians 2:4. Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, that is, brought down, but whoever humbles themselves will be exalted, that is, raised up, Matthew 23:12. It’s always wise to humble ourselves, otherwise, God will do it for us, Luke 14:11 / James 4:10.
Smith, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Now having declared that to His disciples, these are the rules for His disciples. He now turns and addresses Himself to these scribes and the Pharisees. And He has an eightfold denunciation against them, pronouncing an eightfold woe. To my disciples, don’t follow their example. They say, but they don’t do. They exalt themselves. They draw attention to themselves. They love to be exalted and elevated above people, but you are brothers. If you’re going to be the chief, be the servant. Humble yourself and God will exalt you. But exalt yourself and God will abase you.’
No one knows how they went about ‘devouring widow’s houses’, Matthew 23:14 / Luke 20:47 / Mark 12:40. Note that the footnote in Matthew 23:14, says, ‘some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40, and Luke 20:47. Maybe when we think of the parable which Jesus taught about ‘Unjust Judge’ in Luke 18:1-8, we can get a glimpse of what they were doing.
Maybe they were charging a huge amount of money when some widows were seeking justice, maybe they abused the widow’s hospitability and took advantage of their kind generosity, Mark 12:41-44. There’s nothing more impressive in some people’s eyes than a long-winded prayer, Luke 20:47 / Mark 12:40. Even today this still happens where Christians treat prayer like a sermon, and they remind God of what He wrote in His Word.
Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus tells them they will be judged and punished with a harsher punishment, Luke 20:47 / Mark 12:40, why? As ‘God’s spiritual leaders’, they should have known better, they were full of arrogance, and pride, and they pretended to be something they weren’t.
And if this isn’t a lesson for the churches’ spiritual leaders today, I don’t know what is. We need to be careful that opinion and tradition don’t become law, 1 Corinthians 4:6, we need to be careful how we treat the venerable among us, James 1:27, and more importantly, we should pretend to be something we’re not.
Jesus used religious leaders to take Himself to the cross since the leaders had fallen from God. Though the Jews could not actually carry out the death sentence, they were the ones who called on the Romans to crucify Jesus. Peter later identified them as the ones who had to carry the blame for crucifying the Son of God, Acts 2:36 / Acts 4:5-12. Leaders would do well to continually check their motives by the word of God. God’s leaders must continually caution themselves with God’s word in order to guard themselves against working against Him.
THE FIRST WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.’ Matthew 23:13
In Matthew 23:13-36, we find some of the fiercest words ever spoken by Jesus, the text contains which is commonly called, ‘The Seven Woes.’ The seven woes are judgements against the so-called spiritual leaders of the time who failed in their leadership roles and responsibilities. I’m sure as we go through this study we will learn from the many mistakes that these ‘spiritual leaders’ continued to make, at least I pray we do.
In the following verses Jesus calls them ‘blind guides,’ twice, Matthew 23:16 / Matthew 23:34. ‘Blind fools’, Matthew 23:17, ‘blind men’, Matthew 23:19, and ‘blind Pharisee’, Matthew 23:26, which tells us a lot about their spiritual condition. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were ‘hypocrites’, Matthew 23:13 / Matthew 3:7. In other words, they were stage actors under an assumed character, they pretended to be someone or something, they weren’t. The teachers of the law were scribes who caused a whole load of trouble for others because of the way they interpreted the Law, there were much like our politicians of today, always debating with others, always debating among themselves. Much like some Christians today, they believed that they were the only ones who correctly interpreted the Scriptures.
As hard as it is to believe, these religious ‘hard-liners’ got a lot of respect from the people because of the great responsibility they had for sticking to the letter of law and its interpretations. They also got a lot of respect because most of them were members of the Sanhedrin, Matthew 22:35 / Mark 14:43 / Mark 14:53 / Luke 22:66 / Acts 4:5.
Their main problem was they were so obsessed with the details of the Law, they missed the simplicity of the Law, Matthew 23:23, they got to the stage where they demanded that their interpretation was right, their opinion carried more weight than anyone else’s opinion and it got to the point where the joy was just sucked out of the people who simply wanted to serve God.
The teachers of the law, along with the Pharisees should have recognised Christ as the Messiah, they should have freely accepted Him as the Son of God, but they didn’t, they did the opposite, they hated Him, they rejected Him and done everything within their power to get rid of Him.
But what they were guiltier of was turning the people against Jesus, instead of turning the people towards Jesus and it’s in this way they were ‘shutting the door of the kingdom of heaven’, Matthew 23:13 / Luke 11:52. We could say they were the ‘spiritual bouncers’ who were closing the door in people’s faces. Honest, sincere people who wanted to serve God and do His will were being prevented from entering in.
Imagine being told that if you go through a certain door, you will witness the most beautiful place you’ve ever been, you’ll experience the most wonderful things you’ve ever had! But as you approach the door, the ‘spiritual bouncers’ are present, and you ask them, what it’s like inside and they say, ‘we don’t know we’ve never been inside’.
This is what Jesus is saying, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees are stopping people from entering the kingdom of God but they themselves have never been inside. It’s’ obvious that anyone who truly has entered the kingdom of God and seen its beauty and experienced the love of God would never stop people from entering but encourage people to enter. There’s no sitting on the fence here, people are either for Christ or against Him.
THE SECOND WOE
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.’ Matthew 23:14
I’m sure I don’t need to point out that not all translations have this verse included in the text, this isn’t a problem though because the actual text itself is in perfect harmony with other texts of Jesus when He speaks to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, Mark 12:40 / Luke 20:47.
No one knows how they went about ‘devouring widow’s houses’, Matthew 23:14, but maybe when we think of the parable which Jesus taught about ‘Unjust Judge’ in Luke 18:1-8, we can get a glimpse of what they were doing. Maybe they were charging a huge amount of money when some widows were seeking justice, maybe they abused the widow’s hospitability and took advantage of their kind generosity, Mark 12:41-44.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
1. They claimed a very exact knowledge of the law and a perfect observance of it. They pretended to extraordinary justice toward the poor, friendship for the distressed, and willingness to aid those who were in embarrassed circumstances. They thus induced “widows” and poor people to commit the management of their property to them as guardians and executors and then took advantage of them and defrauded them.
2. They put on the appearance of great sanctity and induced many conscientious but credulous women to give them much, under pretence of devoting it to religious purposes.
There’s nothing more impressive in some people’s eyes than a long-winded prayer, Matthew 23:14. Even today this still happens where Christians treat a prayer like a sermon and they remind God of what He wrote in His Word. This was all for the show, Matthew 5:5, was about impressing the people around them, ‘look how spiritual I am, look how connected to God I am!’
Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus tells them they will be judged and punished with a harsher punishment, Matthew 23:14, why? As ‘God’s spiritual leaders’, they should have known better, they were full of arrogance, and pride, and they pretended to be something they weren’t. And if this isn’t a lesson for the churches’ spiritual leaders today, I don’t know what is. We need to be careful that opinion and tradition don’t become law, 1 Corinthians 4:6. We need to be careful how we treat the vulnerable among us, James 1:27, and more importantly, we shouldn’t pretend to be something we’re not.
THE THIRD WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. ‘Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.’ Matthew 23:15-22
There’s no mistaking the point here, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were hypocrites because they were going everywhere not to win people over to God but to win people over to their traditions and interpretations of the law, Matthew 23:15. They wanted to convert people to their word instead of God’s Word. In Bible times there were two kinds of converts, there were those who were circumcised and accepted only parts of Judaism and then there were those who were coverts to righteousness and became true converts, Matthew 8:5-13.
We must remember that there was nothing wrong with someone converting to Judaism, the problem was they were converting people to their way of thinking about what the law actually says. In other words, it was all about converting people to the traditions of the fathers, Mark 7:6-9 / Acts 26:5. By the time Jesus came on the scene, it was no longer about God’s laws but about the traditions and this is what they were converting the Gentiles to, they converted them to a bunch of rules and regulations. No wonder Jesus rebukes them and tells them that they, ‘make coverts twice as much a child of hell as they are,’ Matthew 23:15.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘To be a child of hell was a Hebrew phrase, signifying to be deserving of hell, to be awfully wicked.’
In other words, Jesus is telling them they are children of the devil because their religion isn’t God’s religion, John 8:44-45. Their whole theology was off base and so Jesus points out just how off base they really are. He calls them ‘blind guides’ and ‘blind fools’, Matthew 23:16-17 / Matthew 15:14, why? They believed that a person’s oath was binding if he swore by the gold of the temple, Matthew 23:16, or gift at the altar, Matthew 23:17. The problem was that they actually taught the people that if a person swore by the temple or altar, then that oath wasn’t binding, no wonder they are hypocrites, Matthew 5:33-37.
I CAN’T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES!
Someone once said, ‘I can’t see the forest for the trees’, the scribes and Pharisees were much like that when it came to the temple and its contents. The temple is much greater than the gold ornaments within it, Matthew 23:17, and the altar is of more significance than the sacrificial gifts laid upon it, Matthew 23:18. In their theology they had this back to front, they thought that the gold was more important than the temple and the gifts were more important than the altar, Matthew 23:19. In other words, their priorities were all wrong.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The gold had no holiness but what it derived from the temple. If in any other place, it would be no more holy than any other gold. It was foolish, then, to suppose that that was more holy than the temple, from which it received all the sanctity which it possessed.’
Whenever a Jew took an oath he connected it in some way with God. All their oaths were therefore binding. Jesus disallowed all evasive oaths and viewed them as untruthful speech, Matthew 23:20-22 / Matthew 5:33-37.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The big point in the whole passage is that the whole is greater than any of its parts, and that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. In spite of truth so plain as to be considered axiomatic, the scribes and Pharisees had become champions of small distinctions such as those regarding oaths. Their thinking on such matters was foolish.’
When we lose focus on what really matters, we end up debating amongst ourselves over matters of opinion, opinions are good and healthy, but they must never become law, and we must strive to separate the two. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, John 3:1-2, that’s a fact but why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night? Whatever the reason for him coming at has to be an opinion because the Bible doesn’t tell us.
THE FOURTH WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.’ Matthew 23:23-24
Jesus once again calls them hypocrites, Matthew 23:23, but also notice that Jesus says that giving a tenth of their spices was right, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, the problem was these religious leaders were only emphasising on the giving because they were living off the contributions of the people. And so, in doing so, they totally neglected the more important matters of the law like justice, mercy and faithfulness, Matthew 23:23 / Micah 6:8.
This was all about the outward appearance of religion and nothing to do with being holy within our hearts. I guess if they focused so much on their outward appearance, they wouldn’t have to deal with the conditions of their own hearts. Jesus is basically saying that there are some aspects of the law which are more important than others, justice, mercy, and faithfulness are more important in the law than tithing mint, dill and cumin, Matthew 23:23 / Luke 11:42.
They shouldn’t have practiced or emphasised the lesser principles of the law in order to neglect the more important principles of the law, Matthew 23:23. Remember David! Matthew 12:1-8 / 1 Samuel 21:1-6 / Leviticus 24:5-9 / Matthew 9:9-13. By the time Jesus came on the scene if the Jews found any kind of small insect in a glass of milk or water, it would have been filtered out and here Jesus contrasts this with the picture of straining a gnat out of a glass of water with swallowing a camel, Matthew 23:24.
This is probably foreign to us today because when we find any kind of insect in our drinks we would probably throw the entire contents of the glass out, but in the days when milk was expensive, we can understand why they would just remove the insect and carry on drinking. Just as a side note the KJV translates Matthew 23:24 as follows, ‘ye blind guides, which strain AT a gnat, and swallow a camel.’ Notice the word at, which make absolutely no sense whatsoever. The word should be ‘out’, you strain out a gnat not ‘strain at a gnat’.
THE FIFTH WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.’ Matthew 23:25-26
Once again, Jesus calls them hypocrites and we see that the leaders focused a lot on their ceremonial washing of cups and dishes, Matthew 23:25 / Mark 7:1-9, and here, Jesus points out their hypocrisy. He tells them that they were greedy, Matthew 23:25, because they are extorting from the people what they actually put in those containers and in doing so they became self-indulgence, Matthew 23:25.
Jesus calls them ‘blind Pharisee’, Matthew 23:26 / Matthew 15:14, and the point is clear. The ceremonial purification of the cups and dishes was more important to them than how they acquired the contents in the first place, Mark 7:4. In other words, even though they sinfully obtained and ate the contents, they thought they could still be justified because they cleaned the cups and dishes. Jesus they must first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean, Matthew 23:26.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Let them be filled with the fruits of honest industry, and then the outside and the inside will be really ‘clean.’ By this allusion to the cup and platter he taught them that it was necessary to cleanse the heart first, that the external conduct might be really pure and holy.’
Jewish tradition says the following.
‘A hollow container made of pottery could contract uncleanness inside but not on the outside. If it became unclean, it must be broken and no unbroken piece must remain in your house, which was big enough to hold enough oil to anoint the little toe’.
In other words, it doesn’t matter who or what touched the outside, but it does become a problem when the inside is involved. It was these ceremonial washings which were commanded by tradition, not by Scripture.
THE SIXTH WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but, on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.’ Matthew 23:27-28
Once again Jesus calls them hypocrites, Matthew 23:27. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees liked to keep their tombs in order and look good to the eye and here Jesus uses this practice to show their hypocrisy, Matthew 23:27. They whitewashed graves in order to make them more easily visible and to prevent people from stepping on one of them accidentally or unknowingly. They were whitewashed once a year to prevent the people from accidentally coming in contact with them as they went up to Jerusalem.
Jesus tells them they are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean, Matthew 23:27. A dead body was classed as unclean and anyone touching a dead body would then be classed as unclean, Numbers 19:16. Jesus says these religious leaders on the outside appeared to be righteous because of their ‘religious’ behaviour, but inwardly their hearts were full of hypocrisy and wickedness, Matthew 23:28. Although they thought they thought they were alive, Jesus tells them they were very much dead, they were dead spiritually and morally.
THE SEVENTH WOE
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.’ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So, you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!’ Matthew 23:29-32
In the seventh and final woe, we find Jesus calling them hypocrites once again, Matthew 23:29 / Luke 11:47. I’m sure this must have enraged them by this time and I’m sure the plot to kill Jesus was already underway. In fact, it’s less than a week away they would eventually have their way and have Him crucified.
Here Jesus continues with the theme of tombs and says they were building beautiful tombs and wonderfully decorated graves, Matthew 23:29. The problem was they were doing all this as if they were showing a lot of respect for the righteous prophets of God, Matthew 23:29. However, at the same time they were claiming to be superior to those dead prophets, Matthew 23:30, this is shown because they murdered them, Matthew 21:33-41.
The Pulpit Commentary, says the following.
‘They boasted that they were better than their fathers; they disavowed their crimes, and endeavoured, by honouring the prophets’ graves, to deliver themselves from the guilt of those who persecuted them. Fair show, with no reality! They professed to venerate the dead but would not receive the living; they reverenced Abraham and Moses but were about to murder the Christ to whom patriarch and prophet bore witness.’
Jesus tells them they have testified against themselves that they are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets, Matthew 23:31. He tells them to go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started, Matthew 23:32. In other words, Jesus is telling them go ahead kill the greatest Prophet, Jesus Himself, Deuteronomy 18:18 / Matthew 21:38-39 / Matthew 21:46. They were at the point of no return, John 13:27.
‘You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore, I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.’ Matthew 23:33-34
Jesus calls them ‘snakes and vipers’, Matthew 23:33 / Matthew 12:34-37. This is metaphorical but don’t miss the point, snakes and vipers were the most detestable creatures which roamed the ground, some of which were full of poison.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘At the heart, with all their pretensions, they were filled with evil designs, as the serpent was, Genesis 3:1-5.’
Jesus tells them they won’t escape being condemned to hell, Matthew 23:33, which is the place of eternal punishment, Matthew 5:22 / Matthew 23:15. Notice that Jesus says He’s ‘sending them prophets and sages and teachers,’ Matthew 23:34. The KJV says, these are prophets, wise men, and scribes. They were the ones who would be killed, crucified, flogged and chased all over the place, Matthew 23:34 / Matthew 5:10 / Matthew 10:17.
We only have to turn to the Book of Acts for to this be fulfilled, we read about Stephen being stoned to death, Acts 7:54-60. We read about James being put to death by the sword, Acts 12:2, and we read about the apostles being flogged and put in prison, Acts 12:4-5 / Acts 16:22-24 / Acts 22:19-24 / 2 Corinthians 11:24-25. I’m sure when Jesus mentioned that word, ‘crucify’, Matthew 23:34, they would be thinking that that’s what they plan to do to Him.
‘And so, upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.’ Matthew 23:35
Now we know all about the account of Cain murdering his brother Abel, Matthew 23:35 / Genesis 4:8, and we have an account of the death of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21, but we have no record of the murdering of ‘Zechariah the son of Berekiah’, Matthew 23:35. Whatever and whosever Jesus is referring to here seems to indicate that they themselves, that is, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were responsible for murdering him. Just because we have no record of this event doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, Matthew 26:1-4, Jesus said it did and He openly said it happened when they were around, in their lifetime and openly blamed them for it.
It’s as though Jesus started from the first murder, Abel, Genesis 4:8 / 1 John 3:12, and went straight to the last murder, Zechariah, before He Himself was to be murdered by them. As I mentioned earlier the teachers of the law and the Pharisees outwardly showed great respect for God’s prophets who stood up for righteousness, but inwardly they were murderers. In fact, even as they were listening to Jesus they were plotting to murder Him. Remember it wasn’t the Romans who were against Jesus, it was these self-righteous leaders, Luke 23:21.
Plumptre, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Men make the guilt of past ages their own, reproduce its atrocities, identify themselves with it and so, what seems at first an arbitrary decree, visiting on the children the sins of their fathers, becomes in such cases a righteous judgment. If they repent, they cut off the terrible entail of sin and punishment; but, if they harden themselves in their evil, they inherit the delayed punishment of their father’s sins as well as their own.’
‘Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.’ Matthew 23:36
There’s no mistaking what Jesus is saying here, the whole Jewish nation was going to be held accountable, and as we know destruction came upon Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed and so the Jewish nation along with its religion, came to an end in A.D. 70, Matthew 24:1-35.
Conclusion
Someone once said, ‘the church is full of hypocrites, but there’s always room for one more’. I understand what they’re trying to say here, in terms of there being no one ‘perfect’ within the Lord’s church. The problem with that phrase is that almost implies that hypocrisy is accepted within the Lord’s church, but after reading Jesus’ word here in Matthew 23, we know this clearly isn’t the case.
The Bible is full of warnings about living a double life, and we’re told over and over again that we must practice what we preach. If people are to see Jesus in us, Galatians 2:20, and our lives are to reflect His glory, 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, and our lives are to display the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, then we have to come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no room for a hypocrite in the Lord’s church. I’m not saying everyone should be ‘perfect’ but what I am saying is that we all should be striving to do our best, to live right for God.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:37-39
Notice that Jesus speaks of Jerusalem as if it was a person. You can almost feel the heartache in His words, the heartache wasn’t about Himself, it wasn’t about them rejecting Him, the heartache was all about the people, Luke 19:41.
Jesus looks to the future of Jerusalem and sees its destruction which was coming at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70, Matthew 24:1-35 / Mark 13:1-31. We can almost hear the pain and frustration in Jesus’ words as He emphasises on Jerusalem, the city of David and the city of peace, Matthew 23:37 / Luke 13:34 / Luke 19:41-42.
They had killed God’s prophets and stoned them too, Matthew 23:37 / Luke 13:34 / Matthew 5:12 / Hebrews 11:32-40. God had longed to gather His children as a hen gathers her chicks, Matthew 23:37 / Luke 13:34. What a beautiful picture of love and protection this is, Deuteronomy 32:11 / Psalms 17:8 / Psalms 36:7 / Psalms 91:4 / Jeremiah 48:40. Sadly they were unwilling, Matthew 23:37.
Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Here, indeed, if ever, we have thoughts that breathe and burn. One can almost feel the withering force of his strong and mighty indignation, indignation directed, not against the people, but against their false guides. And yet behind it, all is his heart, and the woes merge into a wail of agony, the cry of a mother over her lost child.’
Because of their unwillingness to accept Jesus, Jesus says, ‘your house is left desolate’, Matthew 23:38 / Luke 13:35. Notice He uses the word ‘your’, it had become their house, not Gods, Matthew 23:38 / Luke 13:35 / Matthew 21:13. In other words, God’s house, the temple, had become desolate, that is, a symbol of everything opposite to God, 1 Kings 9:7-8 / Jeremiah 12:7 / Jeremiah 22:5.
Jesus tells them they will not see Him again, until they say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Matthew 23:39 / Luke 13:35 / Psalm 118:26 / Romans 11:26. These are the words which had greeted Jesus’ triumphal entry a few days before, Matthew 21:9. Is Jesus speaking about the day of judgment or the time when the Jews will be converted? Commentators are all over the place with this, so I guess it could be both.
Expositor’s Greek Testament, says the following.
‘He will not trouble them any more till their mood change and they be ready to receive Him with a Messianic salutation.’
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This has not been yet accomplished, but the days will come when the Jews, long cast out and rejected, will hail Jesus as the Messiah, and receive him whom their fathers killed as the merciful Saviour, Romans 11:25-32.’
The Pulpit Commentary, says the following.
‘The clause, ‘till ye shall say,’ does not shut the door of hope forever, it looks forward to a happier prospect. The time intended is that when Israel shall repent of its rejection of the Messiah, and in bitter contrition look on him whom it pierced, owning and receiving Jesus with glad ‘Hosannahs!’ Then shall they behold him coming in power and glory and shall regain their old position as beloved of God, Hosea 3:4-5 / Zechariah 12:10. Then ‘all Israel shall be saved’, Romans 11:26. Thus this terrible chapter, so dark and menacing, closes with a glow of hope and a promise, indefinite but certain, of final restoration.’