Chapter 23
Portrait of the Scribes and Pharisees.[a] 1 Then Jesus addressed the crowds and his disciples: 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore, be careful to do whatever they tell you, but do not follow their example, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy burdens that are difficult to bear and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they will not lift a finger to be of assistance.
5 “Everything they do is meant to attract the attention of others. They widen their phylacteries[b] and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love to have places of honor at banquets and the best seats in synagogues, 7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be addressed as ‘Rabbi.’
Do Not Be Called Teacher.[c] 8 “But do not allow yourselves to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master, and you are all brethren. 9 Call no one on earth your father, for you have but one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 You must not be called ‘teacher,’ for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you must be your servant. 12 All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 Woe to You, Teachers of the Law.[d]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the entrance to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow others to enter.
[14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you devour the houses of widows, while for the sake of appearance you recite lengthy prayers. As a result, you will receive the severest possible condemnation.][e]
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You journey over sea and land to make a single convert,[f] and then you make that convert twice as worthy of Gehenna as you are.
16 [g]“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If someone swears by the temple, that is not binding, but if someone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 “And you say, ‘If someone swears by the altar, that is not binding, but if someone swears by the offering that lies on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind fools! Which is of greater value—the offering, or the altar that makes the offering sacred?
20 “The one who swears by the altar swears both by it and by everything that lies upon it. 21 The one who swears by the temple swears both by it and by the one who dwells within it. 22 And the one who swears by heaven swears both by the throne of God and by the One who is seated upon it.
23 [h]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, but you have neglected the more important aspects of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced these without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat and then swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cleanse the outside of a cup and dish, but you leave the inside full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may also be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs[i] that look beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of decay. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 The Judgment of God Has Already Come on This Generation.[j]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the tombs of the Prophets and adorn the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the time of our ancestors, we never would have collaborated with them in shedding the blood of the Prophets.’ 31 Thus, you acknowledge that you are the descendants of those who murdered the Prophets. 32 Go and complete the work that your ancestors began.
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to Gehenna? 34 Behold, therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 As a result, upon you will fall the guilt of all the innocent blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, the guilt for all this will fall upon this generation.
37 The Lament over Jerusalem.[k]“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you murder the Prophets and stone the messengers sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not allow it! 38 Behold, your house has been abandoned and left desolate. 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
Footnotes
- Matthew 23:1 It was considered a fine thing to show off Jewish piety even in the way one dressed: men wore phylacteries (see note on v. 5, below), and made extra long the tassels with which, according to the Law, their prayer shawls should be adorned.
- Matthew 23:5 Phylacteries: little boxes containing tiny parchment scrolls that had texts of Scripture on them (Ex 13:1-10; 13:11-16; Deut 6:4-9; 11:13-21) and were placed in little tubes; the boxes were attached to the forehead and the left forearm, in keeping with a literal interpretation of Deut 6:8; 11:18. The tassels had a blue thread running through them as a symbol of heaven; they were to remind the wearer of the commandments of God (Num 15:38).
- Matthew 23:8 Here Jesus obviously does not abolish the words “Rabbi,” “father,” and “teacher.” He condemns ambition and despotism on the one hand and blind servility on the other. The true Father of Christians is God, and the true Master is Christ, the Son of God. In others, paternal and magistral authority is never absolute, but relative and subordinate to the divine authority.
- Matthew 23:13 At that period, Jews tried to win Gentiles over to their religion; those who came were called proselytes. There were also Gentiles who sympathized with Jewish ways and were called “God-fearers.” There must have been rivalries between Jews and Christians in this area.
- Matthew 23:14 This verse is identical with Mk 12:40 and seems to have been interpolated from that text.
- Matthew 23:15 Convert: a proselyte, that is, a Gentile who had accepted the faith of Israel. Worthy of Gehenna: worthy of damnation.
- Matthew 23:16 Jesus shows that the Pharisees were wrong in saying that swearing by the gold of the temple and by the offering that lies on the altar is more binding than swearing by the temple or by the altar.
- Matthew 23:23 The Law prescribed a tithe on the most important products. However, the Pharisees had extended it to even the most insignificant herbs, and yet they neglected the duties toward one’s neighbor, such as justice, compassion, and fidelity. Thus, they strained their liquids so as not to involuntarily swallow an insect and render themselves unclean yet gave no thought to observing the more grave commandments of the moral law.
- Matthew 23:27 You are like whitewashed tombs: an allusion to the custom of whitewashing tombs so that no one might inadvertently touch them and contract a legal uncleanness (see Num 19:16).
- Matthew 23:29 The final curse becomes a prophecy of judgment. It sketches the long history of the opposition between the Israel of human beings and the Israel of God, from the first murder of which the Bible speaks to the last (in the order in which the books of the Bible were placed at that period), that is, from Abel (Gen 4:8) to Zechariah (2 Chr 24:20-22).
- Matthew 23:37 Jesus offers a lament over Jerusalem, which by failing to accept him opened herself to catastrophe. However, at the end time the Israelites will be converted and acclaim Jesus in his Second Coming (Ps 118:26; see Rom 11:25-33).