Matthew 23:1 ¶ Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 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. 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. 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, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Now Jesus has finished talking to the high muckety-mucks and turns
His attention to the people and His disciples with a warning about the
religious elite. They sit in Moses’ seat figuratively dispensing their
interpretations of the Law given to him for the Israelites as a seat was the
position of authority. In the Roman Catholic Church the latin word ‘cathedra’
is used for the seat of a Bishop and the Pope is said to speak, “ex cathedra,”
or “from the seat.” Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew seated. Jesus tells them to respect what the religious
authorities say and do what they related out of the Law but not to follow them
as an example. They are hypocrites, saying one thing but doing quite another.
They put a lot of stuff on the shoulders of the Jew but don’t
follow those rules themselves. They presented themselves as holy and righteous
but that appearance was a sham, just for show. And, on top of that, they abused
their privileges that respect afforded them and the honorific names of Rabbi,
Master; meaning a teacher of the Law in this context.
Jesus tells His disciples not to accept these names but in
humility, understanding that Christ is THE Rabbi, THE Master, they should point
to Him. Notice they were to call no man father as God was their Father, which
makes one wonder about why the Roman Catholic Church can justify calling a
priest “Father.”
In the ministry of Christ verses 11 and 12 make it clear that a
humble spirit is what is called for.
James 4:10 Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
1Peter 5:6 Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time:
John Gill says the phylacteries were four sections of the Law
written on parchment; Exodus 13:2-11; Exodus 13:11-17, Deuteronomy 6:4-10; and
Deuteronomy 11:13-22. They even thought of them to ward off evil spirits and
disease like someone carrying a small King James Bible in his pocket thinking
that it will bring him or her a blessing throughout the day by magically
protecting them from misadventure or sickness.
The fringes on the borders of their garments would remind them of
the Law and were thought to show their piety and righteousness. This is what we
call today ‘virtue signaling.’ I am righteous because I have a Bible verse
attached to my vehicle. The priest of the Hebrews or the Christian in 21st
century America might be a dismal, hateful, wretch but they know what makes
them look good.
This is not to say that Bible verses on one’s car or home are bad
things. They are good things but the heart should not confuse them with God’s
approval of your behavior. In other words, a dove lapel pin says nothing about
a person’s character or sincerity as God judges the heart not a symbol.
Matthew 23:13 ¶ 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. 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.
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. 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! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is
greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it
is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for
whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the
altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth
by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by
him that sitteth thereon. 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. 24 Ye blind guides, which
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 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. 26 Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that
the outside of them may be clean also. 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. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous
unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the
sepulchres of the righteous, 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. 31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them
which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up
then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye
serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?
God, walking in human flesh, condemns the religious elite for
refusing to enter into God’s kingdom and holding back others who would do so. They
do unjust and mean-spirited things in their civil authority over the Jews and
then justify their oppression by long prayers. They went to great lengths to
get one Jewish proselyte, a convert to Judaism, and then corrupt him worse than
they are. The religious elite had come up with many rules and laws that
quibbled over oaths and swearing by holy things and Jesus gives them a sound
thrashing for their illogic and dishonesty.
This religious elite did a great job of focusing on minor things
and avoiding at all costs the more important matters of the Law. Always arguing
about tithing of spices in the garden but ignoring judgment, mercy, and faith
in their teachings made them spiritually powerless.
He uses the great metaphor that they strain at a gnat and swallow
a camel showing their illogic and dishonesty yet again. Outside of themselves
they appear clean and righteous but their inside is like a dirty cup or a tomb
of rotting flesh. Their outward appearance is a thin disguise for the fact that
they are filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.
These same Pharisees and scribes who claim that they would not
have committed the crimes of their ancestors against God’s prophets are,
contrary to their claim, cut from the same cloth. He calls them a generation of
poisonous snakes worthy of Hell itself. This is pretty strong speech against
the powers in Judaism of that day.
John the Baptist had also used strong language against them.
Matthew 3:7 But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Matthew 23:34 ¶ 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: 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.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these
things shall come upon this generation. 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! 38 Behold, your house
is left unto you desolate. 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.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr.
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen,
calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
James will also be murdered.
Acts 12:2 And he killed James
the brother of John with the sword.
Paul will be whipped repeatedly.
2Corinthians 11:24 Of the
Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Jesus, of course, will be crucified. There are many others whose
circumstances we are told nothing about.
Revelation 2:13 I know thy
works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest
fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was
my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
You remember Abel’s murder from Genesis, the first religious
murder. Zacharias from the Greek was spelled Zechariah from the Hebrew.
Zechariah, the son of Barachias, is one of the minor prophets with Barachias
from Greek being Berechiah from Hebrew. We have no record of his murder but it
must have been so.
Zechariah 1:1 ¶ In the
eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto
Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
We have the murder of another Zechariah, the son of Jehoida, here.
2Chronicles 24:20 And the
Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood
above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the
commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the
LORD, he hath also forsaken you. 21 And
they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of
the king in the court of the house of the LORD.
So, it can also be considered logical that Jesus is speaking of
Zechariah the son of Jehoiada as Jehoiada, as other Jewish personalities I’ve
talked about, could have had two names. This would not disturb the text at all.
But, there are several different Jewish opinions on the identity of the Zacharias
Jesus mentions including some later murders that occurred in the time between
the Testaments, as John Gill explains.
God, whom Jesus Christ represents in the flesh as God Himself,
talks of how patiently and lovingly God would have restored the Jews to
fellowship with Him but they would have none of it. By rejecting their Messiah they
would not see Him again until the end of history.
Matthew 24:30 And then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Perhaps, at some point in the Tribulation to come Christ will
reveal Himself to the suffering Jews like Joseph revealed himself to his
brothers in Genesis, and they will accept Christ then and likely martyrdom.
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