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MATTHEW 23

¹ Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, ²Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: ³All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not. ⁴For 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. ⁵But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, ⁶And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. ⁸But be not you called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brothers. ⁹And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. ¹⁰Neither be you called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. ¹¹But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

¹³But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. ¹⁴Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. ¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. ¹⁶Woe to you, you blind guides, which say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! ¹⁷You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ¹⁸And, Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is guilty. ¹⁹You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? ²⁰Whoever therefore shall swear by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon. ²¹And whoever shall swear by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein. ²²And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon. ²³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these you should have done, and not to leave the other undone. ²⁴You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. ²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. ²⁶You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. ²⁷Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. ²⁸Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. ²⁹Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, ³⁰And 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. ³¹Why you be witnesses to yourselves, that you are the children of them which killed the prophets. ³²Fill you up then the measure of your fathers. ³³You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

³⁴Why, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you whip in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: ³⁵That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. ³⁶Truly I say to you, All these things shall come on this generation. ³⁷ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! ³⁸Behold, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹For I say to you, You shall not see me from now on, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.

MH

Matthew Henry

300 years ago

In the foregoing chapter, we had our Saviour’s discourses with the scribes and Pharisees; here we have his discourse concerning them, or rather against them.

He allows their office, Matt 23:2, Matt 23:3.
He warns his disciples not to imitate their hypocrisy and pride, Matt 23:4~Matt 23:12.
He exhibits a charge against them for divers high crimes and misdemeanors, corrupting the law, opposing the gospel, and treacherous dealing both with God and man; and to each article he prefixes a woe, Matt 23:13~Matt 23:33.
He passes sentence upon Jerusalem, and foretels the ruin of the city and temple, especially for the sin of persecution, Matt 23:34~Matt 23:39.