Bullet Point Bible - Matthew 23

Warning Against the Hypocrisy of Religious Leaders

¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,² "The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat.³ Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.⁴ They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues⁷ and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them 'Rabbi.'⁸ But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.⁹ And call no one your 'father' on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.¹⁰ Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one teacher, the Christ.¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus addresses both the crowds and his disciples, indicating a public teaching with specific implications for his followers.
"Moses' seat" refers to the authority to interpret and teach the Law of Moses, which the scribes and Pharisees claimed (Matthew 23:2).
Jesus distinguishes between the validity of the Law they taught and the hypocrisy of their personal practices (Matthew 23:3).
Their hypocrisy is shown in burdening others with legalistic requirements they themselves don't bear (Matthew 23:4). Compare this to Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30.
Their actions are motivated by seeking human approval, not pleasing God (Matthew 23:5). This contrasts sharply with the principle taught in Matthew 6:1.
Phylacteries (small boxes with scripture) and tassels were commanded (Deuteronomy 6:8, Numbers 15:38-39), but the leaders exaggerated them for show (Matthew 23:5).
Seeking places of honor and respectful titles like 'Rabbi,' 'Father,' or 'Teacher' revealed their pride (Matthew 23:6-7, 9-10).
Jesus forbids his disciples from seeking or accepting such hierarchical titles, emphasizing equality ("you are all brothers") and singular allegiance to God as Father and Christ as Teacher (Matthew 23:8-10).
True greatness in God's kingdom is defined by service, reversing worldly values (Matthew 23:11). This echoes Jesus' teaching in Matthew 20:26-28.
The principle of divine reversal—humility leading to exaltation and pride leading to humiliation—is a core theme in Jesus' teaching (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14).

First Three Woes Against the Scribes and Pharisees

¹³ "But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.¹⁵ "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!

Jesus pronounces a series of "woes," which are declarations of judgment and sorrow, similar to Old Testament prophets (e.g., Isaiah 5:8-23).
**First Woe (v. 13):** They obstruct access to God's kingdom through their false teaching and burdensome regulations, neither entering themselves nor allowing others in. Their legalism became a barrier to true faith.
Verse 14 is included in some manuscripts but omitted in the earliest and best ones (hence the parentheses in NET). It condemns the exploitation of vulnerable widows under the guise of piety. This charge is found in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.
**Second Woe (v. 15):** Their zealous proselytizing efforts are condemned because their converts adopt their hypocrisy, becoming even more zealous in their misguided ways and thus more culpable ("twice as much an heir of hell").
"Hypocrites" (Greek: *hypokritai*) originally referred to actors playing a role, highlighting the theme of outward appearance versus inner reality.
The term "hell" (Greek: *Gehenna*) refers to the Valley of Hinnom, a place associated with judgment and fire, symbolizing eternal punishment.
These woes expose the destructive nature of religious hypocrisy, which not only damns the hypocrites but also leads others astray.

Woe Concerning Oaths and Distorted Values

¹⁶ "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.'¹⁷ Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?¹⁸ And, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.'¹⁹ You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.²¹ And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.²² And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.

**Third Woe (Continuing):** Jesus condemns their casuistry regarding oaths, where they created loopholes based on arbitrary distinctions.
They prioritized material wealth (gold, gifts) over the sacred places (temple, altar) that gave those items significance (Matthew 23:16-19).
Jesus calls them "blind guides" and "blind fools," emphasizing their spiritual inability to discern true value and lead others correctly.
He argues logically that the sanctifying object (temple, altar) is greater than the object sanctified (gold, gift) (Matthew 23:17, 19).
Jesus simplifies the issue: swearing by the altar includes the gift, swearing by the temple includes the gold and God dwelling there, and swearing by heaven invokes God's throne and God Himself (Matthew 23:20-22).
This corrects their attempts to avoid the binding nature of oaths and recalls Jesus' earlier teaching to avoid oaths altogether and simply let one's 'yes' be 'yes' (Matthew 5:33-37).
Their system revealed a focus on minute technicalities while missing the fundamental principle of truthfulness and reverence for God.

Woes Concerning Neglect of Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness

²³ "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law-justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.²⁴ Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!

**Fourth Woe:** They meticulously tithed even tiny garden herbs (mint, dill, cumin), fulfilling a minor aspect of the law (Leviticus 27:30), but ignored its core principles.
Jesus identifies "justice, mercy, and faithfulness" as the "weightier" or "more important matters of the law," echoing the heart of prophetic calls for righteousness (Micah 6:8).
He affirms the practice of tithing ("without neglecting the others") but condemns prioritizing minor regulations over fundamental moral and ethical commands (Matthew 23:23).
The metaphor "strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel" vividly illustrates their distorted priorities (Matthew 23:24).
Gnats were tiny unclean insects (Leviticus 11), while camels were large unclean animals. They meticulously avoided minor impurities while embracing major sins.
This highlights the danger of focusing on external religious observances while having an unrighteous heart. True obedience involves both outward actions and inward attitudes aligned with God's character.

Woes Concerning Inner Corruption and Outward Appearance

²⁵ "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!²⁷ "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

**Fifth Woe (vv. 25-26):** Jesus uses the metaphor of cleaning dishes. They focused on external purity rituals while their inner lives ("inside") were filled with sin ("greed and self-indulgence").
Jesus insists that true purity starts from within; a clean heart leads to genuinely clean actions (Matthew 23:26). This aligns with his teaching in Matthew 15:18-20 about what defiles a person.
**Sixth Woe (vv. 27-28):** They are compared to "whitewashed tombs." Tombs were whitewashed annually before Passover to make them visible, preventing accidental ritual defilement (Numbers 19:16).
While appearing beautiful and righteous externally, they were internally corrupt, full of spiritual death ("dead men's bones") and sin ("hypocrisy and lawlessness").
This powerful imagery exposes the stark contrast between their public persona and their private reality.
Both metaphors emphasize the importance God places on the heart and inner motives over mere outward conformity.

Woe Concerning Rejection of the Prophets

²⁹ "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.³⁰ And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'³¹ By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.³² Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!³³ You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?³⁴ "For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,³⁵ so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.³⁶ I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!

**Seventh Woe:** They honored dead prophets by building tombs but rejected living ones, including Jesus himself.
Their claim not to have participated in their ancestors' sins (Matthew 23:30) is hypocritical because their current actions mirrored those of the prophet-killers.
By acknowledging their lineage ("descendants"), they implicitly connect themselves to that history of rejection (Matthew 23:31).
"{{Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!}}" (Matthew 23:32) is a command dripping with irony and judgment, indicating they will complete the pattern of sin their forefathers began.
Jesus uses harsh language ("Snakes! Brood of vipers!"), echoing John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7), to condemn their deceitful and deadly nature (Matthew 23:33).
Jesus predicts they will persecute, kill, and crucify the messengers *He* sends (prophets, wise men, teachers), demonstrating their continuity with past generations (Matthew 23:34). This foreshadows the persecution faced by the early church in Acts.
They will bear the cumulative guilt for all righteous blood shed, from Abel (Genesis 4:8) to Zechariah (likely the one mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24:20-22, though the patronymic differs slightly, possibly due to textual variations or conflation with the prophet Zechariah). The location "between the temple and the altar" matches the 2 Chronicles account.
Jesus declares that this judgment will fall upon "this generation" (Matthew 23:36), pointing towards the impending destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Lament Over Jerusalem

³⁷ "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate!³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ' Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! '"

Following the harsh woes, Jesus expresses deep sorrow and compassion for Jerusalem, personifying the city.
He highlights Jerusalem's tragic history of rejecting God's messengers (Matthew 23:37).
The tender image of a hen gathering her chicks illustrates God's protective love and Jesus' desire to save the people (Matthew 23:37). This imagery is also used in the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 91:4, Deuteronomy 32:11).
Jerusalem's refusal ("you would not have it") is the cause of its impending doom.
"{{Your house is left to you desolate!}}" (Matthew 23:38) refers primarily to the Temple, but also implies the desolation of the city and the nation due to their rejection of the Messiah. This echoes prophetic warnings (Jeremiah 22:5).
Jesus announces his departure and withdrawal from public ministry in Jerusalem until a future time when they will welcome him, quoting Psalm 118:26 (Matthew 23:39).
This final statement points towards both his imminent departure before the crucifixion and potentially a future repentance and recognition of him as Messiah. It sets the stage for the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25.

The Bullet Point Bible

Matthew 23