Category: Matthew 23
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Killing the Prophets
(Matthew 23:29-39) The greatest hypocrisy Jesus condemned the Pharisees and scribes over concerned killing the prophets. They said that had they lived in the days of their fathers they would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. However Jesus condemns them out of their own mouths. He shows that…
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You Are like Whitewashed Tombs
(Matthew 23:27-28) Jesus continues his analogies of the hypocrisy of the religious people of his day by comparing the Pharisees and scribes to whitewashed tombs. There are some today who also fit this description and we have seen the fall of some of the supposed leaders of the church where they too were like whitewashed…
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Cleanse the Inside of the Cup First
(Matthew 23:25-26) The Pharisees were very concerned about position. They wanted to look good to men. They wanted the praise of men rather than the praise of God. But Jesus taught that it is not what is on the outside that matters but what is on the inside. That is the essence of this teaching…
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Straining Out a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel
(Matthew 23:23-24) Jesus calls the Pharisees to account for their hypocrisy using the analogy of straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. What is interesting in this teaching is what he is referring to, for he is speaking of the comparison between tithing in the minutest amounts, in relation to justice, mercy and faith.…
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Woe to You Blind Guides
(Matthew 23:16-22) Jesus condemns the priests, Pharisees and scribes for being blind guides saying, “Woe to you blind guides.” He calls them this because their focus is wrong. The things they consider important are not what God considers important. Jesus said elsewhere, “Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads…
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You Shut the Kingdom of Heaven Against Men
(Matthew 23:13-15) Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Verse 13) What does he mean by this saying? How do you shut the kingdom of heaven? To understand this…
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The Greatest Among You Shall be the Least
(Matthew 23:5-12) The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes extended to their desire to be considered as persons of importance. As Jesus showed in this section, they desired and looked for the adulation and praise of men rather than the praise of God. They took their roles to be positions of power so they…
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Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites
(Matthew 23:1-4) The twenty-third chapter of Matthew is an indictment on the scribes and Pharisees. Many times throughout this chapter he says to them, Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” If there is anything the Lord hated more than anything else it was hypocrisy. Men are no different either. Nobody likes a hypocrite and…
