Matthew 23
Seven Woes
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2“The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.
Moses was the Supreme Court of Israel during the Exodus. The scribes and Pharisees were the Supreme Court of Israel during the days of Jesus. The NET title is wrong. Jesus will pronounce not seven, but eight woes against the scribes and Pharisees.
3Therefore 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.
The people were to obey the Supreme Court of Israel. However, the scribes and Pharisees themselves were corrupt men who pretended to follow the Mosaic Law. The Jews were not to follow after their leader’s example.
4They 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.
The scribes and Pharisees produced a man-made Oral Law that no man could keep. They taught all Jews to follow this Oral Law, even claiming that it was equal or surpassed the written Law.
5They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.
The scribes and Pharisees wore wide phylacteries and long tassels to impress men.
6They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues 7and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’
They loved their position in society.
8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.
Jesus is the only true Rabbi for these messianic Jewish believers. All Jewish messianic believers are brothers in Christ.
9And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
The rabbi are not to be called “father.” The only father that the Jewish messianic believers have is their Father in heaven.
10Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ.
The rabbi were a bunch of false teachers. Jesus was the only true teacher of the Jewish messianic believers.
11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
The greatest are those who are humble. The most humble servants are those who know the Word of God and apply it.
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.
Jesus spoke eight woes. Each of these woes is a condemnation from God against the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites who were acting out a part in a play. Their teachings were locking people out of heaven. The scribes and Pharisees will not be entering heaven, nor will any of their followers enter heaven.
14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
This verse is not found in the Westcott-Hort, but is found is in the Textus Receptus. Jesus pronounced His second woe. The scribes and Pharisees were stealing houses from the widows. They were saying large prayers in order to impress their audience. The scribes and Pharisees will receive the worst degree of punishment in Hell.
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 pronounced his third woe. The scribes and Pharisees travel across the sea to make one Gentile a Jewish proselyte. Afterwards, they teach him a false doctrine which will send him to hell.
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.’ 17Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing. But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
Jesus pronounced His fourth woe. The scribes and Pharisees created a man-made Oral Law in which they could make and break oaths without penalty. They were using this man-made Law to cheat others out of property and money.
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. 24Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!
Jesus pronounced His fifth woe. The scribes and Pharisees were great at tithing, yet they neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness when they were acting in their position as judge.
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. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!
Jesus pronounced His sixth woe. The scribes and Pharisees were clean as cups on the outside, but they were dirty and filthy cups on the inside.
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. 28In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Jesus pronounced His seventh woe. The scribes and Pharisees were like dead men. Their outside graves were shiny and beautiful, but their internal bodies were corrupt and decaying.
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. 30And 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.’ 31By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 33You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Jesus pronounced His eighth woe. The scribes and Pharisees condemn their fathers for killing the prophets, yet they were planning to kill their own Messiah. They were going to kill God’s own Son.
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,
After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He sent prophets, apostles, and teachers to the Jewish leaders. The Jewish leaders will not want to hear their message. The Jewish leaders will pursue these godly men, persecute them, beat them, and turn them over to the Roman government to be crucified.
35so that on you will come all the righteous bloodshed 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.
Abel was the first prophet and Zechariah was the last prophet of the Old Testament. The Jewish leaders persecuted all of them. They will continue to do the same after the resurrection of Jesus.
36I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things!
The Jewish generation, living in the days of Jesus, were guilty of murdering their own Messiah.
Judgment on Israel
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!
Jerusalem was chosen to become the holy city of God, but instead, they had become a city of prophet-murderers.
38Look, your house is left to you desolate!
The house of Israel was empty of righteousness. Those who rejected Jesus committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit by falsely claiming that He was demon-possessed. They would lose their eternal life. They would be destroyed by the Romans in the Temple destruction of 70 A.D.
39For 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!’”
The Rapture is imminent and can come at any time. The Second Coming will not occur until the Jews cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Therefore, the Rapture and Second Coming are two different prophetic events.