3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe , but do not do according to their deeds ; for they say things and do not do them. 4 " They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders , but they themselves are unwilling e to move them with so much as a finger .#rl 5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men ; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues , 7 and respectful greetings in the market places , and being called Rabbi by men . 8 "But do not be called Rabbi ; for One is your Teacher , and you are all brothers . 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father ; for One is your Father , He who is in heaven . 10 "Do not be called leaders ; for One is your Leader , that is, Christ . 11 " But the greatest among you shall be your servant . 12 " Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled ; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted .
13 " But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people ; for you do not enter in yourselves , nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you devour widows' houses , and for a pretense you make long prayers ; therefore e you will receive greater condemnation . 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites , because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte ; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves . 16 "Woe to you, blind guides , who say , ' Whoever e swears by the temple , that is nothing ; but whoever e swears by the gold of the temple is obligated .' 17 "You fools and blind men ! Which is more important , the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold ? 18 "And, 'Whoever e swears by the altar , that is nothing , but whoever e swears by the offering on it, he is obligated .' 19 "You blind men , which is more important , the offering , or the altar that sanctifies the offering ?#rl 20 "Therefore , whoever swears by the altar , swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 "And whoever swears by the temple , swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.#rl 22 "And whoever swears by heaven , swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin , and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law : justice and mercy and faithfulness ; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others . 24 "You blind guides , who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel ! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish , but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence . 26 "You blind Pharisee , first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish , so that the outside of it may become clean also . 27 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful , but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness . 28 "So you, too , outwardly appear righteous to men , but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness . 29 " Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous , 30 and say , 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers , we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets .'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 23:3-30
Commentary on Matthew 23:1-12
(Read Matthew 23:1-12)
The scribes and Pharisees explained the law of Moses, and enforced obedience to it. They are charged with hypocrisy in religion. We can only judge according to outward appearance; but God searches the heart. They made phylacteries. These were scrolls of paper or parchment, wherein were written four paragraphs of the law, to be worn on their foreheads and left arms, Numbers 15:38, to remind them of their being a peculiar people; but the Pharisees made them larger than common, as if they were thereby more religious than others. Pride was the darling, reigning sin of the Pharisees, the sin that most easily beset them, and which our Lord Jesus takes all occasions to speak against. For him that is taught in the word to give respect to him that teaches, is commendable; but for him that teaches, to demand it, to be puffed up with it, is sinful. How much is all this against the spirit of Christianity! The consistent disciple of Christ is pained by being put into chief places. But who that looks around on the visible church, would think this was the spirit required? It is plain that some measure of this antichristian spirit prevails in every religious society, and in every one of our hearts.
Commentary on Matthew 23:13-33
(Read Matthew 23:13-33)
The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckoned double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that they might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests. They were very strict and precise in smaller matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. It is not the scrupling a little sin that Christ here reproves; if it be a sin, though but a gnat, it must be strained out; but the doing that, and then swallowing a camel, or, committing a greater sin. While they would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. We are really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outside clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be made new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. The deceitfulness of sinners' hearts appears in that they go down the streams of the sins of their own day, while they fancy that they should have opposed the sins of former days. We sometimes think, if we had lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised and rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word, in his ministers, is still no better treated. And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts' lusts, who obstinately persist in gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters.