22219213 matthew-23-commentary

THE FINAL SERMON OF JESUS
MATTHEW 23 COMMENTARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
The purpose of this commentary is to bring together the best thoughts of past and present
commentators and preachers. Most all of this material is available to everyone on the internet,
but it takes an enormous amount of time to find it. I am bringing it together in one place to make
it easier for students of the Word to have access to it. I try to give credit to all of those I quote, but
sometimes they do not attach their names to their material, and so if you know the author, let me
know and I will give them credit. If anyone does not wish for their quotes to be included please let
me know and I will delete them. My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
The reason I have chosen to make a commentary on this chapter of Matthew is because, like most
pastors, I never preached on it during my whole ministry. It is a hard chapter with strong bitter
judgment, and not a popular texts. Many skip it in their comments, for it is not a pleasant
sermon. It bothers many to the point of trying to reject it as truly a part of Matthews Gospel. In
studying it, I realize that it is an important part of what we need to hear, lest we too become such
enemies of the kingdom of God by our hypocrisy and focus on the externals of faith. This is the
most neglected of all the teachings of Jesus, and I felt it was time to take it seriously and get
others to pay attention to the radical anger of Jesus at those who use religion to damn people
rather than save them.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter reveals just why religious leaders would want to crucify the Son of God. If we put
ourselves in their place, I think we would all want to vote as they did, and that was for the death
penalty so that Jesus would be out o our hair. He was so brutal in his honesty, and they could not
stand it. He exposed all of their weaknesses and sins, and made them out to be the monsters they
were. It was intolerable, and it would be for us too, and we would want him to be out of the
picture. This is the ultimate and universal exposure of the human condition. Most any group of
leaders hearing these words of Christ against them would either repent or be in favor of
crucifying him. That is a radical statement, but a close look at what Jesus is saying will support
it.
An unknown author gives us the gist of this chapter in this way: “Seven times He pronounces on
them woe—defined by Webster's Dictionary as "deep suffering, grief, affliction, ruinous
trouble." He dubs them "hypocrites" seven times, "blind guides" twice, "fools and blind" twice,
"blind" once, "whitewashed tombs" once, and finishes His name-calling tirade by designating
them "brood of vipers"! The chances are very good that you have never, and will never, have
anyone call you that many bad names in any one day, and in any one decade. These leaders had

to hear them all in a matter of a few minutes. This helps you understand why crucifixion was on
the agenda at their next meeting.”
Erika Hewitt wrote, “The woes against the Pharisees, while present in all three synoptic gospels,
are distinctly Matthean. Mark's version is a mild, bare bones affair (12:38-40), while Luke's
writer has put some meat on it (11:37-54). The writer of Matthew?s gospel, in contrast, has fully
fleshed out the theme, adding layer after layer of reproach and placing the passage at the
doorway to the Passion.”
According to K.C. Hanson, these woes have been misunderstood because they have been
translated with little regard for their Sitz im Leben. He reminds readers that the honor/shame
complex was so fundamental to the Mediterranean culture in which the gospels were written that
everything which the evangelists wrote would also be saturated with these values. Hanson makes
several salient arguments for a new interpretation of this form. First, the Greek word ouai
(Hebrew, hi) must be translated not as the lukewarm alas, or woe to you, but rather as how
shameful, or shame on... He further classifies such statements as reproaches, which follow a
formulaic pattern in scripture. Finally, Hanson contends that reproaches are most effectively
understood when contrasted with makarisms, or beatitudes. That is to say, the two genres exist in
relationship with each other; both are formal pronouncements by someone in authority.” Hanson
is saying that Jesus has ripped away their honor and placed them in a status of shame in the eyes
of the people, and this is the worst fate possible in a culture where all of life is a competition to
establish honor. Jesus devastated that status they lived for, and for which they had striven so long
and hard.
Grace to you is a web site with this strong quote, "But of all of the portions of Scripture that deal
with these false teachers, none is more poignant, none is more direct, none puts them in clearer
focus and none is more penetratingly full of judgment than Matthew 23. And these words seem to
be the strongest, harshest, most direct and comprehensive diatribe against false teachers in the
Scripture, and that may well be, of course, because they were spoken by our Lord against the
greatest assault that hell had ever amassed, namely the three-year assault on the ministry of Jesus
Christ. It may well be that this was the greatest assault of false doctrine and false teaching to this
point in the world's history. Certainly this is the greatest denunciation of false teachers in
Scripture."
William Barclay, “If a man is characteristically and temperamentally an irritable, ill-tempered
and irascible creature, notoriously given to uncontrolled outbursts of passionate anger, his anger
is neither effective nor impressive. Nobody pays any attention to the anger of a bad-tempered
man. But when a person who is characteristically meek and lowly, gentle and loving, suddenly
erupts into blazing wrath, even the most thoughtless person is shocked into taking thought. That
is why the anger of Jesus is so awe-inspiring a sight. It is seldom in literature that we find so
unsparing and sustained an indictment as we find in this chapter when the wrath of Jesus is
directed against the Scribes and Pharisees.”

Seven Woes
WOES TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES Matthew 23:1-36; Mark 12:37b-40; Luke 20:45-
70
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
1. We see that this was not a private scolding, but a public exposing of the evils of these leaders. It
had to be the most embarrassing experience of their lives to be hung out to dry before the very
people they lorded over with the hypocritical attitude of being the most godly people. Jesus rips
off their mask before everyone, and now it is war to the death. John Macarthur wrote, “So they
are denounced publicly in the presence of the multitude and in their own presence also. This then
is an electrifying scene. And again it helps us understand why they had to get rid of Jesus, why
they had to have Him killed by the Romans, especially after such a blistering public
denunciation, which threatened their own credibility and career.”
2. Edward F. Markquart gives us a list of events leading up to this chapter, and in it we see the
continuous battle of Jesus with the Pharisees, and clearly see that it was a duel to the death.
Jesus curses the fig tree.
• The chief priests and scribes seek to destroy him.
• The fig tree is withered (symbolic of the Pharisees)
• Jesus teaches in the temple with authority and challenges the Pharisees.
• Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants (Pharisees) who killed the servants (prophets)
and also the Son (Jesus) of the owner. Jesus teaches that “the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you (Pharisees) and given to people who produce the fruit of it (the tax
collectors and prostitutes).” When the Pharisees heard these two parables (the two sons
and the wicked tenants), they tried to arrest Jesus.
• Jesus tells the parable of the Marriage Feast where people offered flimsy excuses not to
come.
• The Pharisees seek to entangle him in a debate about not paying taxes.
• The Sadducees try to entangle him in a debate about the resurrection.
• A lawyer of the Pharisees try to entangle him in a debate about the great commandment.
• The Pharisees seek to entangle him in a debate about the Messiah and his origins.
• Jesus teaches his disciples about the phoniness of the Pharisees (Matthew 23).
• Jesus’ laments over Jerusalem.”
It is the Passover season. Jesus will soon be at the cross in just a matter of days. He has gone into
the temple, in the temple He has entered into conflict with the religious leaders, namely the
scribes and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the legalistic sect of Jews who believed in salvation
by works. They were fundamental legalists. Within the Pharisees was a group known as the
scribes who were the experts in the law. They were Pharisaical law experts. They had devised an
apostate Judaistic system in which salvation was gained by ones own self-righteous
achievements.”

3. It is to them that Jesus brings this message. It is His final public sermon that He ever preached.
The rest of His conversations are with the disciples from this point on. He gives this message in
the temple where He has been in an ongoing conflict with them. He has given parables that speak
of their judgment, now He is direct. He gives the message in the hearing of the scribes and the
Pharisees because after all it is directed at them. But He also gives it in the hearing of the crowd,
the multitude, because it acts as a warning to them to turn from these false leaders. Furthermore,
He gives it in the hearing of the disciples because they are to be the true teachers to whom the
people must turn.
4. James Phillips, “This most eloquent, most appalling, and most terrible of all discourses ever
delivered to mortals was pronounced in the temple, in the presence of multitudes. Never was
there more faithful dealing, more terrible reproof, more profound knowledge of the workings of
hypocrisy, or more skill in detecting the concealing of sin. This was the last of the Savior’s public
discourses; and it is a most impressive summary of all that he had ever said, or that he had to say,
of a wicked and hypocritical generation. This was the final public message of Jesus, and it
guaranteed His crucifixion. Jesus was a good Jew and loved Israel, but criticism of the leaders of
one’s nation does not mean one lacks patriotism or seeks to undermine the government. Jesus
wants the best of Israel, and feels they cannot give it by the example of their leaders. One who is
a great critic of the nation’s leadership may be a far more loyal patriot than one who never
criticizes but goes along with everything. The prophets were always the nation’s greatest critics.”
2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses'
seat.
1. These scribes and Pharisees were now in the place of leadership that Moses was to God's
people. They were the teachers and enforcers of the law of Moses. They were necessary to keep
the law before the people, for they did not have bibles all over the place like we do today.
Somebody had to be able to read the Bible of that day and then convey it to the people. This was
a good thing, and necessary for the people to have the guidance that God intended for his people.
This was a positive role, and Jesus goes on to say that the people were to obey the truth these
leaders did bring to them. The problem was they began to add all kinds of their own regulations
until the religious life was a burden rather than a blessing. They became hard and cruel legalistic
leaders, but the people looked up to them as the most spiritual of all people.
1B. Barclay wrote, “We have already seen how the great principles of the Law were broken up
into thousands upon thousands of little rules and regulations (see section on Matt. 5:17-20). We
have seen, for instance, how the Law said that a man must not work on the Sabbath day, and how
the Scribes labored to define work, how they laid it down how many paces a man might walk on
the Sabbath, how heavy a burden he might carry, the things he might and might not do. By the
time this scribal interpretation of the Law was finished, it took more than fifty volumes to hold
the mass of regulations which resulted.”
1C. Barclay adds, “The Pharisees then were two things. First, they were dedicated legalists;
religion to them was the observance of every detail of the Law. But second--and this is never to be

forgotten--they were men in desperate earnest about their religion, for no one would have
accepted the impossibly demanding task of living a life like that unless he had been in the most
deadly earnest. They could, therefore, develop at one and the same time all the faults of legalism
and all the virtues of complete self-dedication. A Pharisee might either be a desiccated or
arrogant legalist, or a man of burning devotion to God.”
2."In the modern sense they [the scribes] were the religious scholars or theologians … sometimes
called lawyers … or teacher of the law …could make judicial decisions based on scriptural
exegesis, occupied important positions in the Sanhedrin … played a major role in bringing on the
crucifixion of Jesus" and they "mainly belonged to the party of the Pharisees" (WYCLIFFE
Bible Dictionary, p. 1536).
3.Matthew Henry, “We find not Christ, in all his preaching, so severe upon any sort of people as
upon these scribes and Pharisees; for the truth is, nothing is more directly opposite to the spirit of
the gospel than the temper and practice of that generation of men, who were made up of pride,
worldliness, and tyranny, under a cloak and pretense of religion; yet these were the idols and
darlings of the people, who thought, if but two men went to heaven, one would be a Pharisee.”
4. Barclay, “The Talmud distinguishes seven different kinds of Pharisee.
(i) There was the Shoulder Pharisee. He was meticulous in his observance of the Law; but he
wore his good deeds upon his shoulder. He was out for a reputation for purity and goodness.
True, he obeyed the Law, but he did so in order to be seen of men.
(ii) There was the Wait-a-little Pharisee. He was the Pharisee who could always produce an
entirely valid excuse for putting off a good deed. He professed the creed of the strictest Pharisees
but he could always find an excuse for allowing practice to lag behind. He spoke, but he did not
do.
(iii) There was the Bruised or Bleeding Pharisee. The Talmud speaks of the plague of self-afflicting
Pharisees. These Pharisees received their name for this reason. Women had a very low
status in Palestine. No really strict orthodox teacher would be seen talking to a woman in public,
even if that woman was his own wife or sister. These Pharisees went even further; they would not
even allow themselves to look at a woman on the street. In order to avoid doing so they would
shut their eyes, and so bump into walls and buildings and obstructions. They thus bruised and
wounded themselves, and their wounds and bruises gained them a special reputation for
exceeding piety.
(iv) There was the Pharisee who was variously described as the Pestle and Mortar Pharisee, or
the Hump-backed Pharisee, or the Tumbling Pharisee. Such men walked in such ostentatious
humility that they were bent like a pestle in a mortar or like a hunch-back. They were so humble
that they would not even lift their feet from the ground and so tripped over every obstruction
they met. Their humility was a self-advertising ostentation.
(v) There was the Ever-reckoning or Compounding Pharisee. This kind of Pharisee was for ever
reckoning up his good deeds; he was for ever striking a balance sheet between himself and God,
and he believed that every good deed he did put God a little further in his debt. To him religion
was always to be reckoned in terms of a profit and loss account.
(vi) There was the Timid or Fearing Pharisee. He was always in dread of divine punishment. He

was, therefore, always cleansing the outside of the cup and the platter, so that he might seem to be
good. He saw religion in terms of judgment and life in terms of a terror-stricken evasion of this
judgment.
(vii) Finally, there was the God-fearing Pharisee; he was the Pharisee who really and truly loved
God and who found his delight in obedience to the Law of God, however difficult that it might be.
That was the Jew's own classification of the Pharisees; and it is to be noted that there were six
bad types to one good one. There would be not a few listening to Jesus' denunciation of the
Pharisees who agreed with every word of it.
5. An Unknown author gives us some insight as to how hard it is to determine exactly what the
seat of Moses means. “No less than four interpretations of “the Seat of Moses” have been pro-posed:
(1) the Seat of Moses was an actual piece of synagogue furniture upon which authorized
interpreters of the Torah sat;
(2) the expression is a meta-phor referring to the fact that the Pharisees had assumed the role of
being the Law’s interpreters;
(3) “the Seat of Moses” was a specially designed chair (used as a stand) upon which the Torah
scroll was placed when not in use during the synagogue service;
(4) the expression refers to the social position of the Pharisees as those who control access to the
Torah.
5B. GRACE TO YOU, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the seat of
Moses," or the chair of Moses. Each synagogue had a special seat or a chair, the chair of Moses. It
was a chair occupied by the legal authority on the law, the supreme authority on the law, the
supreme teacher in that synagogue community would be said to be sitting in the chair. We have
the same situation today in universities. We talk about a chair of philosophy, or a chair of science,
a chair of history, a chair of literature. What we mean by that is the leading expert in that entire
venue of education sits in that seat of prime authority. They had it in the synagogue as well.
There was the seat of Moses, it is the chair of authority. The word "seat," by the way, is kathedra.
The Roman Catholic Church says that when the Pope speaks for God he speaks ex cathedra, out
of the seat of authority. And so this was typical of the synagogue. There was a chair occupied by
the leading law expert. It may not always have been a literal chair but it is seen as a position of
authority.”
6. In the light of Gregory Dawson's history of the Pharisees, it is possible to see that all of the
views have some validity. He wrote this interesting history that helps us understand where the
Pharisees came from, and what their position was in Judaism. He wrote much more than what I
am quoting, so look him up on the internet, but what I share here is very helpful to grasp what is
going on in this last sermon of Jesus. Dawson writes, “In our passage today Jesus is again railing
against the Pharisees. But in fairness to them, they had their reasons for doing what they did.
Back in the days of the Prophet Jeremiah Israel had turned away from God. They forgot much
about their origins in Egypt, and had decided that they could live well enough on their own. After
many warnings and calls to return to God’s ways God brought judgment upon his nation. They

were exiled into Babylon. They spent 70 years in captivity before they began to return to a ruined
land. And in response to this judgment upon their sin the people said “Never Again.” Leaders like
Ezra and Nehemiah called the nation to be faithful, to live according to the covenant God made
with Israel when Moses lead them out of slavery. Many driven by fear, set their hearts to obey
God and his laws. So priests arose to instruct the people in the ways of God. The Pharisees were
these priests.
The people knew the law of Moses but they were unsure how to fulfill it. So they would go and
ask for guidance. For example, one commandment which showed how Israel honored God was to
keep the Sabbath day holy. Now the question some of the people had was “How do we do that,
how do we keep the Sabbath day holy?” The rabbis said it meant you don’t do any work on the
Sabbath. But then someone would ask, “What exactly do you mean by work?” You have to do
some things. How much is legitimate?” So the rabbis put there heads together and found that in
the Law the Holy of Holies was places 2000 cubits away for the nearest home. Presumably it was
legitimate for people to walk 2000 cubits to worship. Therefore, they said, on the Sabbath you
must not walk more that 2000 cubits (i.e. 1000 yards). And so that became a Sabbath Day’s
journey. That was as far as you could go. Remember the purpose of this discussion was to answer
the people’s question, “How do we honor God.” The answer was Keep the Sabbath. But now they
have this thing so well defined that you honored God by not walking more than a thousand yards
on the Sabbath day.
That’s when matters got worse. Some people said, “1000 yards really isn’t much, and we have a
lot of things we need to do. Is there anything we can do about this?” So the rabbis
said, What we could do is decide that you don’t measure from your front door, but from the edge
of your property. That will give you a few more yards.” And that was helpful, but still some said,
“look we really are in a bit of a bind, is there anything more you can do.” So the rabbis said
“Well, if before the Sabbath begins, you walk 1000 yards and place some of your property, or
some food by the way, you can then consider that the end of your property, and walk a Sabbath
day’s journey from there.” Now this may sound ridiculous, but it’s called religion. It’s amazing
how people can start out to honor God, and if they are earnest they have a tendency to get more
and more meticulous about it until they loose track completely of honoring God and become
locked into the system. That’s what happened to the Pharisees. That is what happens when
generation after generation keeps the ways of their fore-bearers. The memory of the events that
shaped them fade, but the responses to the crisis remain. People no longer remember why they do
what they do. They just do it. And then you find other reasons for continuing as you always have.
This is what drew Jesus’ criticism. The people had forgotten not only the exile but also the call of
God. Jesus came to remind the people, and the leaders, and the priests not “Be Holy” but “I shall
be your God, you are my people.” More important than upright living, Jesus knew, was the
reason for living. Jesus announced “The greatest commandment is this: ‘you shall love the Lord
your God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ And Jesus knew even more importantly,
that the true reason for love is this God is with us. Jesus came to call people to walk with God to
remind us that God is for us, that God is present here and now. And Jesus is willing to challenge
the crazy extremes that leads the Pharisees and others away from God and into religious effort
and self-righteousness. To point out to them and to us, the dangerous behaviors that come when
we forget the heart of the matter we live out of fear rather than love. When our motivation for
obedience is to avoid judgment rather than receive grace.”
7. HENRY, “The pulpit of wood,such as was made for Ezra, that ready scribe in the law of God

(Neh. 8:4), is here called Moses’s seat, because Moses had those in every city (so the expression is,
Acts 15:21), who in those pulpits preached him; this was their office, and it was just and
honourable; it was requisite that there should be some at whose mouth the people might enquire
the law, Mal. 2:7. Note, 1. Many a good place is filled with bad men; it is no new thing for the
vilest men to be exalted even to Moses’s seat (Ps. 12:8); and, when it is so, the men are not so
much honoured by the seat as the seat is dishonoured by the men. Now they that sat in Moses’s
seat were so wretchedly degenerated, that it was time for the great Prophet to arise, like unto
Moses, to erect another seat. 2. Good and useful offices and powers are not therefore to be
condemned and abolished, because they fall sometimes into the hands of bad men, who abuse
them. We must not therefore pull down Moses’s seat, because scribes and Pharisees have got
possession of it; rather than so, let both grow together until the harvest, ch. 13:30. “
3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.
But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what
they preach.
1. Jesus gives us the definition of hypocrisy, for to preach the truth of God, and then not follow it
up with obedience to that truth is the essence of what it means to be a hypocrite. It is a surprise
that Jesus would make it so clear that these men were to be obeyed, but we need to understand
that there was no problem with their knowledge. They were well versed in the law of Moses, and
when they taught it to the people they were giving honest and truthful teaching. Jesus never
criticized them for not faithfully expounding the truth of the law. They were as accurate as could
be, and knew the law to the letter. He could compliment them on being excellent teachers. They
were just not faithful in living according to the truth they taught. Jesus wants to be sure there is
not a misunderstanding that leads people to believe that he is rejecting the Old Testament law of
Moses. He will make much of it obsolete by his sacrifice on the cross, but the moral laws of God
there are permanent for all time, and they are being conveyed by these men, and they are to be
obeyed by all. Follow their instruction, but not their conduct. Jesus says it is possible for a
terrible person to be a terrific teacher. A divorcee might be an excellent marriage counselor, or
one with no children an excellent family specialist. One can have knowledge and not have
experience. One can know what is good and right and still do what is bad and wrong. You can
learn from a person you would never take as an example. Their words are true even if their walk
isn’t.
2. What we learn from this is that it is possible for even an unbeliever to communicate the truth
of God. You can have a skeptic, or a way out liberal who does not believe the Bible is the Word of
God, and he can lecture on it and give forth wise and accurate words that are true and valid
insights into what God wants us to know. Just because a man does not believe, or because he does
not live as God wills, does not mean that he cannot be a communicator of what is of value for us
to hear and obey. Don't judge a book by its cover applies here, for you cannot judge the value of a
teaching by the man who speaks it, for he may be a bad man, but his teaching may still be good

and worth hearing. The Pharisees were terrible people, and yet Jesus said that they were
communicators of the truth that was to be obeyed. They were still being tools of God to convey
his Word, even though they were out of his will and under his judgment. We are to judge teaching
by its conformity to the Word of God, and not by the character of the man or woman teaching it.
3. The reason I make a point of the above is because there are many pagan authors who have
valuable insights that are truly biblical and valid for the guidance of the Christian. Paul quotes
pagan authors several times because what they say is valid. Paul does not say these pagans have it
all together and are great examples for life. Not at all, but they have some wisdom and insight
that wise believers will hear and heed. Authors do not have to be Christians to give us valuable
truths or worthwhile insights that illustrate biblical truths. The second point is, all truth is God's
truth, and so no matter what the source is, if it is true, it is good and valuable for the believer.
These truly bad men were conveying the truth of God so accurately that Jesus said obey what
they tell you, for they are still channels of God's truth in spite of their being double agents, for
they are also tools of the devil.
3B. Bruce Goettsche sees a practical implication in this: “We need to be like the Bereans. There is
truth that can be found in the exposition of Scripture. We need to respect these teachers even
though we do not agree with them on everything We have a tendency to turn away from the
teaching of people simply because they don’t agree with our pet theological position. Our job is to
receive the messages eagerly and then check them thoroughly with the Word of God. It is the
truth that sets us free and we must seek the truth wherever it may be found.” In other words it is
folly to be a Calvinist and never read what an Arminian has to say, or be an Arminian and never
read the messages of the Calvinist. There are great messages on God's Word from men and
women of all kinds of persuasions, and with radical differences in their theology, but there are
gems of truth in them that we will miss and never see is we refuse to read people who differ from
us. Wise are those who expose themselves to a wide variety of authors, for they will gather to
themselves far more insights into God's Word than those who only have one perspective.
3C. Paul Cull has an interesting paragraph on the differences between the Pharisees and the
Saducees. He wrote, “Why Jesus Endorses the Pharisees’ Teachings. If we compare Jesus’
discussions with the Pharisees with His discussions with the Sadducees, we find that Jesus has
major doctrinal problems with Sadducees, but not with Pharisees. He differs only on the role of
rabbinical tradition in interpreting the Law. On the following points, Jesus and the Pharisees find
common cause against the Sadducees:
* The existence of angels and demons
* The resurrection and judgment on the last day
* The coming of a Messiah
* The necessity for preserving and keeping the Law
If you read 1 Maccabees in the Apocrypha, you understand the historical origins of the
Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were modernists who saw much value in Greek
philosophy. They were materialists who did not believe in angels or demons; they did not believe
in an afterlife, let alone a resurrection or a judgment; they did not look for a Messiah, and they
believed that the Law had to be adapted to modern times and the current state of knowledge. For
this reason, we find Jesus very often as a guest in a Pharisee’s dinner party, but we never see him
hanging out with Sadducees. (Bear in mind that Pharisees would not socialize with anyone
outside their party.) Most of Jesus’ followers, as for example Paul, came from the Pharisees. The

New Testament does not record a single Sadducee converting to Jesus’ cause.”
4. Powell, “In saying that the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, Jesus may be simply
acknowledging the powerful social and religious position they occupy in Matthew's story world, a
world in which most people are illiterate and copies of the Torah are not plentiful. Since Jesus'
disciples do not themselves have copies of the Torah, they will be dependent on the scribes and
the Pharisees to know what Moses said on any given subject. In light of such dependence, Jesus
advises his disciples to heed the words that the scribes and the Pharisees speak when they sit on
the seat of Moses, that is, when they pass on the words of the Torah itself. The first activity of the
scribes and the Pharisees, the one that Jesus commends, refers not to teaching or interpretation
of Moses but simply to citation of Moses.”
5. Edward Markquart, “The Pharisees were a bunch of phonies who did not do what they
preached. We recall the woes. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” Focus on the
word, “hypocrite.” This whole section of verses in both Matthew and Luke is a commentary on
Isaiah 29:13, “This people honors me with their lips (talk a good talk), but their hearts are far
from me.” The big issue in Jesus’ day was hypocrisy, especially as embodied in the lives of the
Pharisees.
An important issue of our day is still hypocrisy.
The word, “Pharisee,” was synonymous with the word, “hypocrisy.”
We recall Mark 7:7 when Jesus spoke against the Pharisees, “Well did the Isaiah’s prophecy of
you hypocrites. This was a very personal and direct confrontation and condemnation. Circle the
word, “hypocrites,” and write the word, “actor.” The Greek word for hypocrite means “actor.”
Sometimes, when seeing a play, an actor or actress is incredibly believable in their role. The actor
or actress seems so authentic, so genuine, so real that it is hard to comprehend that it is all “make
believe.” So it is with many people of faith: on the outside and the showy parts of their lives, they
give a good performance of being a Christian, but it is all “a front.” Inside, their hearts are far
from the love of God/Jesus and neighbor.”
6. Jerry Goebel, “Jesus was challenging the vast chasm between their walk and their talk. If the
two components do not match then we are not obedient—we are hypocrites. The Pharisees were,
quite simply, all “heavenly minded but no earthly good.” No matter how extensive our biblical
knowledge or how devoted we are to study and debate over the scriptures; if the study of God’s
word doesn’t increase our love of God’s people—we are gonging cymbals in the desert [1
Corinthians 13:1]. Jesus put it quite simply: 1.Do you love God? 2.Do you love your neighbor?
The Pharisees failed in both areas. They loved the law and they loved to judge others by it. I may
love to read Scripture; but do I love the people that it points me towards? These Pharisees (and
the Pharisee in me) used their elite education to gain attention for themselves and to distance
themselves from others......... Essentially, the Pharisees stance on life was; “I know more than you
and that makes me better.” Instead, it should have been; “God has given me the means to study
His ways—how can I use this privilege to free my people?”
7. Calvin, “Our Lord gives a general exhortation to believers to beware of conforming
their life to the wicked conduct of the scribes, but, on the contrary, to

regulate it by the rule of the Law which they hear from the mouth of the
scribes; for it was necessary (as I have lately hinted) that he should
reprove many abuses in them, that the whole people might not be infected.
Lest, through their crimes, the doctrine of which they were the ministers
and heralds should be injured, he enjoins believers to attend to their
words, and not to their actions; as if he had said, that there is no reason
why the bad examples of pastors should hinder the children of God from
holiness of life. That the word scribes, agreeably to the Hebrew idiom,
denotes the teachers or expounders of the Law, is well known; and it is
certain that Luke calls the same persons lawyers.”
7B. Calvin goes on, “Hence it is evident, that Christ exhorts the people to obey the scribes,only
so far as they adhere to the pure and simple exposition of the Law. For the exposition of,
Augustine is accurate, and in accordance with Christ’s meaning, that, “the scribes taught the
Law of God while they sat in the chair of Moses; and, therefore, that the sheep ought to hear the
voice of the Shepherd by them, as by hirelings.” To which words he immediately adds: “God
therefore teaches by them; but if they wish to teach any thing of their own, refuse to hear, refuse
to do them.” With this sentiment accords what the same writer says in his Fourth Book of
Christian Doctrine: “Because good believers do not obediently listen to any sort of man, but to
God himself; therefore we may profitably listen even to those whose lives are not profitable.” It
was, therefore, not the chair of the scribes, but the chair of Moses, that constrained them to teach
what was good, even when they did not do what was good. For what they did in their life was
their own; but the chair of another man did not permit them to teach what was their own.”
8. Henry, “Hence he infers (v. 3), "Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do As far as
they sit in Moses’s seat, that is, read and preach the law that was given by Moses’’ (which, as yet,
continued in full force, power, and virtue), "and judge according to that law, so far you must
hearken to them, as remembrances to you of the written word.’’ The scribes and Pharisees made
it their business to study the scripture, and were well acquainted with the language, history, and
customs of it, and its style and phraseology. Now Christ would have the people to make use of the
helps they gave them for the understanding of the scripture, and do accordingly. As long as their
comments did illustrate the text and not pervert it; did make plain, and not make void, the
commandment of God; so far they must be observed and obeyed, but with caution and a judgment
of discretion. Note, We must not think the worse of good truths for their being preached by bad
ministers; nor of good laws for their being executed by bad magistrates. Though it is most
desirable to have our food brought by angels, yet, if God send it to us by ravens, if it be good and
wholesome, we must take it, and thank God for it. Our Lord Jesus promiseth this, to prevent the
cavil which some would be apt to make at this following discourse; as if, by condemning the
scribes and Pharisees, he designed to bring the law of Moses into contempt, and to draw people
off from it; whereas he came not to destroy, but to fulfil. Note, It is wisdom to obviate the
exceptions which may be taken at just reproofs, especially when there is occasion to distinguish
between officers and their offices, that the ministry be not blamed when the ministers are.”
9. Curtis Kittrell gives us a preview of what is to come in this chapter by listing all of the ways the
Pharisees became hypocrites.
Twenty-one Characteristics of Hypocrites
1. They demand respect as teachers (Matthew 23:2).

2. They teach, but do not practice (Matthew 23:3).
3. They demand service; not give it (Matthew 23:4).
4. They seek praise of men (Matthew 23:5).
5. They parade their religion (Matthew 23:5).
6. They seek chief banquet places (Matthew 23:6).
7. They seek chief places in church (Matthew 23:6).
8. They glory in personal attention (Matthew 23:7).
9. They glory in titles (Matthew 23:7).
10. They rob men of truth and life (Matthew 23:13).
11. They reject truth and life (Matthew 23:13).
12. They take advantage of widows (Matthew 23:14).
13. They exhibit long prayers (Matthew 23:14).
14. They are zealous to win men to their sect, but not to God (Matthew 23:15).
15. They root and ground converts in hypocrisy, but not to God (Matthew 23:15).
16. They profess to be the only guide in religion, but are blind to truth and practical Christianity
(Matthew 23:16-22).
17. They propagate those parts of religion from which they receive most personal gain and honor
(Matthew 23:16-22).
18. They strain at gnats and swallow camels; stress minor details and omit the fundamentals of
religion (Matthew 23:23-24).
19. They glory in physical cleanliness, but live in moral filth (Mt. v23:25-26).
20. They exhibit outward religion and self-righteousness and ignore inward holiness in life and
conduct (Matthew 23:2,7-28).
21. They pretend to be more righteous than their forefathers (Matthew 23:29-33).
22.
10. J. C. Ryle says in the footnote to his commentary that he not resist the opportunity of
expressing his firm conviction that Jesus sayings in this chapter were meant to bear a prophetic
significance and to apply to corruptions which he foresaw would spring up in his church. That is
to say, Jesus knew that that the Pharisee tendency would continue.
11. Paul Cull, “We can also suffer from the Pharisees tendency towards confusing depth with
spiritual complication. One of the weaknesses of the Evangelical tradition can be that it results in
a prescriptive approach to the way of salvation. It can become formulaic. And so we can end up
in a position where we make judgments about the validity of someone’s faith by our perception of
the steps that they should have gone through. And it doesn’t stop there. We can too easily become
prescriptive and complicating about all sorts of issues. About prayer for example – the times,
places and manner of prayer can become prescriptive. And this was the fault that the Pharisees
had. Their prescription and their complication became a blocking activity, which made it difficult
for people to engage with God. Blocking activities of this kind can take many forms, and are not
necessarily limited to our preconceptions of them.
We can be like the Pharisees too in our own sort of spiritual ostentation. Perhaps we rate our
holiness on the number of Christian events that we attend. Worse still, we may rate the holiness
of others on the number of Christian events that they don’t attend. It is easy to develop a
spiritual superiority complex. This applies not only to us as individuals, but this is particularly a
danger in an apparently successful church like St James. We can easily see ourselves as better,
more effective, more spiritual, than other churches. We can easily consider our churchmanship as

more successful and more spiritual than others. And this can lead to problems where we become
exclusive and isolated. We can too easily perpetuate activities and worship styles and attitudes
which accentuate our attitude of superiority.”
12. Henry, “This doth especially touch wicked ministers, who will be sure to have their portion
appointed them with hypocrites (ch. 24:51); for what greater hypocrisy can there be, than to
press that upon others, to be believed and done, which they themselves disbelieve and disobey;
pulling down in their practice what they build up in their preaching; when in the pulpit,
preaching so well that it is a pity they should ever come out; but, when out of the pulpit, living so
ill that it is a pity they should ever come in; like bells, that call others to church, but hang out of it
themselves; or Mercurial posts, that point the way to others, but stand still themselves? Such will
be judged out of their own mouths. It is applicable to all others that say, and do not; that make a
plausible profession of religion, but do not live up to that profession; that make fair promises, but
do not perform their promises; are full of good discourse, and can lay down the law to all about
them, but are empty of good works; great talkers, but little doers..”
13. Brian Bill, “Armed with hidden cameras, a recent Dateline NBC program depicted what goes
on behind the scenes at some used car lots. It was incredible. A couple of the salesmen had no
problem lying to potential customers. They went out of their way to cover-up any mechanical
problems. With apologies to any of you who do this for a living, the used car business has a knock
against it. It’s hard to know if you’re being told everything. When I was watching this show, I
couldn’t help but wonder what kind of a story they would uncover if they installed hidden
cameras in the church. What would the secret tape look like if they also shot some film when
churchgoers were in their cars, at their jobs, and in their homes?
It’d be quite a story, wouldn’t it? I can see the headlines now...Christians Who Play Charades or
Pretenders in the Pews. It would confirm what many already believe -- that the church is full of
hypocrites. It’s difficult to believe Christianity is true when so many of its followers lead such
contradictory lives. We grow tired of people saying one thing and living something that’s
completely opposite. According to the dictionary, a hypocrite is “a person who pretends to have
beliefs or practices which he or she does not actually possess.” As used in the Bible, the term
comes from ancient Greek theater, where one actor would often play two parts. When saying
something humorous, he would hold up a mask with a smiley face; when playing a tragic part, he
would hold up a mask with a sad face. A good actor could imitate the speech, mannerisms, and
conduct of the character he was portraying. The word literally means, “One who hides behind a
mask.” Most of us seek to present an image of ourselves that is better than we really are. In that
sense, we’re all hypocrites.”
14. Someone gives us this bit of history. “There was a man that made free use of the Christian
vocabulary. He talked about the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions which
would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed
down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious stories to the press, especially to the church
papers. He showed his tattered Bible and declared that he drew the strength for his great work
from it as scores of pious people welcomed him as a man sent from God. Indeed, Adolf Hitler was
a master of outward religion--with no inward reality!” Today in the Word, June 3, 1989. The
danger of this kind of illustration of the evil of hypocrisy is that it makes us feel so superior to
Hitler, that we feel we are saints in comparison. We are not as evil as he was, and we do not do the
hideous evils he did, but we can still be hypocritical enough to make our Lord angry with us.

15. Ian Humphrey has an elaborate outline of the marks of these hypocrites. I share it because
it gives us a picture of them that helps us understand the anger of Jesus.
Matthew 23 v. 1 - 36
The Hypocrite is an actor or pretender - and here is seen in the Scribes and Pharisees by:-
1. What they sought
They sought the :-
v. 1 - 5,
(a) Admiration of men - v. 5 "but all their works they do for to be seen of men"
(1) The rigour in their works v. 4 "they bind heavy burdens"
(2) The revelation by their works v. 4 - don’t keep them
(3) The rejection of their works v. 3 "do not ye after their works"
(4) The reason for their works - man’s praise not God’s
(b) Advancement of men v. 6 - "they love the uppermost rooms at feasts"
– in social and religious life, they love the place, the power, the pride, the praise,and the
prominence -but as for Jesus "I am meek and lowly"
(c) Adulation of men v. 7 - 12 they seek:-
(1) The respect of men v. 5 "they make broad their phylacteries"
(2) The reward of men v. 6 " love the chief seats"
(3) The response of men v. 7 "greetings in the markets and to be called Rabbi."
we find in v. 8 - 12:-
(1) Such praise is deceitful v. 8 - one is your master and ye are brethern
(2) Such praise is delusion v. 9 & 10 one is your Father that is God,
v. 10 one is Master that is Christ
(3) Such praise is a denial v. 11 - of what and who you really are i.e. a servant
(4) Such praise is a danger v. 12 "whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased"
2. What they taught
v. 13 - 22,
v. 13 "but woe unto you" - because of:-
(a) Their preaching v. 13 "they shut up the kingdom of heaven against men"
Note:-
(1) The seriousness of this charge "ye shut up" - men who could be saved, and would be saved,
and should be saved are not saved because of their error
(2) The severity of this charge v33 "Ye serpents how can ye escape the damnation of hell"
(3) The solemnity of this charge v. 13 - not only do they refuse themselves but they repel
others also - "woe unto you"
(b) Their praying v. 14 "ye devour widows houses and make long prayers"
(1) The Cost of their praying - "devour", robbing widows
(2) The Conceit in their praying " for a pretence"
(3) The Characteristics of their praying -"make long prayers"
(4) The Consequence of their praying v. 14 "ye shall receive the greater damnation"
(c) Their proselytising v. 15 "ye compass sea and land"
Note it was:-

(1) An undoubted zeal
(2) Undaunted zeal "one proselyte"
(3) Undesirable zeal "two-fold more the child of hell" - not even aware of their error
(d) Their praising :-
v. 16 of gold over the temple
v. 18 of the gift over the altar,
v. 22 of heaven over God,
and so the Lord responds:-
v. 17 - the temple sanctifies the gold,
v. 19 the altar sanctifies the gift,
v. 22 and it is God that sanctifies heaven
3. What they wrought
v. 23 - 28 They had a show of:-
(a) Religious tithing - it was so precise v. 23, pre-eminent, perverse "omitted" v. 23, and
presumptuous v. 24
(b) Respectability v. 25 & 26 started wrong (working from the outside), sought wrong
(conformity not conversion), settled for wrong v. 25 -(sin not salvation) "within was full of
extortion and excess."
(c) Righteousness v. 27 & 28 - its self-righteousness, showy righteousness, but sham righteousness
- "full of all uncleaness"
4. What they thought
v. 29 - 36 - they thought they were better than:-
(a) Their fathers v. 30 and they weren’t
(b) Their teachers v. 34 - and they weren’t
(c) Their temple v. 38 - and they weren’t "your house is left unto you desolate"
16. Gary Regazzoli wrote, “The Movie “Face-Off” is the story of a detective trying to capture a
notorious criminal:
• In a plot that is to involved to explain here, the two main characters Nicholas Cage and John
Travolta end up with each other’s faces surgically swapped
• Which is real confusing when you are trying to remember who the good and the bad guys are
• Even the good guy’s wife is confused because on the outside it looks like her husband, but his
behavior doesn’t add up
• The outside belied what lay underneath, in other words, the interior was not consistent with the
exterior. We all wear masks don’t we, pretending to be something we’re not
• We start off as children and at that stage we don’t understand or care what people think when
we throw a tantrum or spit the dummy
• But as we grow older, we become more sophisticated, we learn to mask our true thoughts and
emotions
• We might be seething inside with rage or jealously but we maintain this calm reserved
appearance on the outside
• But occasionally what is going on on the inside pops out when our emotions get the better of us,
we spit the dummy and we get an insight into a person’s true nature
• We saw this at the recent 100m finals at the World Athletic championships. American Jon

Drummond had a false start and was disqualified
• Here was a thirty year old, one of the fastest men in the world, a perfect specimen of horse flesh,
with space age lycra suit, and designer sunglasses, whose pouting bottom lip would have make
any two year old envious, letting it all hang out for the whole world to see
• Jesus talks about this human condition in Matt 23:
• He has finally had enough of the Pharisees and takes them to task about this hypocrisy that
exists between the inside and the outside
• By the way we all have a little Pharisee in us, they don’t hold the corner on the market when it
comes to human nature.” Gary goes on with an excellent sermon on hypocrisy that is worth
looking up for great insights.
17. Marc Axelrod, “And I just want to say that the last thing the world needs is another religious
person who thinks he’s better than everybody else. The last thing we need is another Christian
who says one thing on Sunday and another thing on Monday. The last thing we need is another
person who can talk the talk. But doesn’t walk the walk. We need people of faith who will
practice what they preach. James 1:22 says "Do not just listen to the word and deceive
yourselves. Do what it says! Put it into practice!"
4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's
shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a
finger to move them.
1. What a picture of hypocritical legalism. They tell the people that they have to obey the letter of
the law, which is nearly impossible, for Jesus was the only man who ever lived who could do it. It
was a load that nobody could carry, and they knew it, but they piled it on others and then never
made any attempt to lift it themselves. Barnes says these burdens were probably the ceremonies
and rites appointed by Moses, and they were expensive for people to practice, and time
consuming and laborious. They made religion a burden rather than a blessing, but they made it
easier on themselves by ignoring the things they expected the people to do.
2.Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest" Paul urged Christians to bear each others burdens. True religion lifts burdens
rather than adds them to people. Life is already loaded with burdens, and what people need is
some relief, and this is what Christ offers, rather than the added loads that the Pharisees put on
people. Jesus came to give relief and take away some of the burdens of life, and the biggest one
that he removes is by means of the forgiveness of sin. Under the Pharisees people were made to
feel hopelessly under the weight of their sin. Jesus came to make it possible to be relieved of that
burden by trusting his atonement for sin as satisfaction before God. They can lay their heavy
burden at the cross and walk away free to live at peace with God.
3. Brian Stoffregen quotes Robert Capon, “The church is not in the morals business. The world is
in the morals business, quite rightfully; and it has done a fine job of it, all things considered. The

history of the world's moral codes is a monument to the labors of many philosophers, and it is a
monument of striking unity and beauty. As C.S. Lewis said, anyone who thinks the moral codes
of mankind are all different should be locked up in a library and be made to read three days'
worth of them. He would be bored silly by the sheer sameness.
What the world cannot get right, however, is the forgiveness business -- and that, of course,
is the church's real job. She is in the world to deal with the Sin which the world can't turn
off or escape from. She is not in the business of telling the world what's right and wrong so
that it can do good and avoid evil. She is in the business of offering, to a world which knows
all about that tiresome subject, forgiveness for its chronic unwillingness to take its own
advice. But the minute she even hints that morals, and not forgiveness, is the name of her
game, she instantly corrupts the Gospel and runs headlong into blatant nonsense. The
church becomes, not Ms. Forgiven Sinner, but Ms. Right. Christianity becomes the good
guys in here versus the bad guys out there. Which, of course, is pure tripe. The church is
nothing but the world under the sign of baptism.” [Hunting the Divine Fox, pp. 132-133]
3B. Stoffregen then concludes, “I have often said that the primary purpose of preaching is
absolution. If we aren't absolving sin(s) somewhere in the sermon, we are not preaching the Good
News. If we aren't proclaiming the Word that lifts the burden of sin from the hearers, do we then
fall under Jesus/Matthew's critique?” Christians are in the business of giving people relief from
the burdens of sin, but it is so easy to fall back into the pattern of the Pharisees and add to the
burden by making people feel guilty and hopelessly trapped under the load of their own sinful
nature. We are to be followers of Jesus who came to give freedom to the captives, and this
involves the offering of forgiveness. That is a basic aspect of the good news we offer the world so
burdened with a load of guilt.
4.The law itself was a heavy yoke (Acts xv. 10), but these teachers added to the burden of it a vast
volume of traditions, but they themselves did not keep these traditions, excusing themselves by
inventing subtle distinctions like those in reference to the Corban (Matt. xv. 4-6) and to oaths
(Matt. xv. 16-22). Calvin wrote, “Christ reproves the stern and rigid manner of teaching which
was usually followed by thoseproud hypocrites, who authoritatively demand from others what
they owe to God, and are rigorous in enforcing duties, and yet indolently dispense with the
performance of what they so strictly enjoin on others, and allow themselves to do whatever they
please.”
5. Doing the right thing can be hard, but those who want to avoid the label of hypocrite need to
practice what they preach. In Pulpit Digest William H. Willimon used this illustration:
“Philip Haille wrote of the little village of Le Chambon in France, a town whose people, unlike
others in France, hid their Jews from the Nazis. Haille went there, wondering what sort of
courageous, ethical heroes could risk all to do such extraordinary good. He interviewed people in
the village and was overwhelmed by the ordinariness. They weren’t heroes or smart, discerning
people. Haille decided that the one factor that united them was their attendance, Sunday after
Sunday, at their little church, where they heard the sermons of Pastor Trochme. Over time, they
became by habit people who just knew what to do and did it. When it came time for them to be
courageous, the day the Nazis came to town, they quietly did what was right. One old woman,
who faked a heart attack when the Nazis came to search her house, later said, ‘Pastor always
taught us that there comes a time in every life when a person is asked to do something for Jesus.
When our time came, we knew what to do.’”

6. It is not likely that any followers of the Pharisees would ever dream of taking such a risk to
help others, nor is it likely any would be writing a song like that of Josh Groban, which he wrote
in praise of Jesus.
“When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.”
7. Barclay, “Here is the test of any presentation of religion. Does it make it wings to lift a man up,
or a deadweight to drag him down? Does it make it a joy or a depression? Is a man helped by his
religion or is he haunted by it? Does it carry him, or has he to carry it? Whenever religion
becomes a depressing affair of burdens and prohibitions, it ceases to be true religion.”
8. Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia, "Look at them! Do what they teach,
but don't do what they do. They're windbags. Full of hot air. Don't expect them to lift a hand to
help anyone. They're just show! More interested in their authority than sitting under God's
authority. In dressing up for show than being clothed in righteousness. On about positions of
honor, & titles, not about getting their hands dirty along with me! More interested in being
celebrities than being servants." Is there a mirror handy? Whom do we see in it?
We're all raised to use some system of honorifics to refer to people, & many of them are probably
harmless, but I take Jesus to mean that any title we use must be one of servanthood rather than
rank or superiority. Church, most parts, anyway, don't have a good track record on this one.
Many of us have experienced those who claw their way or are kicked upstairs only for us to
discover to our sorrow that servanthood goes out the door as they go up the stairs. In favor of
consolidation of rank & position. Is it time to cut ourselves back to size before God does it for us?
I like that rather lovely little newer hymn, 'Brother, sister, let me serve you, Let me be as Christ
for you'... Perhaps it could be our theme song out there in our margins. Sing it out in what we do
for God & each other. (I often find myself sitting near a woman who closes her hymn book gently
but firmly rather than sing what's on offer in church. I find that catching!) How about we sing a
new song, the new song for God out there? Somewhere. Everywhere. Gently but firmly shut down
inappropriate responses to Jesus in favor of living & serving as he did & still does - in us, out
through us, or not at all.”
9. It is a sign of corrupt religion when leaders seek to control their people by making burdens for
them to carry rather than wings to carry them. St. Peter speaks in the Acts, "Why seek ye to put
a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? [Acts
15:10] Jerome: Herein also the Lord speaks generally against all masters who enjoin high things,
but do not even little things.
Pseudo-Chrys.: Such also are they who lay a heavy burden upon those who come to penitence, so
that while men would avoid present punishment, they overlook that which is to come. For if you
lay upon a boy's shoulders a burden more than be can bear, be must needs either cast it off, or be
broken down by it; so the man on whom you lay too grievous a burden of penance must either
wholly refuse it, or if be submit himself to it will find himself unable to bear it, and so be

offended, and sin worse.
Also, if we should be wrong in imposing too light a penance, is it not better to have to answer for
mercy than for severity ? Where the master of the household is liberal, the steward should not be
oppressive. If God be kind, should His Priest be harsh? Do you seek thereby the character of
sanctity? Be strict in ordering your own life, in that of others lenient; let men hear of you as
enjoining little, and performing much. The Priest who gives license to himself, and exacts the
utmost from others, is like a corrupt tax-gatherer in the state, who to ease himself taxes others
heavily.”
10. The heavy burdens of the law must be lightened by the message of grace.Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Someone wrote, “You know that crazy slogan: "God helps
those who help themselves." “It’s about as ungodly a phrase as I can think of. The truth is, and
Isaiah tells us "God helps those who help others." It has been my observation that the extreme
makeover show on TV almost always chooses people who are servants of others in there
community to be the ones to be given a new home and many other blessings. They are often
totally unable to help themselves,but they continue to help others. Whoever makes those choices
is following the Christian pattern for blessing. They choose people who give others wings rather
than weights, and that is why they are in turn lifted up to receive such great rewards.
11. Jesus did not put a heavy load on people. He said that the weary and heavy laden were to come to
him for rest, for his yolk was easy and not a burden. Jesus came to help people live for God and to
enjoy religion. The Pharisees made it a burden that put religion in the category of negative and a pain in
life. If your faith does not lift you but puts you down with a heavy load to bear, you are not following
Jesus but the Pharisees. If you go through life bearing the burden of guilt and living under the pressure
on constant legalism, then you have not found the liberty that Jesus brought into the world.
12. The wrath of the Lamb. Morgan says, “It proceeds against those who are wronging men by
misrepresenting God.” Jesus in anger denounces false religion so that for all time His followers
will be able to judge what is to be rejected. It is shocking to many and it has been called the most
un-Christian chapter in Matthew. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught us how to live. In
the this sermon of woes Jesus taught us how not to live. If one does not get angry at the false and
hate it one will not love the true and be tempted to compromise with the false. It is to make us
angry at ourselves if we find we are falling into the same trap.
13. Someone gave us this list of answers to the question, What made Jesus angry?
Inconsistency.
Making life hard for others.
Doing good for the praise of men.
Being proud and loving the acclaim of men.
Self-exaltation.
Hindering the religious progress of others.
Zeal to make men like yourself and not as God wants.
Corruption of God’s values.
Exaggerating the trivial.
Stressing the external and neglecting the internal.
Pretending you are better than those of the past.

14. Henry, “...witness their many additions to the law of the fourth commandment, by which they
made the sabbath a burthen on men’s shoulders, which was designed to be the joy of their hearts.
Thus with force and cruelty did those shepherds rule the flock, as of old, Eze. 34:4. But see their
hypocrisy; They themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (1.) They would not
exercise themselves in those things which they imposed upon others; they pressed upon the
people a strictness in religion which they themselves would not be bound by; but secretly
transgressed their own traditions, which they publicly enforced. They indulged their pride in
giving law to others; but consulted their ease in their own practice.”
15. GRACE TO YOU, “It also notes in verse 4, "They will not move." The word is actually
remove, they will not remove the burden. No sympathy, no care, no love, they are heartless, they
are abusive, they use people, they manipulate people, they keep people under a tremendous load
of guilt. You know, people are just gullible for that. It's amazing but it's...that gullibility isn't new.
Do you remember 2 Corinthians 11:20 Paul here is talking about true and false prophets,
deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. The context is right on. He says
in verse 13 these are false apostles, deceitful workers disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
Then in verse 20 he says this, "You bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he
takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face." Isn't it amazing? You take
it. I mean, how amazing that you can literally be suckered by all of that, even to the point where
if he hits you in the face you take it. Incredible how people become spellbound under those who
load them up with absolutely unbearable burdens of responsibility and guilt and
manipulation...no compassion at all, none at all.”
5"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make
their phylacteries[a]wide and the tassels on their garments
long;
1. They were the stars of stage and screen of their day. Public exposure was the name of their
game, for they were proud of their religion. They were religious showoffs who did all the did for
attention. They made their garments extravagant so they would stand out anywhere and draw
public attention. What good is it in being an actor if nobody sees your act? They wanted to be
seen, for that was the whole point of their religion. Getting a reputation for being super spiritual
was the goal they sought to achieve. They cared not for God nor man, but only self exaltation in
the public eye. Jesus made it clear in his teaching that this kind of behavior is not acceptable in
those who follow him.
Matthew 6:2: “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by men…”
Matthew 6:5: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men…”

Matthew 6:16: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their
faces to show men they are fasting...”
2. Barnes, “The word phylactery comes from a word signifying to keep, preserve, or guard. The
name was given because phylacteries were worn as amulets or charms, and were supposed to
defend them from evil. They were small slips of parchment or vellum, on which were written
certain portions of the Old Testament. The practice of using phylacteries was founded on a literal
interpretation of that passage where God commands the Hebrews to have the law as a sign on
their foreheads, and as frontlets between their eyes, Exodus 13:16;Proverbs 3:1,3 Proverbs 6:21.
One kind or phylactery was called a "frontlet," and was composed of four pieces of parchment;
on the first of which was written,Exodus 12:2-10; on the second, Exodus 12:11-21; on the
third, Deuteronomy 6:4-9; and on the fourth, Deuteronomy 11:18-21. These pieces of parchment,
thus inscribed, they enclosed in a piece of tough skin, making a square, on one side of which is
placed the Hebrew letter shin --and bound them round their foreheads with a thong or riband,
when they went to the synagogue. Some wore them evening and morning; and others only at the
morning prayer.”
3. Long (Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion) “The true purpose of these phylacteries and
fringes was to keep the faithful ever mindful of the laws of God, to assist the worshiper in prayer,
but, according to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees had turned them into fashion statements. Like
a contemporary Christian wearing a two-pound cross or sporting a bumper sticker on the car
reading "My God Is Alive, Sorry About Yours," the question can be raised: Is this faith or flash,
praise or pomp?” It is wise for Christians to evaluate their motives for some of the ways they
choose to give public display of their faith.
4. Calvin, “And all their works they do that they may be seen by men. He had lately
said that the scribes live very differently from what they teach; but now he
adds that, if they have any thing which is apparently good, it is
hypocritical and worthless, because they have no other design than to please
men, and to vaunt themselves. And here zeal for piety and a holy life is
contrasted with the mask of those works which serve no purpose but for
ostentation; for an upright worshiper of God will never give himself up to
that empty parade by which hypocrites are puffed up.”
5. Religion of exhibition. It is all for show to get the attention and admiration of others, and not to
please God. It is totally external. They cared not for how they looked to God, for he sees the
heart, and that did not matter to them. They just wanted the eyes of men to focus on them and be
impressed with their piety. They did not really want to be godly, but they wanted the reputation
of being godly. Reputation was the goal, and if they could get the admiration of men they were
delighted.
6. Coffman, “In Exo. 13:16; Deut. 6:8 and Deut. 11:18, it was said to Israel concerning the
teachings of the law, that they should be bound, "for a token upon thy head, and for frontlets
between thine eyes." In the interbiblical period, we find the Jews converting this figure into
outward fact. They took four passages adjacent to the thrice repeated injunction, namely, Exo.
13:2-10; Exo. 13:11-17; Deut. 6:4-9; and Deut. 11:13-22, and writing them on strips of parchment,
encased the folded strips in minute leather boxes. These four boxes were set on edge and fastened
upon one leather base, which was placed in the middle of the forehead, and held there by a string

tied round the head with peculiar knots which had a mystical meaning. Naturally, the bigger the
phylactery the more attention the device would get for its wearer. Borders of the garments were
considered sacred by the Jews, and the enlargement of the border was another device for
ostentation and gratification of the pride of its wearer."
7. Grace to you, “Verse 5 says, "They do all their deeds to be noticed by men for they broaden
their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments." That's quite an interesting verse.
Four times in the Old Testament the Jews are told to bind the law of God on their forehead and
on their hand, four times. The Jews understood that. They understood that that was symbolic of
having the law of God in your mind, that's thought, and having the law of God applied in your
action, that's work, that's living. So having the law of God bound on your forehead meant to have
it at the center of your thoughts, having it bound on your hand meant to have it at the core of
your behavior. They all understood that.
But about 400 B.C. some Jews decided that they needed to make that internal principle of the law
of God in the mind and in the behavior an external act. So about 400 B.C. they started building
little boxes covering them with black leather. In them they put four portions of scripture, two out
of Exodus chapter 2, two out of Deuteronomy chapter 2, tucked them in the little box, covered it
with leather, strapped it on their head and strapped it on their arm. Those are called phylacteries.
I have seen them many times when I was flying to Israel with an entire plane load, a 747, full of
orthodox Jews. I saw a lot of it. Every stop we made they all got out and faced toward the east
and put all their phylacteries on and all their prayer cloths. You'll still see it today among
orthodox Jews in the United States, particularly New York City where they are and other parts of
the world.
The external demonstration of that became the issue. Now what He's saying here is very
interesting. By the way, when they tie their little thongs around on their arm and their head and
everywhere, they tie them in the shape of Hebrew letters and the Hebrew letters together spell
Shaddai which is one of the names of God, El Shaddai. And so it's a very formal, external,
ritualistic thing from about 400 B.C. on.
8. “DON'T PUT YOUR PIETY ON PARADE.To be seen-theathenai from which we get theater.
Their life was a play to be seen of men for applause.I t is not God they seek to please, for they live
for the approval of men. They were people pleasers.
9. Henry, “All their works they do, to be seen of men. We must do such good works, that they who
see them may glorify God; but we must not proclaim our good works, with design that others
may see them, and glorify us; which our Saviour here chargeth upon the Pharisees in general, as
he had done before in the particular instances of prayer and giving of alms. All their end was to
be praised of men, and therefore all their endeavour was to be seen of men, to make a fair show in
the flesh. In those duties of religion which fall under the eye of men, none ere so constant and
abundant as they; but in what lies between God and their souls, in the retirement of their closets,
and the recesses of their hearts, they desire to be excused. The form of godliness will get them a
name to live, which is all they aim at, and therefore they trouble not themselves with the power of
it, which is essential to a life indeed. He that does all to be seen does nothing to the purpose.”
10. John Macarthur, “It was all externalism. Jude in verse 19 of that marvelous epistle that deals
so much with false spiritual leaders says this, these are they who separate themselves. What a
remarkable statement. They separate themselves. They want to be considered a spiritual elite.
They want to dress differently. They want to appear very pious. Sometimes they may wear a

backwards collar or a fancy robe or a funny hat or all kinds of stuff all over them. And they want
to appear different than other people. They want to make a display of their piosity. They want to
separate themselves. They want to be creating some kind of separated identification as if they are
greater than just normal folks.
By the way, the word Pharisee may come from a word that means separated. Generally, they
thought of themselves as better than everybody else. Someone to be revered and looked up to
and honored. They were in it for the whole objective of being seen by men. And Jesus says in
Matthew 6, "They have their reward." What is it? They're seen by men, period. God will not
reward them at all. In fact, He'll punish them. Then Jude 19 says, they not only separate
themselves, but then this dramatic word, they are sensual.
The gratification that comes when you think people think you're something very pious and very
devout. It's an ego trip. Now, notice verse 5, and the Lord identifies a couple of ways in which
they desired to be seen of men. He says, "They make broad their phylacteries and enlarged the
borders of their garment." Everything is on the outside. The whole religious game with them is
what is visible to people. Contrary to the heart. If you read 1 Corinthians Chapter 4, you will
find that everyone of us who serves Christ will ultimately be judged as to the heart, as to the
motives of the heart, as to the intense of the heart, as to the purposes and drives and thoughts
and desires of the heart.”
11. John Beehler, “ Their philosophy was, “Do as I say, not as I do.” These men thought they were
important to God, they thought they were important to men, but they were just a bunch of
hypocrites. A man, returning from a business trip, was met at the airport by his wife. They
walked from the gate together and were standing waiting for the baggage to be unloaded. An
extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the man came to life. Beaming, he said to
the stewardess, "I hope we can fly together again, Miss Jones."His wife asked, "How come you
knew the name of that stewardess?" The man replied smoothly, "Well dear, her name was posted
up front in the plane, right under the names of the pilot and co-pilot." To which the wife replied,
"Okay, so what were the names of the pilot and co-pilot?" BUSTED! The man’s hypocrisy was
uncovered.”
12. Clarke, “Even the phylactery became an important appendage to a Pharisee's character,
insomuch that some of them wore them very broad, either that they might have the more written
on them, or that, the characters being larger, they might be the more visible, and that they might
hereby acquire greater esteem among the common people, as being more than ordinarily
religious. For the same reason, they wore the fringes of their garments of an unusual length.
Moses had commanded (Num. xv. 38, 39) the children of Israel to put fringes to the borders of
their garments, that, when they looked upon even these distinct threads, they might remember,
not only the law in general, but also the very minutiae, or smaller parts of all the precepts, rites,
and ceremonies, belonging to it. As these hypocrites were destitute of all the life and power of
religion within, they endeavored to supply its place by phylacteries and fringes without.”
13. They were self-sufficient and independent, and getting the approval of men for their success
was all that mattered. The secure man’s 23rd Psalm fits them perfectly. It says…
I am my provider, I shall not be in want

I have stored up hay if the grass is not green in the valley
I have a big canteen just in case the waters are dried up
I have a map so I can find the right path
Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I have no fear… I have a living will, my
funeral paid for and a healthy life insurance policy to care for my family.
I will fear no evil because I have theft alarms on my car and home and the police will be there in
minutes.
My accountant and my broker, they comfort me.
I have prepared an investment portfolio that will put food on the table for years to come, even if
my competitors should go belly up.
I have been anointed with ability and good planning.
Surely, income and dividends will follow me every month, without fail.
And I will dwell in my own home, not a nursing home, all the days of my life.” Author unknown
6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most
important seats in the synagogues;
1. Human nature stays the same century after century, for men are always competing for the first
place, and not just in sports, but in every aspect of life. They want the best seats everywhere, and
the place of highest honor is what they expect in their pride that they deserve the best. Pride is
operating in human relationships all the time, and everyone is seeking to be the front runner in
the perpetual competition to be the first, the best, and the greatest and most successful.
Christians get caught up in this race to the top just like everyone else, and it leads to compromise
of Christian values in order to stay ahead, or it leads to cover up of things out of God's will lest
they hinder our progress. The very things that Jesus condemns in the Scribes and Pharisees can
be seen today, and Christian leaders are not exempt from this prideful display of ambition.
2. It is legitimate to accept rewards and be seated in places of honor, but when this is the ambition
that motivates your life, you are self centered rather than God centered, and your motive for
doing good things is not to please God, but to get people pleased with you. Your whole motive in
life is based on self, and this is not what a truly spiritual person should be striving for as a life
goal. Your good works and good teaching are just to exalt yourself and not God. God does not get
the glory for all the good you do, for the goal is your own glory, and people will see this and be
offended by such self-centered pride. When honor is rightly due, and it can be seen that it was
done not for self, but for the glory of God, people will be delighted that you are honored for your
labor of love. They will be happy for you to have the best seats anywhere, for they will see that
you serve the Lord and not just to enhance your own reputation.
3. Their quest for honor by always seeking to be first is condemned as sinful pride. The Apostles
needed this as well. The desire to be great is the most frequently combated desire in the Gospels says
Brunner. When this desire becomes religious it is really dangerous. He said, “Greatnessism is a major
social-spiritual disease attacked by Jesus.” Leadership desire for greatness is one of the root causes of
God’s people going astray.
4. “He describes their pride, v. 6, 7. They courted, and coveted, [1.] Places of honor and respect.
In all public appearances, as at feasts, and in the synagogues, they expected, and had, to their

hearts’ delight, the uppermost rooms, and the chief seats. They took place of all others, and
precedency was adjudged to them, as persons of the greatest note and merit; and it is easy to
imagine what a complacency they took in it; they loved to have the preeminence, 3 Jn. 9. It is not
possessing the uppermost rooms, nor sitting in the chief seats, that is condemned (somebody must
sit uppermost), but loving them; for men to value such a little piece of ceremony as sitting highest,
going first, taking the wall, or the better hand, and to value themselves upon it, to seek it, and to
feel resentment if they have it not; what is that but making an idol of ourselves, and then falling
down and worshiping it—the worst kind of idolatry! It is bad any where, but especially in the
synagogues. There to seek honor to ourselves, where we appear in order to give glory to God, and
to humble ourselves before him, is indeed to mock God instead of serving him. David would
willingly lie at the threshold in God’s house; so far was he from coveting the chief seat there, Ps.
84:10. It savors much of pride and hypocrisy, when people do not care for going to church, unless
they can look fine and make a figure there.” unknown author
5. Grace to you, “And one more virtue they lack, number six, they lack humility...they lack
humility. Verse 6, "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the
synagogues."
2.The seats of honor were at the right and the left hand of the host and they loved to be at the
right and the left hand of the host. They were really into that. I mean, even James and John got
sucked into that deal, didn't they? "Can we please sit on the right and left hand in the Kingdom,"
they said to Jesus. This was typical of those who sought preeminence and prominence. They
wanted to be on the right and the left hand of the guest. They wanted to be in the know. They
were really looking for significance.
Furthermore, they wanted to sit in the chief seats, up front on the raised platform in the
synagogue where they would sit and all the dignitaries would sit there and face the people. That's
what they chose. That's what they liked. They liked being elevated and being highly esteemed in
the eyes of the people.
6. “A local church asked it’s members to donate money for a new building. The building
committee made one stipulation: no plaques or recognition of any kind would be placed in the
building to honor the givers. The response was mediocre at best. When the committee withdrew
their requirement and allowed for a memorial registry with a listing of donors, the money was
easily raised. What had changed? At first, the building committee was appealing solely to
people’s charity and generosity. Later, they offered an appeal to their egos, and the egos won.”
Michael Duduit, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 1999, Nashville: Abingdon, 1998, 349.
7. John Beehler, “Pride and our egos cause us to become hypocrites. And that hurts us. And it
hurts our relationships with others. We pretend to be somebody we’re not because of pride. We
try to hide who we really are. ("I don’t have any problems! My life is perfect! I don’t make
mistakes! ) Our pride and egos won’t allow us to be real. We’re too ashamed to admit we’re not
better than everybody else.
I came to realize a long time ago that I’m the best in the world at one thing and one thing only.
I’m not the best preacher. I’m not the best father. I’m not the best singer. I’m not the best writer.
I’m not the best at remembering people’s names. I’m not the best golfer. I’m the best at one thing
and that is being myself. Nobody can be me better than me.We can’t fool God. 1 Samuel 16:7
says, “..the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks on the heart.”

8. William Baeta, “God has a divine plan for each person’s life. This plan, however, can only be
fulfilled when one totally depends on God and this is only possible when one lives a life of
humility. It is humility that allows us to acknowledge that God has a claim on our life as our
Creator. It is humility that says, “I am a sinner, and I need to be saved”. It is humility that is the
beginning of wisdom and only those who are humble see and understand the truths of the
Kingdom. No one, on the other hand, who is proud, will ever gain anything from God. Pride says,
“I can do it better than God”. Pride prevents us from following God’s plan, which leads to the sin
of rebellion. By proudly carrying out our own plan for our lives and those around us, we will
necessarily come into conflict with God’s plan. This is why the Scriptures say, “God resists the
proud but gives grace to the humble”. From Genesis to Revelation this warning is echoed over
and over again. Pride leads to destruction and a haughty spirit comes before a person falls.
Humility and pride are directly related to the way we view God. If we think very little of God or
do not believe God can direct our lives, we will think that we are capable of doing a better job
than He can. When we put God in a proper perspective, our self-image will fall into the right
perspective. Humility is not hanging our head low and belittling ourselves. Humility is depending
on the sovereignty of God. Humility is understanding and believing that God’s ways are right.
Humility is choosing to align our lives with the will of God. Humility is trusting God’s ability to
lead and direct us.
I am reminded of something that Gandhi once did. As he stepped aboard a train one day, one of
his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. Not able to retrieve it, as the train was moving
Gandhi removed his other shoe and threw it back to land close to the first. When a fellow
passenger asked why he did so, Gandhi simply smiled. “The poor man who finds the shoe lying
on the track,” he replied, “will now have a pair he can use.” According to D. L. Moody “The
measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves." We all have
something to offer. Let us humble ourselves and serve God by meeting the needs of others. We
cannot serve everyone but we can serve someone. And if everybody is serving somebody everyone
will be served. Amen!”
8. Coffman, “They were little men, puffed up with their supposed learning, parading like
peacocks before the admiring eyes of their followers, and inwardly gloating over titles of honor
and deference. Such empty superficiality blinded the Pharisees and will also blind all others in all
places in all times who become infected with the deadly virus of human pride.
7they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have
men call them 'Rabbi.'
1. I find pleasure in people greeting me by my name, for in many cases I do not know there name,
and this means they have paid more attention to me than I have to them. It is usually also that
they are twenty or thirty years younger than I am, and can remember names. My point is, there
is pleasure in greetings when others recognize you, and how much more so when they will greet
you with a title that most others do not possess? There is pride in having degrees and titles we can
add to our names, for they represent hard work often, and there is a real pride in achieving them
when most people never do. To love this sort of thing, however, leads to self-centered feelings that

can make us take ourselves too seriously by thinking that we are superior to those who have no
such titles or degrees. You may be superior in your knowledge and skills, but they are often
superior to you in other ways. Christians are to recognize that all in Christ are brother and
sisters, and equal members of the family. Pride and superiority have no place in Christian
relationships.
2. William Loader, “People bent on power surround themselves with the trappings of power,
which are often designed to reinforce their claim. What we wear, where we sit, how we are
greeted - these are elements of the persona we want people to see and respect. Behind it is often a
frail yearning for love which has been met by such compensatory strategies. Abuse of others is
frequently the result of exploiting others to meet our own stifled needs. The abuse may be as
apparently harmless as captivating congregations with our preaching, framing our communities
so that we are constantly affirmed, developing dependency on us among other needy people.”
3.GRACE TO YOU, “Then notice, would you please, this is very interesting, verse 7, "They also
loved respectful greetings in the marketplaces." They loved people to acknowledge them as
dignitaries. They wanted honored titles. In fact the rabbinical writings give an elaborate direction
about how you're to greet a rabbi when you meet him. There's all kinds of things you're supposed
to say. And by the way, it says they're to be treated superior to kings. Some of the Jewish writings
that I've seen indicated that one time the Academy of Rabbis was having an argument with God
and they had to select a very special rabbi to settle it. Now that is an exalted opinion of oneself
when a rabbi has to resolve a conflict that God can't solve. The Mishna says, quote: "It is more
punishable to act against the words of the scribes than against the words of Scripture." So you
get the idea of how they were elevated in their own minds.
They had an inflated sense of their own importance. And here's what they liked, they loved being
called by men "rabbi." They loved that. What does that mean? You want to know what the Latin
is? Docere from which we get doctor. They liked being called doctor because that elevated them,
that lifted them up. "Your excellency," would be another way to translate that. "You superior
one, you." "You great one." They loved that, they sought that. We still have people like that
around, they seek that, they want to be sure that you don't miss that they're doctor someone, or
excellency someone or great one someone. But there's always been a propensity in a false leader
to seek that glorification, that prominence. That's why there's such a market in degree mills for
easily gained titles of honor.”
4. “Titles of honor and respect. They loved greetings in the markets, loved to have people put off
their hats to them, and show them respect when they met them in the streets. O how it pleased
them, and fed their vain humor, digito monstrari et dicier, Hic est—to be pointed out, and to have it
said, This be he, to have way made for them in the crowd of market people; "Stand off, here is a
Pharisee coming!’’ and to be complimented with the high and pompous title of Rabbi, Rabbi!
This was meat and drink and dainties to them; and they took as great a satisfaction in it as
Nebuchadnezzar did in his palace, when he said, Is not this great Babylon that I have built? The
greetings would not have done them half so much good, if they had not been in the markets,
where every body might see how much they were respected, and how high they stood in the
opinion of the people. It was but a little before Christ’s time, that the Jewish teachers, the
masters of Israel, had assumed the title of Rabbi, Rab, or Rabban, which signifies great or much;
and was construed as Doctor, or My lord. And they laid such a stress upon it, that they gave it for
a maxim that "he who salutes his teacher, and does not call him Rabbi, provokes the divine
Majesty to depart from Israel;’’ so much religion did they place in that which was but a piece of
good manners! For him that is taught in the word to give respect to him that teaches is

commendable enough in him that gives it; but for him that teaches to love it, and demand it, and
affect it, to be puffed up with it, and to be displeased if it be omitted, is sinful and abominable;
and, instead of teaching, he has need to learn the first lesson in the school of Christ, which is
humility. He cautions his disciples against being herein like them; herein they must not do after
their works.” Unknown author
5. Coffman, “Christ assuredly condemned the employment of religious titles denoting any kind of
authority. The acceptance of title, no less than its bestowal, was forbidden by Christ. "Be not ye
called ... Call no man ..." In the teaching here, Christ struck at one of the great failings of
mankind, the reliance upon human authorities for the settlement of religious truth. In apostolic
times, the living teachers were called "rabbis" and the ones who formerly lived were called
"fathers." (The latter term even crept into the speech of Stephen, Acts 7:2). But Christ taught
there is just one authority in religion, namely, God, and that which God has revealed in Christ
through the apostles. Plummer expressed it: "They were to abandon the practice of appealing to
`the fathers,' which had done so much evil in perpetuating misleading traditions." The sense of
Christ's teaching recorded in this place is always violated when men are willing to accept the
authority of "Doctor So and So" instead of the teachings of the word of God.”
Wherever the title "father" is received and allowed, there is also a sinful implication of the
authority of such persons and of the deference due their opinions regarding religious questions. It
is precisely there that the damage is done. Positively no Father, Rabbi, Reverend, Doctor, or other
religious title-holder has any authority at all to legislate, absolve, bind, loose, require, or demand,
in any religious sense, anything whatsoever, upon anyone whomsoever! The principal heresy of
the ages has been and continues to be the human failing in this very area. Humanity confers upon
itself, in the person of those whom it denominates "fathers," "rabbis," etc., prerogatives which
pertain and can only pertain to God. As for the titles themselves, they are forbidden to all who
honor the word of Christ. Let any person who uses such a title in a religious sense beware of the
consequences. Titles, apart from their religious implications, are not necessarily condemned by
Christ; the distinction is seen in the fact that one may refer to his earthly parent as his father
without violating the prohibition taught by Christ; but if the very same title, or any other, should
be applied in a religious sense and in order to confer dignity and authority upon the conferee,
then Christ's law is violated. The consent of long centuries of men to disobey Christ's law on
these matters does not change it.”
6. “Thus Jesus reproves those who make religion a matter of praise-seeking ostentation, whether they
do so by seeking position, or by peculiarity of dress, or by assuming or accepting titles of honor or
distinction. This sin of ostentation was the first enumerated sin of the Pharisees.”
8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only
one Master and you are all brothers.
1. The poor people of that day had masters all over the place, and they were all seeking for
attention from them. Jesus said from now on, less is more. You do not have to greet one after

22219213 matthew-23-commentary

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