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Matthew Chapter 23

New Testament Gospel 39 Verses

What is Matthew 23 about?

The Gospel for a Jewish audience — Jesus as Messiah-King, fulfillment of OT prophecy, and teacher of the Sermon on the Mount. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples,
2saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat:
3all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, [these] do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.
4Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men`s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
5But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders [of their garments],
6and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.
8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.
9And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, [even] he who is in heaven.
10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, [even] the Christ.
11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter[.]
14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows` houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation.
15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.
16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.
17Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?
18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor.
19Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.
24Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!
25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.
26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men`s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,
30and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets.
32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?
34Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:
35that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.
36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, etc.] To the common people that were about him in the temple; the high priests and elders, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, having left him, being all nonplussed and silenced by him: and now, lest on the one hand, the people seeing the ignorance and errors of these men detected by Christ, should be tempted to conclude there was nothing in religion, and to neglect the word and worship of God, on account of the concern these men had in it; and on the other hand, because of their great authority and influence, being in Moses’s chair, lest the people should be led into bad…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“DENUNCIATION OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES--LAMENTATION OVER JERUSALEM, AND FAREWELL TO THE TEMPLE. ( = Mar 12:38-40; Luk 20:45-47). (Mat. 23:1-39) Then spake Jesus to the multitude--to the multitudes, "and to his disciples."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 2
“Scribes and Pharisees - See the notes at Matthew 3:7. Moses’ seat - Moses was the great legislator of the Jews. By him the Law was given. The office of explaining that Law among the Jews devolved on the scribes and Pharisees. In the synagogues they sat while expounding the Law, and rose when they read it. By “sitting in the seat of Moses” we are to understand authority to teach the Law; or, as he taught the nation by giving the Law, so they taught it by explaining it. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“Then - Leaving all converse with his adversaries, whom he now left to the hardness of their hearts. Matthew 23:2”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“23:1–25:46 This final extended discourse (see study note on Matt 5:1–7:29) centers on judgment for rejecting the Messiah. 23:1 The religious leaders had sought a reason to accuse Jesus publicly (21:23–22:46) but found none. Jesus now turned to the crowds and to his disciples to openly indict the religious leaders for their numerous failures to conform to God’s righteous standards.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“Mat 15:10-20; Mar 7:14; Luk 12:1, Luk 12:57, Luk 20:45 Matthew 23:2”
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