Matthew 23

Matthew 23:2

The same day came to him the Sadducees. See PNT Matthew 3:7. They were materialists. Which say that there is no resurrection. They denied the immortality of the soul. See Acts 23:8.

Matthew 23:3

Moses said. See Deuteronomy 25:5.

Matthew 23:7

Whose wife shall she be of the seven? They state a fictitious case that they suppose will make the doctrine of the resurrection ridiculous.

Matthew 23:8

Ye do err. “Not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God”.

Matthew 23:9

Are as the angels of God. The physical relations of earthly marriage do not belong to spiritual beings. The saints when raised are like the angels. This does not deny personal intercourse or spiritual relationships, but the existence of fleshly ties.

Matthew 23:10

As touching the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees doubted some of the prophetic books, but accepted Moses; hence, the Lord appeals to Moses to show that he taught future existence, or “the resurrection”, which is the sense in which the latter phrase is used.

Matthew 23:11

I am the God of Abraham. See Exodus 3:6. God does not say, “I was”, but “I ‘am’ the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob”. The present tense shows that he is still the God of the departed patriarchs, and that they are still in existence. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Queen Victoria is not the queen of Bacon, Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, but only of her living subjects. The Savior teaches that the soul is resurrected when it leaves the body, and that there is no unconscious state between death and the final resurrection of the body.

Matthew 23:13

The Pharisees . . . were gathered together. Compare Mr 12:28-34 Lu 10:25-28.

Matthew 23:14

A lawyer. An expounder of the law of Moses. A scribe (see Mr 12:32). Tempting him. Trying him.

Matthew 23:15

Which [is] the great commandment? This was a question which, with some others, divided the Jewish teachers into rival schools, and was a constant bone of contention–one of “those strivings about the law”, against which Paul warns Titus (Titus 3:9). The Jews divided their commandments into greater and lesser, but were not agreed in particulars. Some pronounced the law of circumcision the greater; others, that of sacrifices, or ablutions, or phylacteries. The Talmud reckoned the positive laws of Moses at 248, the negative at 365, in all 613. To keep so many laws, said the Jews, is an angel’s work. So they had much question which was the great commandment, so that they might keep it in lieu of keeping the whole.

Matthew 23:16

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc. Freely quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5. A demand for supreme love for God.

Matthew 23:17

This is the first and great. First, in that it precedes the second that he is about to name; great, because it embraces all others; He who loves God supremely cannot live in disobedience to him.

Matthew 23:18

The second [is] like. The first command sums up what man owes to God; the second, what he owes to his fellow-man. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. See Leviticus 19:18. One who loves God supremely, will not live in disobedience; one who loves his neighbor as himself, will seek the welfare of those around him.

Matthew 23:20

While the Pharisees were gathered together. Compare Mr 12:35-37 Lu 20:21-44.

Matthew 23:21

What think ye of Christ? The great question still. Whose son is he? They reply, the “Son of David”, a correct but incomplete answer, as he shows by their own Scriptures.

Matthew 23:22

Call him Lord. David then, by inspiration, calls his own Son his Lord, which shows that he is more than David’s Son.

Matthew 23:23

The LORD. Jehovah. Said unto my Lord. The Christ. Found in Psalms 110:1. This psalm is quoted also in Mr 12:36 Lu 20:42,43 Ac 2:34,35 1 Corinthians 15:25 Hebrews 1:13 5:6,10 7:17,21 10:13.

Matthew 23:24

How is he his son? The answer is not given here, but plain. Christ, the Son of David, according to earthly descent, is the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh.

Matthew 23:25

No man was able, etc. Henceforth the Pharisees argued no more, but only sought his death.

Matthew 23:27

The Last Appeal to Israel SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 23: The Scribes and Pharisees in Moses’ Seat. The Burdens They Imposed. Their Eagerness for the Praise of Men. Religious Titles. Religious Masters. The Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Straining Out the Great and Swallowing the Camel. Whited Sepulchres. Building the Tombs of the Murdered Prophets. The Lamentation Over Jerusalem. Jesus spake to the multitude, and to his disciples. This discourse, delivered in the courts of the temple on the Tuesday before the Lord was crucified, has never been surpassed in indignant rebuke, withering denunciation, and tearful sorrow over the coming fate of sinner who would not be saved. It contains Christ’s last words to the Jewish nation. The contest had been growing fiercer, the opposition of his enemies was more bitter, their plots against his life were working, their utter perverseness was fully manifested, the time for tender appeal has passed by, and the Lord turns upon the “whited sepulchers” (Matthew 23:27), the “generation of vipers” (Matthew 23:33), the hypocritical pretenders, in a philippic that we believe has never been equaled. But even in the midst of it, like a rift of blue sky in the fearful storm-cloud, his love and pity shine forth with wonderful beauty in the pathetic exclamation of Mt 23:37. Only a part of the discourse is found in Mr 12:38-40; some similar sayings occur in Lu 11:39-52, and a reference to its occurs in Lu 20:45-47.

Matthew 23:28

The scribes and the Pharisees. Associated because almost all the scribes were of the sect of Pharisees. The scribes, the Jewish scholars, the theologians and lawyers, would naturally be of the religious sect. Sit in the Moses’ seat. Are the expounders of the law of Moses.

Matthew 23:29

Whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do. While in Moses’ seat, presenting the law of Moses. He has elsewhere taught that the traditions they added were to be rejected (Matthew 15:3-6). Do not ye after their works. Do not follow their examples. The law of Moses was still in force, for the Christian dispensation was not ushered in until Christ died, and hence was still to be obeyed, but the wicked example of its teachers was to be rejected.

Matthew 23:30

They bind heavy burdens. By the traditions they added to the laws. The law itself was a heavy yoke (Acts 15:10), but the traditions so strenuously insisted on added to this yoke. See notes on Matthew 15:1-6.

Matthew 23:31

To be seen of men. Instead of touching the burdens with their little finger, by an effort to keep the law in its spirit, their whole object was to appear holy before men. They make broad their phylacteries. A band was drawn over the forehead, or around the arm, and to this was attached a small calfskin box, in which were placed passages of Scripture. For this they quoted Exodus 13:16. The passages worn so ostentatiously were Exodus 12:2-10 13:11-21 De 6:4-9 11:18-21. To make them “broad” was to enlarge the case contain the Scripture, so as to make it more conspicuous. Enlarge the borders. The fringes worn to remind them “of doing all the commandments”, as enjoined in Numbers 15:38. To enlarge these would make them more conspicuous.

Matthew 23:32

Love the uppermost rooms at feasts. Rather, “seats”. The highest seats at a feast were the places of honor. Chief seats in the synagogues. The places where the elders sat with their faces to the congregation. They loved the pre-eminence.

Matthew 23:33

And greetings in the markets. Being greeted by titles of honor in the public resorts. Rabbi. A term which meant the same as Doctor of Divinity now. There were three degrees, Rab, Rabbi, and Rabboni. The last is the greatest, and means, literally, “My great teacher”.

Matthew 23:34

Be not ye called Rabbi. This prohibits all similar religious titles now. It certainly forbids such as the corresponding title of Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). For one is your Master. Christ is the common teacher of all, and all others are disciples on the same level. The spirit of this command forbids all ecclesiastical titles of honor.

Matthew 23:35

Call no [man] your father upon earth. Another honorary title. The scribes delighted to be called “Abba”, “father”. So the priests of the Roman Catholic Church. So do all who welcome such honorary titles as Rev., Right Rev., Lord Bishop, etc. These are all forbidden. No apostle was ever so called.

Matthew 23:36

Master. Also an honorary title. All such are to be avoided in the church.

Matthew 23:37

He that is greatest. Instead of seeking chief seats at feasts or in the synagogues, and titles that will exalt him above others, let him seek to become the servant of all. Compare Matthew 20:26.

Matthew 23:38

Whosoever shall exalt himself, etc. A universal rule in the kingdom of God. Humility is an essential element of progress in it.

Matthew 23:39

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees. Eight woes are given. They have been contrasted with the nine Beatitudes of Mt 5:3-11. Hypocrites. Literally, actors. Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven. By false teaching that prevents men from accepting Christ. Both their example and false teaching shut the door.