Big Idea: For Matthew, the Jewish leaders are disobedient to the Torah and pursue the honor of their positions, providing a foil to Jesus’ followers, who are to renounce concern for status and live in community as brothers and sisters.

Understanding the Text

Matthew concludes his narration of confrontation between Jesus and the Jerusalem leaders with a series of judgment warnings upon the Pharisees and teachers of the law (23:1–36). The chapter begins with a call to Jesus’ followers to avoid the motivation and example of these teaching leaders, while acknowledging the importance of Torah instruction (23:1–12). Jesus speaks of the heavy loads that these leaders put upon those whom they teach (through their ways of interpreting the Torah [23:4]), directly contrasting his earlier words about his own Torah instruction: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (11:30). Jesus’ followers are to avoid the hypocrisy of seeking to gain prestige and positions of honor through religious adherence (23:5–12), a refrain already resounding in earlier parts of Matthew (6:1–18; 20:1–16, 20–28).

Interpretive Insights

23:1 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples. The focus of chapter 23, coming on the heels of the series of confrontations between Jesus and the Jewish leaders in 21:12–22:46, is an indictment of the Jewish leadership, specifically those who teach the people—“the teachers of the law and the Pharisees” (23:2). Nevertheless, Jesus does not speak to these leaders directly, but rather he addresses the crowds and his disciples. In doing so, he warns them about following the teaching and practices of the Jewish leaders.

23:2 sit in Moses’ seat. The referent of “Moses’ seat” is debated. There is archaeological evidence of such “seats” or “chairs” (kathedra) in synagogues by the time of rabbinic Judaism, though it is not clear that there were such chairs in first-century synagogues. Whether literal or figurative, a central question is the significance of Jesus’ reference to it here in Matthew. Most scholars understand Jesus to be granting some measure of authority to the Pharisees and teachers of the law in their roles as leaders, while also frequently disagreeing with their specific teachings. Yet Matthew has described the Jewish teachers of the law as lacking teaching authority (7:29) and has shown Jesus warning his followers about their teaching (16:12). Given these contextual factors, Mark Powell has argued that Jesus cannot be referring here to the authority to teach. Instead, Powell highlights the role that these Jewish teachers had in terms of access to the Torah. If most people in the first century, including Jews, were illiterate (as most scholars suggest), then these teachers provided an important point of access to Scriptures themselves. According to Powell, it is this role as those who read the Scriptures in synagogue worship that Jesus affirms.1“Jesus may be simply acknowledging the powerful social and religious position that [these leaders] occupy in a world where most people are illiterate and copies of the Torah are not plentiful.”2

23:3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. This exhortation stems from the place of authority or access that the Jewish leaders occupy (see discussion above on 23:2). As they read and express the Mosaic law, what they communicate should be obeyed. Yet Matthew has made it clear that some of their teachings are not accurate representations of the Torah (e.g., 16:5–12; also 5:21–48; 12:1–12; 23:23). It is Jesus himself who exemplifies right teaching of the law.

But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. This indictment of the teaching leaders fits other places in Matthew where Jesus critiques them for Torah disobedience. For example, in 15:3–6 Jesus accuses them of neglecting the commands of God and instead obeying their own traditions. Their disobedience springs from a misprioritizing of the law (e.g., 12:7; 23:23).

23:4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders. The teaching leaders are described as putting “heavy loads” (phortia barea) on people. This directly contrasts Jesus’ own way of teaching the Torah, described as a “light load” (phortion elaphron [11:30]).

23:5 They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. Phylacteries (phylakteria) are the two leather boxes (Heb. tefillin) “containing parchment Scriptures that, since at least the second century BC, were commonly worn on the upper left arm and forehead following the literal understanding of . . . Deut. 6.8.”3 For tassels, see Numbers 15:38 and the comments on 9:20. Jesus’ critique of these Jewish leaders is that they augment their phylacteries and tassels in order to draw people’s attention to them and so presumably to the leaders’ piety. This connects to Jesus’ earlier description of “the hypocrites,” who give to the poor, pray, and fast so that others will see and honor their actions (6:2, 5, 16). Jesus will refer to the Jewish teachers as “hypocrites” repeatedly in 23:13–36.

23:6 they love the place of honor at banquets. The Pharisees’ love of the best banquet seats begins a list emphasizing their desire for honor and prestige at meals, in synagogues, and in the marketplace (23:6–7) (see the sidebar “Honor and Shame in the Ancient World”). This kind of social ranking in meals and other situations was commonplace in Greco-Roman society. Meals in particular highlighted social disparities in the ancient world (e.g., Luke 14:7–14). In fact, Sirach, a Jewish wisdom book, gives advice about how to act at meals, warning against greed and advising deference (Sir. 31:12–18).

23:8–9 you are not to be called “Rabbi” . . . do not call anyone on earth “father.” In these verses Jesus expresses the solidarity and equality that are to characterize the believing community, stemming from their familial relationship as siblings and their submission to one “Teacher” and “Father,” references to their relationship with their God.

23:10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. Jesus grounds the solidarity and equality that are to typify his followers in their common relationship to God (23:8–9) and their relationship with him (23:10). The word for “instructor” (kathegetes) is not the more common word for “teacher” (didaskalos), used in 23:8. By using a different word, Matthew is likely simply distinguishing the two referents of these verses: God as “the Teacher” and Jesus as “the Messiah.” The image of the Messiah as teacher corresponds to Deuteronomy 18:15, which promises a future prophet like Moses, Israel’s great teacher. Matthew highlights Jesus as teacher (e.g., 4:23; 5:2; 9:35).

23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant. This teaching parallels Jesus’ teaching about discipleship at 20:26: “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.” Jesus calls his followers to renounce status concerns and to live a life focused on the benefit of others in the believing community and not on self-aggrandizement.

23:12 those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. This concluding statement about the relationship of Jesus’ followers to one another is a proverbial statement, similar to the ones in 19:30; 20:16 (the first will be last, and the last first). These proverbial statements address inappropriate emphasis on status in the coming kingdom. Disciples are to take on the humble position of those with little status instead of seeking status and position in the kingdom (see 18:3–4).

Teaching the Text

1. Jesus uses the Pharisees and teachers of the law as a foil to teach his followers to avoid the hypocrisy of using their religious status and actions to receive honor from people. Jesus addresses his disciples in this passage; they are not to act like the Jewish leaders he describes. Throughout chapter 23 these leaders are accused of hypocrisy: their outward actions do not cohere with their motives. They pursue religious behavior, such as the wearing of phylacteries and tassels in observance of the Torah, but they do so in order to have their piety acknowledged and to be assigned honor by others. In fact, they seek out places and titles of honor wherever they go (23:6–7). Jesus calls his followers to an utterly different way of living. To preach this text is to lean into this alternate way. It is the way of integrity—of having one’s actions and motives in full alignment. This alternate way focuses on living for God’s approval and not the approval and honor of people.

Of course, this is easier said than done. We long for approval from someone, and sometimes we search our entire life for this approval and honor. Jesus carefully directs the focus of that longing toward God and not honor before others. Strategies for this redirection are provided in 6:1–18, a passage parallel to 23:1–12. Of utmost importance is “practicing [one’s] righteousness” secretly so that there is no opportunity for someone else to see and give that pat on the back or that place of honor. By giving to the poor, praying, and fasting “in secret,” Jesus’ followers will gain honor and reward from God. As we preach and teach this message, we may also have to consider whether we have designed our communal religious practices in such a way as to foster this kind of anonymity rather than as a system that actually rewards people with human honor for their spiritual practices.

2. Instead of seeking honor and status, Jesus’ followers should pursue equality in their communities through renunciation of status and recognition that they have only one Father and one Messiah-Teacher. These themes of equality among the believing community have already been introduced in chapters 18–20 (see esp. 18:1–5; 20:1–16, 25–28). The surprising equality of the kingdom (20:12) comes about as Jesus’ followers renounce the status differentials so prevalent in their world. The Christian community is countercultural in its equality in the midst of the status-conscious Greco-Roman world of the first century. To preach this message in contemporary contexts means allowing for potentially different backdrops. Yet, while most Western democratic contexts pride themselves on equality for all persons, implicit status and value differentials still exist. So the church can still fall into patterns of relationship that honor some more than others and devalue persons deemed less significant. As you teach this passage, challenge your listeners to think of areas where they might dishonor someone because of social position or show favoritism to some above others. How would Jesus respond to such favoritism?

Illustrating the Text

Jesus uses the Pharisees and teachers of the law as a foil to teach his followers to avoid the hypocrisy of using their religious status and actions to receive honor from people.

News: Choosing to be a foster parent provides an amazing gift to children needing a loving and stable home, and the vast majority of foster parents open their homes with good intentions and with no sense of external reward. Unfortunately, the most publicized situations are those where a foster parent is abusing the system (and possibly the children) for personal financial gain. You might find such an example from the news. This kind of story illustrates what it looks like when people fake parenthood, which is supposed to be a selfless endeavor on behalf of the other, for the sake of personal gain. It gives an example of how people use something noble for supremely base purposes. Hypocrites take what should be a God-honoring act of worship and make it a means of self-promotion or gain.

Popular Culture: We live in a celebrity culture that idolizes heroes, whether in sports, entertainment, or politics. You might provide some examples of cultural heroes to illustrate this phenomenon. We also have religious heroes—famous speakers and/or church leaders who garner national followings. We certainly can learn from these “Christian celebrities,” but it might be helpful to explore our cultural tendencies for creating and venerating celebrities. How have we given honor to some over others in our wider context and even in our local churches? A telling question to ask is “Who in our own communities do we view as expendable, and who do we feel compelled to honor and praise?”

Instead of seeking honor and status, Jesus’ followers should pursue equality in their communities through renunciation of status and recognition that they have only one Father and one Messiah-Teacher.

Quote: Epistulae, by Pliny the Younger. Pliny illustrates the excessive nature of status divisions in the ancient world. We might do well to realize how often such excessiveness still occurs in our own world.

It would take too long to go into the details . . . of how I happened to be dining with a man—though no particular friend of his—whose elegant economy, as he called it, seemed to me a sort of stingy extravagance. The best dishes were set in front of himself and a select few, and cheap scraps of food before the rest of the company. He had even put the wine into tiny little flasks, divided into three categories, not with the idea of giving his guests opportunity of choosing, but to make it impossible for them to refuse what they were given. One lot was intended for himself and for us, another for his lesser friends (all his friends are graded) and his and our freedmen.4

Scripture: You might draw on the harsh words leveled against favoritism toward the rich in James 2:1–13. There James provides a scenario of a rich person entering a gathering of believers and receiving preferential treatment over someone who is poor.

Warnings of Judgment on the Jewish Leaders

Big Idea: Jesus laments the rejection that he has experienced in Jerusalem and warns of judgments upon hypocritical leaders, whose actions exclude their followers from the kingdom, who prioritize their traditions over the Torah, and who ultimately reject Jesus as God’s righteous one.

Understanding the Text

After exhorting his disciples to avoid the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers, Jesus condemns specific hypocritical actions of these leaders (23:13–36). Matthew has collected these “woes” into seven sayings, which culminate in a final (seventh) woe that broadens to include the generation of Jesus’ contemporaries (23:36; cf. 11:16; 12:39–45; 16:4; 17:17). A number of Matthean themes are highlighted in these woes, including the irony of disobeying God’s commandments in order to keep various oral traditions (23:16–22; cf. 15:3–9) and the importance of interpreting the Torah by focusing on “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (23:23; cf. 9:13; 12:7). Matthew concludes chapter 23 with Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem and his prediction of the temple’s destruction (23:37–39; cf. 21:12–17; 24:1–2).

Interpretive Insights

23:13 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. Matthew organizes this chapter by arranging seven “woes” or warnings of judgment into three pairs and a concluding summative oracle, followed by a lament over Jerusalem and the temple (see the sidebar “The ‘Woes’ of Matthew 23”).

You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. This picture of closing off the kingdom to others coheres with Jesus’ earlier portrait of tax collectors and prostitutes entering the kingdom ahead of the Jerusalem leaders. By rejecting Jesus’ message and speaking against him to the crowds, the Pharisees “shut the door of the kingdom” to others (e.g., 12:22–24; cf. 16:12).

23:14 You devour widows’ houses. This verse, a woe about mistreating widows and saying long prayers, is very likely not original to Matthew’s Gospel. It has limited manuscript support (only later and less reliable witnesses include it), and it likely is an interpolation from Mark and/or Luke (cf. Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47).

23:16 You say, “If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing.” Matthew 23:16–22 indicts those who thoughtlessly and rashly make oaths to give weight to their words (see 5:34). Similarly, Philo, a first-century Jew, writes of persons he knows who “swear at length and make whole speeches consisting of a string of oaths and thus, by their misuse of the many forms of the divine name in places where they ought not to do so, show their impiety” (Decalogue94). The practice that Jesus describes here seems to betray a view of oath taking that borders on the magical.

23:23 the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus speaks here of the central matters of the Torah (barytera, a comparative, refers to what is “weightier” or “more important”), which he defines as justice (krisis), mercy (eleos), and faithfulness (pistis). Mercy (eleos) has already been used to describe the lens through which Torah adherence is judged (9:13; 12:7). These three terms are reminiscent of Micah’s rehearsal of Yahweh’s requirements for humankind: “to do judgment [krima] and to love mercy [eleos] and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God” (Mic. 6:8 LXX NETS). Matthew consistently portrays Jesus as properly interpreting the Torah with reference to the Prophets (e.g., 5:17) and through the lens of mercy, justice, faithfulness, and love (5:44; 22:38–40).

You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. This final comment might seem unexpected, especially since to contemporary Christians such attention to detail—tithing one’s spices—seems unnecessary and even legalistic (see Lev. 27:30, where “a tithe of everything from the land” is required). Yet, for a first-century Jew, Jesus’ affirmation of all that the law requires, even a tithing of spices, would be unremarkable. Jesus is again portrayed as utterly faithful to the law, even as he rightly prioritizes what is central to it.

23:24 You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. The choice of “gnat” and “camel” suggests that Jesus gave this powerful image in Aramaic, his mother tongue. In Aramaic this combination forms a play on words: qalmâ and gamlâ (“gnat” and “camel,” respectively). Ironically, both creatures are considered unclean according to the Torah (Lev. 11:4, 20–23), which adds to the indictment of the Jewish leaders.1

23:25 full of greed and self-indulgence. The Pharisees have been characterized by disobedience to the central Torah commands (e.g., 15:1–20) and by a desire for honor (23:1–12; cf. 6:1–18). Here Jesus adds the accusation of greed and self-indulgence. The latter (akrasia [see 1 Cor. 7:5]) refers to a lack of self-control. Though the Pharisees in Matthew outwardly appear to be all that they should be, their insatiable desire for more defines them.

23:26 First clean the inside of the cup. Jesus teaches that attention to the inward life necessarily impacts what others can observe about a person, resonating with his earlier words about what enters and leaves the body (15:11–20). Yet Jesus is not saying that outward actions are unimportant. Rather, he is linking one’s inner attitudes, thoughts, and dispositions with one’s outwardly visible words and actions. Integrity is the consistency between the inner and outer life.

23:31 So you testify against yourselves. Jesus targets the hypocrisy of purporting to honor martyred prophets (by building tombs and decorating graves [23:29]) while acknowledging lineage from “our ancestors” (pateres, “fathers”), the very ones who martyred the prophets.

23:33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! The phrase “brood of vipers” continues the image of lineage and provides an implicit accusation that the Pharisees and teachers of the law are unfaithful to their heritage (see comments on 3:7). “Here the scribes and Pharisees are portrayed as thinking of themselves as heirs of the prophets, yet describing themselves as children of those who killed them (23.30–31).”2

23:34 I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Matthew has readily drawn upon these categories to describe Jesus himself; Jesus is prophet (13:57; 23:29–39), wise person (11:19, 28–30; 21:23–22:46), and teacher (23:10). And those who are sent by Jesus to teach and preach will have the same reception that he has had; they will be persecuted and killed (23:34; see 10:16–18).

23:35 from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah. These two phrases illustrate the full historical scope of “the righteous blood that has been shed on earth.” Abel is the first martyr in the Hebrew Bible, and Zechariah is the last (Gen. 4:8; 2 Chron. 24:20–22), with Chronicles being the final book in the ordering of the Hebrew Bible.3Additionally, according to Jewish legend, it is Zechariah’s boiling blood that stains the temple floor.4And Abel’s blood cries out to God from the ground (Gen. 4:10). Both require vindication (Matt. 23:35).

23:37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together. These words provide a pronounced shift from the preceding seven woes. Jesus laments the judgment that will come upon Jerusalem and the temple. Matthew portrays Jesus as the Messiah who expresses grief over what will come upon the temple and the people of Jerusalem at the time of its destruction (AD 70). He longs instead for a different kind of relationship of protection and care. Jesus as a mother hen protecting her young under her wings evokes pictures of Yahweh caring for Israel: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge” (Ps. 91:4 [see also Deut. 32:11; Isa. 31:5]).

23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. Jesus’ language of “your house” points to the Jerusalem temple (Isa. 52:11; Jer. 7:10–11). The reference to the temple’s desolation provides a prelude to chapter 24, which will focus on Jesus’ predictions about the temple’s destruction, which comes about in AD 70.

23:39 until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” It was with these words from Psalm 118:26 that crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem (21:9). Here Jesus links his reappearing with these same words of acclamation. While chapter 23 has focused on the announcement of future judgment on Jewish leaders, this final word anticipates a coming day when the people of Jerusalem will once again respond favorably to Jesus. “Israel is not abandoned without hope.”5

Teaching the Text

1. While Jesus warns of future judgment upon Pharisees and teachers of the law for their hypocrisy, the direct audience of chapter 23 is Jesus’ followers, so the “woes” provide a warning to them. Chapter 23 is addressed to the crowds and disciples (23:1), so the many references to the judgment that Jesus warns will come upon the Jewish leaders are meant to instruct his followers and Matthew’s readers/hearers. Jesus critiques the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, but Matthew has included these critiques as a warning to his own community, since hypocrisy is by no means the exclusive domain of Jesus’ opponents in the narrative. So as we preach and teach this text, our own focus should be on what we as believers in Jesus can learn for Christian living from these “woes.”6The first and foremost warning of this passage is against hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is something to which all people, including Christians, are susceptible. We live in a cultural context where honesty is less important than not getting caught and where integrity is less important than looking good. Into this context of mixed-up values Matthew’s message of integrity comes as a needed corrective.

2. Jesus highlights justice, mercy, and faithfulness in order to prioritize and guide Torah interpretation and obedience. Matthew’s Jesus never devalues the Torah, but he does provide the proper lens through which to interpret and apply it. This lens centers on the “weightier” matters of the law, defined here as justice, mercy, and faithfulness (on love being essential to this lens, see 5:43–48; 22:34–40). How might we preach and teach this message? First, just like the Pharisees, we too can easily misprioritize our Christian obligations (now based on Jesus’ teachings [28:20]). Keeping these values of mercy, justice, love, and loyalty at the forefront of our communities can keep our priorities in line with those of Jesus. Second, by preaching justice and mercy as kingdom values, we will be less likely to treat these as competing values. Justice, for Matthew, is fundamentally about God coming to make all things right; included in this righting of wrongs are merciful acts on behalf of those who are disadvantaged. So we ought to adjust our definition of justice as necessary so that it includes mercy and does not oppose it. Finally, we can communicate to our congregations that these values are not new to Jesus. In 23:23 Jesus echoes Micah 6:8, where God’s priorities for humanity are exactly these: acting in justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (i.e., covenant loyalty).

Illustrating the Text

While Jesus warns of future judgment upon Pharisees and teachers of the law for their hypocrisy, the direct audience of chapter 23 is Jesus’ followers, so the “woes” provide a warning to them.

Metaphor: “Hypocrite” springs from a Greek word that originally referred to a stage actor, someone who wore a mask and played a part. Metaphorical use of the term in Jewish writings highlights its negative connotations. In Jesus’ teaching here and elsewhere in Matthew the word is applied to people who put on a false face, pretending to have virtues that they lack. At the heart of this attribution lies an inconsistency between outward actions and inward motivations.7While we might easily condemn the Pharisees and teachers of the law for hypocrisy, it is all too easy for us to foster, even unintentionally, such inconsistencies. So it would be helpful to ask questions of ourselves and our congregations about motivations for pious actions and religious behavior. Do we pursue religious and moral activity, certainly important in itself, in order to be seen by others and to gain status and standing?

Literature: Shakespeare’s portrayal of Macbeth provides an example of a hypocrite. “False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (act 1, scene 7). Also consider, from Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, who plays a part of the “big man” all his life when he would have been much happier as a carpenter, for which he was skilled.

Jesus highlights justice, mercy, and faithfulness in order to prioritize and guide Torah interpretation and obedience.

Science: Augustin-Jean Fresnel developed the first Fresnel lens, an innovative step forward in optics that provided a way to focus light through a lens that was much thinner than conventional spherical lenses of equivalent power (if your context allows, show pictures of both conventional and Fresnel lenses). The application of this technology for lighthouses was quickly recognized, and the first Fresnel lens was installed in 1822 at the Cardovan Tower lighthouse. This new order of lighthouse was capable of projecting a beam from a single source more than twenty miles out. Using this lens produced a more powerful beam.8Analogously, Jesus provides the proper lens for interpreting the Torah: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. In this way, Jesus provides power for his followers to avoid hypocrisy and live out his teachings faithfully and consistently.