ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version

Introduction to Matthew

Matt. 23:2 The scribes and the Pharisees were two distinct groups, though there was some overlap between them: the scribes were the professional interpretative experts on the Torah itself, while the Pharisees were experts in theological matters that the Torah raised. Moses' seat. Traditionally understood as referring symbolically to the authority of Moses. However, recent archaeological evidence has revealed a literal chair found in early synagogues. Whether literal or figurative, it refers to a place from which experts on the law taught.

Matt. 23:3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you. Jesus recognized the Pharisees' official function as interpreters of the Law of Moses, and insofar as they accurately interpreted Scripture, they were to be obeyed. However, “so” (Gk. oun) connects this verse with v. 2 and the mention of Moses, and therefore “whatever they tell you” should probably be limited to “whatever they tell you about the Law of Moses” and does not include the Pharisees' later extensive additions to Mosaic laws which rabbinic teachers made. but not what they do. Jesus is about to show that much of the Pharisees' practice and their extrabiblical tradition is wrong.

Matt. 23:4 Heavy burdens describes the extrabiblical tradition of the rabbis that was a pillar of the Pharisaic branch of Judaism. It was intended as a means of making the OT relevant to new life situations, but its massive obligations had become burdensome and oppressive.

Matt. 23:5 phylacteries. Small cube-shaped cases made of leather, containing Scripture passages written on parchment. They were worn on the left arm and forehead as a literal way to obey the admonition of Deut. 11:18 (cf. Ex. 13:9; Deut. 6:8). fringes. Tassels with a blue cord that were attached to the four corners of a man's garment (Num. 15:37–41; Deut. 22:12), reminding the people to obey God's commandments and to be holy (Num. 15:40).

Matt. 23:6 place of honor. Seating at banquets was assigned to guests based on their rank or status. best seats in the synagogues. Excavations at early Galilean synagogues indicate that bench seats were built along the sides of the synagogue (see note on Luke 4:16; and The Synagogue and Jewish Worship). In any meeting place, some seats are regarded as better than others.

Matt. 23:7 Rabbi (Hb. rabbi) literally meant “my lord,” but it was used generally for outstanding teachers of the law, most frequently heads of rabbinical schools.

Matt. 23:8–10 not to be called rabbi, . . . call no man your father . . . Neither be called instructors. Jesus' disciples should not try to gain authority over one another as teachers or masters, since Jesus is ultimately each disciple's teacher and master (you have one teacher . . . one instructor), to whom the disciple is accountable. Jesus does not literally forbid use of the titles “teacher,” “doctor,” or “father” for all time in all circumstances, but he prohibits his disciples from using these terms in the way the Pharisees used them, in a spirit that wrongly exalted leaders and reinforced human pride.

Matt. 23:13 First woe: the shut door. The woes are a mixture of condemnation, regret, and sorrow. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are false leaders who have drawn the people away from the kingdom of heaven instead of toward it.

Matt. 23:15 Second woe: entrapped converts. Jesus does not criticize proselytism per se, but the manner in which the Pharisees zealously sought converts, only to place them under the burdensome weight of the many requirements in their extrabiblical traditions. child of hell. Literally, “child of Gehenna,” a reference to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, just south of Jerusalem, where refuse was burned. Jewish and NT writings used it as a metaphorical picture of eternal punishment (see note on 18:6–9).

Matt. 23:16–18 Third woe: binding oaths. The Pharisees distinguished between oaths made by the temple and those made by the gold of the temple, and between oaths made by the altar and those made by the gift on it. As in much of their belief system, they focus on misguided superficial distinctions and overlook the higher principles of the law.

Matt. 23:19–22 whoever swears. Those with faith in God who recognize their constant accountability in his presence need only give a simple “yes” or “no” as a binding oath (see 5:23, 34–37).

Matt. 23:23 Fourth woe: neglecting the weighty matters of the law. tithe. The Mosaic law required giving a tenth of all that one produced for the ongoing work of the Lord through the Levites and priests (e.g., Lev. 27:30–33). mint, dill, cumin. The Pharisees were so scrupulous in following this injunction that they paid a tithe even from their smallest garden crops. Jesus does not say that they were wrong in this (“These you ought to have done”), but that they should do this without neglecting the far more important matters.

Matt. 23:24 straining out a gnat. The rabbis strained wine to remove even small, unclean insects (cf. Lev. 11:23, 41) that could contaminate it. swallowing a camel. The camel was the largest land animal in Palestine (cf. Matt. 19:24), also ceremonially unclean (Lev. 11:4). Jesus is speaking in obvious hyperbole (an intended overstatement to make a point). The Pharisees had become lost in the minute details, while neglecting the law's overarching intent.

Matt. 23:26 Fifth woe: clean outside, filthy inside. clean the inside. While seeking external purity, the Pharisees were oblivious to the corrupt internal condition of their hearts.

Matt. 23:27–28 Sixth woe: whitewashed tombs. The Pharisees were like tombs, which in Jesus' day could be outwardly very beautiful but within held nothing but death and decay. These tombs were customarily whitewashed to identify them clearly to passersby, since people would be rendered unclean for seven days through any contact with them (Num. 19:16; cf. Luke 11:44).

Matt. 23:29–32 Seventh woe: descendants of murderers of the prophets. In scheming to have Jesus executed, the religious leaders show that they are following in the footsteps of their ancestors, who had persecuted and murdered God's prophets.

Matt. 23:29 tombs . . . monuments. Funerary art became rich and varied around this time, with widespread ornamentation of tomb facades, ossuaries, and stone coffins, as well as wall paintings and graffiti.

Matt. 23:33 serpents . . . brood of vipers. Virtually synonymous terms that magnify the guilt of these religious leaders (see notes on 3:7; 12:33–35).

Matt. 23:35 The interval from the blood of righteous Abel (Gen. 4:8–11) to the blood of Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20–22) encompasses all of OT biblical history. Abel was the first person murdered in the OT and Zechariah is the last murdered, since 2 Chronicles (where the murder of Zechariah is recorded) is the last book in the Hebrew canon (see 2 Chron. 24:20–22). There is a difficulty with the phrase son of Barachiah, however, since in 2 Chron. 24:20 Zechariah is called the “son of Jehoiada,” while the more famous prophet who wrote the book of Zechariah is “Zechariah the son of Barachiah” (Zech. 1:1). Several solutions have been proposed: (1) Just as Zechariah the prophet can be called either “the son of Barachiah” (Zech. 1:1) or “the son of Iddo” (Ezra 6:14; Iddo was his grandfather), so the Zechariah in 2 Chron. 24:20 could have been the son of an otherwise unrecorded “Barachiah,” with “Jehoiada” (who lived 130 years; 2 Chron. 24:15) being Zechariah's grandfather. (2) As was the case with a number of people in the OT, the father of Zechariah mentioned in 2 Chron. 24:20 could have been known by more than one name—i.e., Jehoiada and Barachiah. (3) The reference may not be to the Zechariah in 2 Chron. 24:20–22 but to Zechariah the prophet, as is suggested by some extrabiblical Jewish literature that includes a tradition telling about the murder of Zechariah the prophet (who comes near the end of the OT prophets). (4) The phrase “son of Barachiah” may have been a very early textual addition by a scribe who thought “Zechariah the son of Barachiah” was intended (one significant early manuscript, Sinaiticus, in fact, omits the words “the son of Barachiah”). Each of these proposed solutions presents a plausible possibility, though there is not enough information to determine which is most likely.

Matt. 23:36 Rather than respond to the unique opportunity they had to receive their Messiah and participate in the kingdom of heaven, the religious people of this generation would continue to spill innocent blood—now that of Jesus and his followers—and so face God's wrath.

Matt. 23:38 house. In the OT, this is an expression for the temple; possibly here it has broader reference to Jerusalem's leadership. All Jewish religious authority will collapse with the destruction of the temple in a.d. 70.

Matt. 23:39 As Jesus cites Ps. 118:26 (cf. Matt. 21:9), he identifies himself with God's Messiah and Savior who will once again come to his people, but only after a time of great judgment, when they are finally ready to receive him.