Matthew 23

Review

Matthew 21 & Matthew 22

Matthew 21:1-11 Triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Paint a picture of the Temple area (not just the Temple building) where Jesus would have been teaching

Matthew 21:12–17 (NBC): This was a huge open space of some 33 acres (13.5 hectares, ~1 mile in circumference), within which stood the temple itself and associated buildings. In the porticos surrounding this area (not in the temple building) were the stalls of those who changed money for the temple offerings and sold sacrificial animals (including doves).

This is the scene beginning chapter 21 after He turns over the moneychangers tables and chases them out through 24:2; Jesus likely seated in a portico, in the temple area outside the temple proper with a crowd around Him made up of a large number of Galileans, everyday Jews, and eventually the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Parable of the fig tree: A fig tree is purposed by God to bear fruit. This fig tree is barren and Jesus curses it and causes it to wither away.

Matthew 21:18-22 “Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

3 parables taken together in the context of Jesus’ response to the hostility of the Jewish authorities. Each of the parables speaks of one group of people losing their privileged position and being replaced by those whom they would have despised.

Parable of the two sons (21:28-32)

Parable of the tenants of the vineyard (21:33-46)

Matthew 22

Parable of the wedding feast (22:1-14)

Challenge of Roman taxation (22:15-22)

Challenge of the resurrection (22:23-33)

Challenge of the greatest commandment (22:34-40)

Jesus has cursed the fig tree and taught using 3 parables and 3 challenges from scribes and pharisees explaining that the religion and religious leaders of Israel has failed to honor God and follow His precepts the way He told them to do. It’s a result of this that the Kingdom will be taken from them and given to a “people” who would “produce fruit”

Matthew 21:40-44 “40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

Warning Against the Scribes and Pharisees

Matthew 23:1–12 KJV

1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Matthew 23:1-7 “1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.”

Jesus is saying the Scribes and Pharisees are in “authority” (Jesus begins here with the irony and cutting language that will be in this entire chapter; This chapter is some of the harshest language the Bible records Jesus using) do what they say but don’t act like they act

They make rules that make life hard to live for everyday people without helping them live it with deed or teaching

They do all of it to be seen and heard and made to look and feel important in front of you not worrying about God’s approval

phylacteries

upper most rooms and chief seats

loving to here themselves called “Rabbi” (“master”, “teacher”, “great”)

Matthew 23:8-12 “8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

Picture Jesus focusing in the crowd now on the disciples and His other followers who have been saved and will make up the New Testament Church

Tells them they have one master and teacher who is Jesus; one Father who is God the Father in heaven

leaders will serve and servants will be leaders

Seven (or Eight) Woes on the Scribes and Pharisees

Matthew 23:13–36 KJV

13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:13-15 “13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”

1st woe describes their approach to religion as a stumbling block that hurts all who really wanted to please God (13-14)

2nd woe recognizes that they were keen to win converts (to Judaism). The problem was that their religious system made people worse rather than better (15)

Matthew 23:16-22 “16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.”

3rd woe show oaths should not be needed at all and attempts to distinguish between more and less ‘serious’ oaths were pointless, since all ultimately go back to God as the one whose name is invoked.

Matthew 23:23-24 “23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”

4th woe does not condemn their tithing, but points out the silly lack of proportion (strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!) when they went into meticulous detail over tithing garden herbs but forgot about justice, mercy and faithfulness. They focused on ritual and forgot the things that really matter.

Matthew 23:25-28 “25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres*, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

5th and 6th woe deal with the priority of inward purity over outward cleansing. Jesus has raised this in Matthew 15 over ritual hand washing.

*may be ossuaries, the small chests into which human bones were collected, and which were often given a lime plaster covering to make them beautiful.

The point is they focused so much on the outward appearance and ritual and forgot about inwardly being “right with God”

Matthew 23:29-35 “29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.”

7th woe is Jesus declaring that Israel’s rebellion against God has now reached its fullness, in this generation (cf. on 12:38–45), so that the judgment, which had for long been brewing, must now at last fall on them.

No matter what they might have said, Jesus tells the scribes and pharisees that if they would have been alive they would have killed the prophets before and they will the prophets after them

Abel and Zechariah were the first and last martyrs mentioned in the OT

John is the only disciple thought to have died of “natural causes”

Paul:

2 Corinthians 11:25 “25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;”

Matthew 23:36 “36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”

Judgement on Jerusalem

Matthew 23:37–39 KJV

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For 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.

Jesus Leaves the Temple and Predicts Its Destruction

Matthew 24:1–2 KJV

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The “coming of the Son of Man” will be applied to different periods in the development of God’s plan and prophecy

Just as with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish system of religion, and Jerusalem itself is prophesied in places throughout the Bible. But caution is needed!

full or hyper preterism says that all end times prophecy was basically fulfilled in AD 70 with the destruction of Israel. NO BUENOS! HERESY!

2 John 1:7 “7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

partial preterism some fulfilled some to come (ORTHODOX)

dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a distinction between Israel and the Church, and organizes the Bible into different dispensations or administrations. (ORTHODOX)

dispensationalism teaches that the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament (for land, many descendants, and blessings) will be ultimately fulfilled in the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20. Dispensationalists believe that, just as God is in this age focusing His attention on the Church, He will again in the future focus His attention on Israel (see Romans 9–11 and Daniel 9:24). (ORTHODOX)

Most of Matthew 24 will be in the future

In context of Matthew 23 and regardless of what else it may mean, God’s judgement on the Jewish religion and it’s religious leaders was set! It will be full and unsparing.

Jerusalem is destroyed in AD 70 by Titus and the Roman army, the temple is leveled. Every evidence of the Jewish religion as given by God is gone!

Important to remember that the Church doesn’t take Israel’s place; this church has historically taught Israel is God’s chosen people and God has a plan and place for all Israelites WHO BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION AND LORDSHIP!

The kingdom of heaven is ruled by Jesus Christ, seated on the right hand of the Father, Lord of all

Romans 11:33-36 “33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”