Matthew 23
23
A Warning Against Doing Things for the Wrong Reasons
1Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat,” he said. 3“So you must be careful to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. They don’t practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry. Then they put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them.
5“Everything they do is done for others to see. On their foreheads and arms they wear little boxes that hold Scripture verses. They make the boxes very wide. And they make the tassels on their coats very long. 6They love to sit down in the place of honor at dinners. They also love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. 7They love to be greeted with respect in the markets. They love it when people call them ‘Rabbi.’
8“But you shouldn’t be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9Do not call anyone on earth ‘father.’ You have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10You shouldn’t be called ‘teacher.’ You have one Teacher, and he is the Messiah. 11The most important person among you will be your servant. 12People who lift themselves up will be made humble. And people who make themselves humble will be lifted up.
How Terrible for the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13-14“How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.
15“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16“How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gold of the temple must keep that promise.’ 17You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy? 18You also say, ‘If anyone makes a promise in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who makes a promise in the name of the gift on the altar must keep that promise.’ 19You are blind! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy? 20So anyone making a promise in the name of the altar makes a promise in the name of it and everything on it. 21And anyone making a promise in the name of the temple makes a promise in the name of it and the one who lives in it. 22And anyone making a promise in the name of heaven makes a promise in the name of God’s throne and the one who sits on it.
23“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first. 24You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!
25“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of a cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.
27“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and ‘clean.’ 28It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.
29“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn’t have done what they did. We wouldn’t have helped to kill the prophets.’ 31So you are witnesses against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. 32So go ahead and finish the sins that those who lived before you started!
33“You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape from being sentenced to hell? 34So I am sending you prophets, wise people, and teachers. You will kill some of them. You will nail some to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. 35So you will pay for all the godly people’s blood spilled on earth. I mean from the blood of godly Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. Zechariah was the one you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36What I’m about to tell you is true. All this will happen to those who are now living.
37“Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. And you would not let me! 38Look, your house is left empty. 39I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” (Psalm 118:26)
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Matthew 23: NIrV
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Matthew 23
23
Pharisaism Exposed
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses’ chair [of authority as teachers of the Law]; 3so practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them. 4The scribes and Pharisees tie up #I.e. detailed instructions of rabbinic interpretations of the Law.heavy loads [that are hard to bear] and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger [to make them lighter]. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their #Small cases containing Scripture passages, worn on the left arm and the forehead.phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their #Tassels (tzitzit) were worn on the garments of all Jewish males, according to the Law.tassels long. 6They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], 7and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi. 8But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. 9Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10Do not let yourselves be called leaders or teachers; for One is your Leader (Teacher), the Christ. 11But the greatest among you will be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.
Eight Woes
13 “But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so. 14#Early mss do not contain v 14.[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]
15 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ 17You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold? 18And [you scribes and Pharisees say], ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, that is nothing (non-binding), but whoever swears [an oath] by the offering on it, he is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ 19You [spiritually] blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20Therefore, whoever swears [an oath] by the altar, swears both by it and by everything [offered] on it. 21And whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells within it. 22And whoever swears [an oath] by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 24You [spiritually] blind guides, who strain out a gnat [consuming yourselves with miniscule matters] and swallow a camel [ignoring and violating God’s precepts]!
25 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). 26You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28So you, also, outwardly seem to be just and upright to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets and decorate and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the [allotted] measure of the guilt of your fathers’ sins. 33You #The serpent is the creature used by Satan to introduce evil into the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1ff). Here Jesus continues the imagery of Satan as the serpent working through the religious leaders to continue the propagation of evil through deception, false teaching, and man-made laws and traditions which are given priority over God’s law.serpents, you spawn of vipers, how can you escape the penalty of hell?
34 “Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city, 35so that on you will come the guilt of all the blood of the righteous shed on earth, from the blood of righteous #I.e. the first and last martyrs recorded in the Hebrew text.Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.
Lament over Jerusalem
37 “ # The nation of Israel personified. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who murders the prophets and stones [to death] those [messengers] who are sent to her [by God]! How often I wanted to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]! 39For I say to you, you will not see Me again [ministering to you publicly] until you say, ‘Blessed [to be celebrated with praise] is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
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