Matthew 23
23
Jesus Accuses the Leaders
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his followers. Jesus said, 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says. 3So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do the things themselves. 4They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.
5“The reason they do good things is so other people will see them. They make the boxes# Small leather boxes containing four important Scriptures. Some Jews tied these to the forehead and left arm, probably to show they were very religious. of Scriptures that they wear bigger and bigger. And they make their special prayer clothes very long so that people will notice them. 6Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at the feasts. And they love to have the most important seats in the synagogues. 7They love people to show respect to them in the marketplaces. And they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’
8“But you must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all brothers and sisters together. You have only one Teacher. 9And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven. 10And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Christ. 11He who serves you as a servant is the greatest among you. 12Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.
13“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You close the door for people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves don’t enter, and you stop others who are trying to enter. 14[How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You take away widows’ houses, and you make long prayers so that people can see you. So you will have a worse punishment.]# Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
15“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to find one person who will follow your ways. When you find that person, you make him more fit for hell than you are.
16“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If anyone swears by the Temple when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if anyone swears by the gold that is in the Temple, then he must keep that promise.’ 17You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple? The Temple makes that gold holy. 18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar when he makes a promise, that means nothing. But if he swears by the gift on the altar, then he must keep his promise.’ 19You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar? The altar makes the gift holy. 20The person who swears by the altar is really using the altar and also everything on the altar. 21And the person who uses the Temple to make a promise is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple. 22The person who uses heaven to make a promise is also using God’s throne and the One who sits on that throne.
23“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn—even your mint, dill, and cummin.# Small plants grown in gardens and used for spices. Only very religious people would be careful enough to give a tenth of these plants. But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—being fair, showing mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things. 24You guide the people, but you are blind! You are like a person who picks a fly out of his drink and then swallows a camel!# Meaning, “You worry about the smallest mistakes but commit the biggest sin.”
25“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes. But inside they are full of things that you got by cheating others and pleasing only yourselves. 26Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean and good. Then the outside of the cup can be truly clean.
27“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine. But inside, they are full of the bones of dead people, and all kinds of unclean things are there. 28It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good. But on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.
29“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets. You show honor to the graves of people who lived good lives. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our fathers, we would not have helped them kill the prophets.’ 31But you give proof that you are children of those people who murdered the prophets. 32And you will complete the sin that your fathers started!
33“You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and be sent to hell! 34So I tell you this: I am sending to you prophets and wise men and teachers. You will kill some of these people. You will nail some of them to crosses. You will beat some of them in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town. 35So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the murder of that good man Abel. And you will be guilty for the murder of Zechariah# In the Hebrew Old Testament, the first and last men to be murdered. son of Berakiah. He was murdered when he was between the Temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth. All of these things will happen to you people who are living now.
Jesus Feels Sorry for Jerusalem
37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and kill with stones those men God sent to you. Many times I wanted to help your people! I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. 38Now your home will be left completely empty. 39I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord.’”# Quotation from Psalm 118:26.
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Matthew 23: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 23
23
Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
(Mk 12.38–39; Lk 11.43, 46; 20.45–46)
1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2“The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law. 3So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practise what they preach. 4They tie on to people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. 5#Mt 6.1; Num 15.38; Deut 6.8They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks!#23.5 tassels on their cloaks: These tassels were worn as a sign of devotion to God (see Num 15.37–41). 6They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted with respect in the market places and to be called ‘Teacher’. 8You must not be called ‘Teacher’, because you are all members of one family and have only one Teacher. 9And you must not call anyone here on earth ‘Father’, because you have only the one Father in heaven. 10Nor should you be called ‘Leader’, because your one and only leader is the Messiah. 11#Mt 20.26–27; Mk 9.35; 10.43–44; Lk 22.26The greatest one among you must be your servant. 12#Lk 14.11; 18.14Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great.
Jesus Condemns their Hypocrisy
(Mk 12.40; Lk 11.39–42, 44, 52; 20.47)
13 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, and you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter! # 23.13 Some manuscripts add verse 14: How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers! Because of this your punishment will be all the worse! (see Mk 12.40).
15 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!
16 “How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, ‘If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.’ 17Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18You also teach, ‘If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.’ 19How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy? 20So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it; 21and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there; 22#Is 66.1; Mt 5.34and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.
23 #
Lev 27.30
“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God a tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practise, without neglecting the others. 24Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!
25 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have obtained by violence and selfishness. 26Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too!
27 #
Acts 23.3
“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.
Jesus Predicts their Punishment
(Lk 11.47–51)
29 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives; 30and you claim that if you had lived during the time of your ancestors, you would not have done what they did and killed the prophets. 31So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32Go on, then, and finish what your ancestors started! 33#Mt 3.7; 12.34; Lk 3.7You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell? 34And so I tell you that I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others, and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town. 35#Gen 4.8; 2 Chr 24.20–21As a result, the punishment for the murder of all innocent people will fall on you, from the murder of innocent Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. 36I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day!
Jesus' Love for Jerusalem
(Lk 13.34–35)
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times have I wanted to put my arms round all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me! 38#Jer 22.5And so your Temple will be abandoned and empty. 39#Ps 118.26From now on, I tell you, you will never see me again until you say, ‘God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.