Matthew 23
23
Chapter 23
Jesus talks about dangerous teachers
1After that, Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. 2He said, ‘The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees have authority to explain the Law of Moses. 3So you must obey everything that they teach you. But you should not do the same things that they do. They tell you what the Law of Moses teaches. But then they themselves do not obey it. 4The rules that they give you are difficult to obey. Their rules are like heavy luggage, which they make you carry. But they themselves will not help you to carry that luggage. They will not agree to use even one finger to help you. #23:4 The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees taught extra rules to the Laws of Moses. This made it more difficult for people to obey all the Laws.
5The Pharisees do things only so that people will see them. They wear little boxes with words from the Bible in them, but they make them really big. They also make the tassels on their clothes very long. #23:5 These little boxes were called phylacteries. A Jewish man would tie one to his head or to his arm. There was some paper with words from the Bible in the box. They wore the phylacteries and the tassels for other people to see. They wanted people to think that they really loved God. 6They like to sit in the important places at special meals. They also choose to sit in the best seats in the meeting places. 7They like people to praise them in the market place. They want people to call them “Teacher.”
8You all belong to God's family. You have only one Teacher. So nobody should call another person, “Teacher”. #23:8 Jesus is our master and our teacher. 9Also, do not call any other person in the world, “Father”. You have only one Father, and he is in heaven. #23:9 Jesus was saying that God is their Father. 10And do not call each other “Leader”. You have only one Leader. He is the Messiah that God has chosen. 11The person among you who is most important will be your servant. 12Some people lift themselves up to be important. But God will bring them down low. Other people are humble. God will lift up those people to a good place.’
Jesus speaks against the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees
13Jesus spoke to the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees. ‘It will be very bad for you,’ he said. ‘You are hypocrites! You have stopped people who wanted to go into the kingdom of heaven. It is like you have shut the door so that they cannot go in. Then you yourselves do not even go in.
14[It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You take things away from women after their husbands have died. You pray for a long time so that other people will praise you. God will punish you much more than other people.] #23:14 Verse 14 is not in all copies of Matthew's book.
15It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You travel far across land and sea. You do this to make one person believe what you believe. Then, when he does believe your ideas, he becomes worse than you are. He shows that he belongs to hell even more than you do.
16It will be very bad for you, teachers. You cannot see what is true, but you show people which way to go. #23:16 Jesus meant that the teachers of God's Law and Pharisees did not understand about the kingdom. They were like men who could not see. They did not know God's way, but they were trying to teach it to other people. You say to people, “You may make a promise by the name of the temple. Then it is not a serious promise. You do not have to do it. But you may also make a promise by the gold things in the temple. Then it is a serious promise, and you must do it.” 17This shows that you are fools. You do not understand what is true. Think about which of these is more important. Is it the gold things in the temple? Or is it the temple itself? It is the temple that makes the gold things special. 18You also say to people, “You may make a promise by the altar in the temple. Then it is not a serious promise. You do not have to do it. But you may also make a promise by the gifts on that altar. Then it is a serious promise and you must do it.” 19You are people who cannot understand what is true. Think about which of these things is more important. Is it the gifts on the altar? Or is it the altar itself? It is the altar that makes the gifts special. 20Remember this: Somebody may make a promise by the name of the altar. Then he is making a promise by God's name. The altar as well as all the gifts on it are special to God. 21Also, somebody may make a promise by the name of the temple. Then he is making a promise in the name of God, who lives there. 22Or somebody may make a promise by heaven. Then he is making a promise by the place where God sits and rules. So he is making a promise by the name of God himself. #23:22 Perhaps a person wants to make a promise very strong. So he uses someone's name to make the promise stronger. Jesus says that we should not do this. If we make a promise, people should be able to trust us to do what we have said.
23It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! When you grow spices to cook with food, you give a tenth part of these small things to God. You are right to obey this rule. But you do not obey the more important parts of God's Law. You do not help people in a good way. You are not kind to them. You do not always do what God says is right. You should have done these important things as well as the other small things. 24You are like blind people, but you show other people which way to go. You carefully take a small fly out of your water so that you do not drink it. But then you drink the large animal that is swimming in it! #23:24 The teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees obeyed the least important parts of the Law of Moses. But they did not obey the important parts. They did not understand that they were doing the wrong things.
25It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You always clean the outside of your cups and plates very carefully. You only clean the outside part that people can see. But on the inside, everything is still dirty. Inside you, your minds are full of bad thoughts. You want to have more things for yourself. You hurt other people to get what you want. 26Pharisees, you do not see what is true! You must first clean the inside of the cup. Then the outside that people can see will also be clean.
27It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You are like a grave that has nice white paint on the outside and it looks beautiful. But on the inside it is full of bones and disgusting things. 28You are the same as that. Other people look at you. They think that you are good and you obey God. But on the inside you are hypocrites. Your minds are full of many bad thoughts.
29It will be very bad for you, teachers of God's Law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You build up the places where people have buried God's prophets. You make the places where they have buried good people to be beautiful. 30You say, “Our ancestors killed God's prophets long ago. If we had lived at that time, we would not have helped our ancestors to do that.” 31So you are speaking against yourselves. You show that you are the sons of those people who killed God's prophets. 32Now you must finish the work that your ancestors began to do!
33You are like a family of dangerous snakes! You will not be able to run away. God will surely punish you, and he will send you to hell. 34So listen to this. God says, “I will send prophets to you. I will also send to you people who know many things. And I will send people to teach you what is true. But you will kill some of these people. You will kill some of them on a cross. In the places where you meet to pray, you will hit some of them with whips. They will run from one town to another town, but you will follow them.” 35Because of all this, God will punish you for all the good people that you and your ancestors have killed. Long ago, Abel was the first of those good people. You also killed Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. He died in the yard of the temple near the altar. #23:35 Through the years bad men have killed many good men. The prophets wrote in the Bible about many people who died in that way. Abel was the first person like that. See Genesis 4:8. Zechariah was another good person that bad people killed. See 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. 36Yes, I tell you this: God will punish the people who are alive today for all those murders.
37Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed God's prophets. They have thrown stones to kill other people that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of your people near to me. A female bird covers her babies with her body to make them safe. But you would not let me keep you from danger like that. 38So listen! Your place will now become like a wilderness where nobody lives. 39And I tell you this. You will not see me again until the day when you say, “May the Lord God bless the man who comes with his authority!” ’ #23:39 See Psalms 118:26
Currently Selected:
Matthew 23: EASY
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
MissionAssist 2018
Matthew 23
23
Jesus Denounces the Scribes and Pharisees
(Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-54; 20.45-47)
1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4For 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#Matt 6.1; Deut 6.8; Num 15.38. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11#Matt 20.26,27; Mark 9.35; 10.43,44; Luke 22.26. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12#Luke 14.11; 18.14. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13But 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. 14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15Woe 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.
16Woe 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! 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22#Isa 66.1; Matt 5.34. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23 #
Lev 27.30. 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. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25Woe 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. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 #
Acts 23.3. 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. 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30and 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. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33#Matt 3.7; 12.34; Luke 3.7. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, 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#Gen 4.8; 2 Chr 24.20,21. that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechari´ah son of Berechi´ah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Jesus Laments over Jerusalem
(Luke 13.34,35)
37O 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! 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39#Ps 118.26. 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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.