Matthew 23

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:2-33

Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees first appear under this name in Jewish history about the year B.C. 160. There had been Separatists, or Puritans, as far back as the Captivity, but it was alter the return to Palestine that events gave an impulse to the Separatist idea so strong as to consolidate what might otherwise have remained a tendency. The Jews had learned the value of commerce, and it was found impossible, in dealing with foreign merchants, to observe the minute regulations... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:3

All therefore. It is because of their official authority as appointed teachers and expositors of the Law that Christ gives the following injunction. That observe and do. Many manuscripts and versions invert the order of the verbs, reading, do and observe. The received text seems most logical. Observe ; τηρεῖτε , present imperative, continue to observe as a rule of conduct. Do ; ποιη ì σατε , aorist, do immediately, whenever the occasion arises. All that they taught or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:3

The sin of inconsistency. "For they say, and do not." To our Lord the supreme offence was contradiction between saying and doing, appearance and fact, outside and inside, show and reality. A man who is himself consciously sincere is always keen to detect, quick to revolt against, insincerity in others. But if inconsistency is mischievous in any man, it is doubly mischievous in religious teachers, and in persons occupying prominent positions of influence. Probably the reference of our Lord to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:4

Bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne; δυσβα ì στακτα : importabilia (Vulgate). The last epithet, which is very uncommon ( Luke 11:46 ), is omitted by some manuscripts and versions, but it is probably genuine here. The burdens are the minute regulations and prescriptions, the vexatious restrictions, the innumerable traditional observances with which these teachers had garbled and defaced the written Law. We have noticed some of these glosses in the matter of the sabbath and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:4

Needless burdens. The faults of the scribes and Pharisees were not confined to their own private lives. Not only were they formal and unreal themselves, and blameworthy on that account; they were harsh and tyrannical in their treatment of the people. They showed their sanctity in constructing an artificial standard of holiness for other persons to follow. This is a not uncommon fault of professional religionists, and it leads to the imposition of needless burdens of many forms. I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:5

For to be seen of men. The second bad principle in their religion was ostentation and vanity. Acts done professedly in the honour of God were animated by self-seeking and ambition. They never penetrated beyond externalism. See this spirit reproved in the sermon on the mount ( Matthew 6:1 , Matthew 6:2 , etc.). "They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" ( John 12:43 ). Christ then gives proofs of this spirit of ostentation in religion and in private life. Phylacteries ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:5

The fascination of human praise. "All their works they do for to be seen of men." It is right for us to desire acceptance and favour with our fellow men. The desire for human praise is a proper incentive and inspiration, which no moralist can afford to underestimate. But in relation to it, we must apply the ever-working law of Christian moderation. The love of praise very readily becomes an absorbing mania, and, like all manias, it implies mental and moral deterioration. A man may come to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:6

The uppermost rooms; τη Ì ν πρωτοκλισι ì αν : primos recubitus ; chief place ( Luke 14:7 ). The custom of reclining on cushions set in horseshoe fashion at three sides of the table was now prevalent, the old custom of squatting round a low table, as at present practised in the East, having been long abandoned. The place of honour is said to have been at the upper end of the right side, the president being placed, not in the centre of that end of the table which faced... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:7

Greetings in the markets. They loved to be denoted as superiors by respectful salutations in public places. To be called Rabbi, Rabbi; " My Master" (compare the French Monsieur, used not only vocatively, but absolutely); the term addressed by scholars to their teacher, and repeated for ostentation's sake, of course implying superiority in those thus called. Christ himself was thus addressed by those who desired to denote his authority and preeminence ( Matthew 22:16 , Matthew 22:24 ,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:8

Be not ye called Rabbi. After stating the customs of the Pharisees, Christ proceeds ( Matthew 23:8-12 ) to give his own disciples a lesson in humility. The pronoun is emphatic, "But ye, be not ye called." They are not to be eager for such distinctions, indicative of spiritual superiority. The prohibition must be understood in the spirit, and not in the letter. Our Lord does not forbid respect for teachers or different grades in his Church (see 1 Corinthians 12:28 ; Ephesians 4:11-13 );... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:2-33

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 23:8

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