Woe, &c. Compare Matthew 5:4 ; and see App-126 . make long prayer = praying at great length. therefore = on this account. Greek. dia ( App-104 .Matthew 23:2; Matthew 23:2 ). greater = more abundant. damnation = judgment or condemnation. read more
woe, &c. Compare Matthew 5:5 , and see App-126 . land = dry [land]. proselyte. The Greek is transliterated, and means a comer over to. Used of a Gentile who came over to the Jews' religion. Occurs only here; and Acts 2:10 ; Acts 6:5 ; Acts 13:43 . is made = becomes [one]. the child of hell = a son of Gehenna. A Hebraism = Gehenna's people. See App-131 . I; and note on Matthew 5:22 . read more
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.THE SECOND WOEJust prior to this verse, some authorities insert Matthew 23:14, which reads thus: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation" (see the margin of the ASV). To say the... read more
Matthew 23:14. For ye devour widows' houses— 2. This verse contains the second reason of the woes; because they committed the grossest iniquities, being covetous and rapacious under a cloke of religion; they devoured widows' houses, and at the same time made long prayers in order to hide their villany. "This," says Calvin, "was as if, pretending to kiss the feet of Christ, one should rise up, and audaciously spit in his face." See Mark 12:40. read more
Matthew 23:15. Ye compass sea and land, &c.— 3. The third woe is denounced, because theyexpressed the greatest zeal imaginable in making proselytes, compassing sea and land; that is to say, using the most indefatigable pains and ardour, and leaving no art unpractised for that end; while at the same time their intention in all this was, not that the Gentiles might become better men through the knowledge of true religion, but more friendly to them; yielding them the direction of their purses,... read more
14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, &c.—Taking advantage of the helpless condition and confiding character of "widows," they contrived to obtain possession of their property, while by their "long prayers" they made them believe they were raised far above "filthy lucre." So much "the greater damnation" awaits them. What a lifelike description of the Romish clergy, the true successors of those scribes! read more
15. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte—from heathenism. We have evidence of this in JOSEPHUS. and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves—condemned, for the hypocrisy he would learn to practice, both by the religion he left and that he embraced. read more
The first woe 23:13-14"But" introduces the transition from the words to the disciples that preceded (Matthew 23:1-12). The scribes and Pharisees had taken the exact opposite position on Jesus’ person than the disciples had. Consequently their futures would be radically different (cf. Matthew 16:17-28; Matthew 19:27-29)."Woe" can be a mild exclamation of compassion (Matthew 24:19), a strong expression of condemnation (Matthew 11:21), or both (Matthew 18:17; Matthew 26:24). In this address... read more
2. Jesus’ indictment of the scribes and the Pharisees 23:13-36 (cf. Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47)Jesus now directed His attention toward the scribes and the Pharisees in the temple courtyard (cf. Matthew 23:1). He proceeded to announce a scathing indictment of them in seven parts. Compare the six woes of Isaiah 5:8-23 and the five woes of Habakkuk 2:6-20. He introduced each indictment with the word "woe." Jesus spoke of the scribes and Pharisees, but He spoke to the crowds and His disciples."No... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 23:1-39
129. More about scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:1-39; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47)Instead of teaching only the law of Moses, the scribes and Pharisees added countless laws of their own. Instead of making the people’s load lighter, they made it heavier. People could profit from listening to the scribes’ teaching of Moses’ law, but they were not to copy the scribes’ behaviour (Matthew 23:1-4).Jesus gave two specific reasons for his condemnation of the scribes. First, they wanted to make a... read more