Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 23:5-7
a “But all their works they do to be seen of men, b For they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders (or tassels) of their garments, b And love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, a And the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.” Note that in ‘a’ they want to be seen of men and in the parallel they want men to admire them and salute them and call them ‘Rabbi’ (my great one). In ‘b’ and its parallel we have a description of... read more
Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 23:1-39
Words in the Temple: Exhortation to His Disciples And Indictment of The Scribes and Pharisees (23:1-39). It is an open question as to whether chapter 23 should be seen as part of the ‘fifth dissertation’ made up of chapters 23-25 (see introduction), or whether it should be seen as a connecting passage between 19-22 and 24-25 made up of secondary dissertations on their own (compare chapter 11; Matthew 16:17-28 for similar dissertations). The fact that it forms a separate chiasmus on its own... read more