Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
Denunciation of the Sa ibes and Pharisees. MATTHEW XXIII. Woes Threatened against their Sin».
men : in Luke 11. 52 they are charged with what WM worse, taking away the key—" the key of knowledge"— which means, not the key to open knowledge, but knowledge as the only key to open heaven. A right knowledge of God's revealed word is eternal life, as our Lord says (John 17. 3 and 5. 39); but this they took away from the people, substituting for it their wretched traditions. H. 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 ot:)tain possession of tlieir property, wliile by their "long prayers" they made them believe they were raised far above "filthy lucre." So much "the greater damnation" awaits them. Wliat a lifelike description of tlie Romish clergy, the true successors of those scribes ! 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, j't make him two-fold more the cliild of liell tlian yourselves—condemned, for the hypocrisy he would learn to practice, botli by the religion he left and that he embraced. 16. Woe unto you, ye blind guides—Striliing expression this of tlie ruinous effects of erroneous teaching. Our Lord, here and in some following verses, condemns the subtle distinctions they made as to the sanctity of oaths—distinctions invent.ed only to promote their own avaricious purposes, which say. Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing—he has incurred no debt—but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple—meaning not the gold that adorned the temple italone. But, as it l.s only an extended repetition of denunciations uttered not long before at the table of a Pharisee, and recorded by Luke (11.37-61), we may take both together in the exposition.
Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees (v. 1-36). The first twelve verses were addressed more Immediately to the disciples, the rest to the scribes and Pharisees. 1. Then spake .Testis to the mixltltude—
' to the multitudes' —anil to his disciples. 3. Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees slt The Jewish teachers stood to read, but sai to expound the Scriptures, as will be seen by comparing Luke 4. 16 with t,'. 20—li» Moses' seat i. e., as interpreters of the law given by Moses. 3. All tlierefore—i. e., all which, as sitting in that seat and teaching out of that law— they bid you observe, that observe and do—The word "therefore" is thus, it will be seen, of great importance, as limiting those injunctions wliich He would have them obey to what they fetched from the law itself. In requiring implicit obedience to such injunctions. He would have them to recognize the authority with which they taught over and above the obligations of tlie law itself— an important principle truly ; but He who denounced the traditions of such teachers (ch. 15. 3) cannot have meant here to throw His shield over these. It is remarked by Webster and Wiikinson that tlie warning to beware of the scribes is given by Mark and Luke witliout any qualification : the charge to respect and o6ey them being reported by Matthew alone, indicating for whom this Gospel was especially written, and the writer's desire to conciliate the Jews. 4. For tliey bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but tltey themselves will not move them—" touch them not" (Luke 11. 46)—with one of their fingers—referring not so much to the irksoraeness of the legal rites, though they were irksome enough (Acts 15. 10), as to the heartless rigour with which they were enforced, and by men of Shameless inconsistency. 5. But all their worUg tliey do for to be seen of men—Whatever good they do, or zeal they show, has but one motive—human applause, they make broad their phylacteries—strips of parchment with Scripture-texts on them, worn on the forehead, arm, and side, in time of prayer, and enlarge the borders of tlielr garments—fringes of their upper garments (Numbers 15. 37^0). 6. And love the uppermost rooms—The word "room" is now obsolete in the sense here intended. It should be ' the uppermost self, but the Corban, set apart for sacred uses (see on ch. 15. 5). he is a debtor I—i. e., it is no longer his own, even tliougli the necessities of the parent might require It. We know who the successors of these men are. but wliosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, lie is guilty—Ii, should have been rendered, " he is a debtor," as in v. 16. 19. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sancti Aeth the gift I—(See Exodus 29. .37.) aO-3!J. Whoso therefore sliall swear by the alt«r, &c.— See on eh. 5. 33-37. 33. Woe unto you, sci-lbes and Pharisees, hypocrites 5 for ye pay tithe of mint ajid anise rather, 'dill,' as in margin—and cummin—In Lnke(11.42) it is "and rue, and all manner of herbs." Tliey grounded this practice on Leviticus27. 30, which they interpreted rigidly. Our Lord purposely names the most trifling products of the earth as examples of what they punctiliously exacted the tenth of. and have omitted the weiglitier matters of the law, Judgment, mercy, and faith—In Luke place,' i. e., the place of highest honour, at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues. See on Luke 14. 7, 8. 7. And greetings In the markets, and to be called of men. Rabbi, Rabbi—It is the spirit rather-than the letter of this that must be pressed ; though tlie violation of tlie
(11. 42) it is "judgment, mercy, and the love of God"—the expression being probably varied by our Lord Himself on the two different occasions. In both His reference is to Micah 6. 6-8, where the prophet makes all acceptable religion to consist of three elements^" doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God;" which third element presupposes and comprehen<ls botl. the " faith"' of Matthew and the " love" of Luke. See on Mark letter, springing from spiritual pride, has done incalculable evil in the Church of Christ. The reiteration of the word " Rabbi" shows how it tickled the ear and fed the spiritual pride of those ecclesiastics. 8. But be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is your Master—
' your Guide, your Teacher.' 9. And call no man your father upon the earth : for one is your Fatlier, which Is iu heaven, Ac.—To construe these Injunctions into a condemnation of every title by which Church rulers may be distinguished from the flock which they rule, is virtually to condemn that rule itself; and accordingly the same persons doboth—but against the whole strain of the New Testamentand sound Christian Judgment. But when we have guarded ourselves against these extremes, let us see to it that we retain the full spirit of this warning against that itch for ecclesiastical superiority which has been the bane and the scandal of Christ's ministers in every age. (On the use of the word " Christ" here, see on ch. 1. 1.) 11. But lie tliat la greatest among you shall be your servant—This plainly means, 'shall show that he is so by becoming your servant;' as In cli.20. 27, compared with Mark 10. 44. Iti, And wliosocver sitall exnlt himself hall be abased—See on Luke 18. 14. What follows was addressed more immediately to the scribes and Pliarisees. 13. But woe unto you, scrllies and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for yc shut up the kingdom of heaven against men—Here they are charged with shu Uinij heaven against
12. 29, 32, 33. Tlie same tendency to merge greater duties in less besets even tlie children' of God; but it is the characteristic of hypocrites, tliese ought ye to have done, and not to leave tl>e otlier undone—There is no need for one set of duties to jostle out another; but it is to ho carefully noted that of the greater duties our Lord saj s, "Ye ought to have done" them, while of the lesser He merely says, "Ye ought not to leave them undone." 21. Ye l>llnd guides, which strain at a gnat—The proper rendering—as In the older Englisli translations, and perhaps our own as itcame from tlie translators" hands—evidently is, ' strain out.' It was the custom, says TketcH, of the stricter Jews to strain their wine, vinegar, nml other potables through linen or gauze, lest unawares they should drink down some little uncle.an insect therein and thus transgress (Leviticus 11. 20, 23, 41, 1'2)—just as the Buddhists do now in Ceylon and Hindostan—and to this custom of theirs our Lord Iiere refers, and sruilow n camel—the largest animal the Jews knew, as the "gnat" was the smallest; both were by tlio law unclean. JJO. within they are full of extortion—In Luke (11. 39) the
Sypocrisy and Blindness Denounced, MATTHEW XXIIl. Chrisi's Lamenlation over Jerusalem, for in Luke (11.49) It Is "prophets and apostles." ant* the blood of Zacharlas son of Barachias, witom yc slew between the temple and the altnr—As there is no record of any fresh murder answering to this description, probably the allusion is not to any recent murder, but to 2 Chronicles 24. 20-22, as the last recorded and most suitable case for illustration. And as Zacharias' last word* were, "The Lord require it," so they are here warned that of that generation it should be required. 36. Verily I say unto you. All these things shall come upon (lila generation—As it was only in the last generation of them that " the iniquity of the Amorites was full" (Genesis 15. IB), and then the abominations of ages were at once completely and awfully avenged, so the iniquity of Israel was allowed to accumulate from age to age till in that generation it came to the full, and the whole collected vengeance of heaven broke at once over its devoted head. In the first French Revolution the same awful principle was exemplified, and Christendom has not done with if yet.
same word Is rendered "ravening," t'. e., 'rapacity.' 26. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that -witich Is Within the cup and platter, tltat the outside of tliem may be clean also—In Luke (11.40) it Is, "Ye fools, did not Ho tliat made that which is without make that which is within also?"—' He to wliom belongs the out life, and of right demands its subjection to Himself, is tlie Inner man less His?' A remarkable example thisof our Lord's power of drawing the most striking illustrations of great truths from the most familiar objects and Incidents in life. Tc these words, recorded by Luke, He adds the following, involving a principle of immense value: "But rather give alms of such things as ye have, and behold, all things are clean unto you" (Luke 11. 41). As the greed of these hypocrites was one of the most prominent features of their character (Luke 16. 14), our Lord bids them exemplify the opposite character, and then their outside, ruled by tills, would be beautiful in the eye of God, and their meals would be eaten with clean hands, though never so fouled with the business of this worky world. (See Ecelesiastes 9. 7.) 'il. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites Z for ye are like whited—or 'white-washed'—sepulchres—(Cf. Acts 23. 8.) Tlie process
Lamentation over Jerusalem, and Farewell to tlie Templf.
37-39). 37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that klllest the prophets), and stonest them which ai-e sent unto thee, &c.—How iiiefl'ably grand and melting is this apostrophe! It is the very heart of God pouring itself forth through human flesh and speech. It is this incarnation of tlie innermost life and love of Deity, pleading with men, -bleeding for them, and ascending only to open His arms to them and win them back by the power of this story of matchless love, that has conquered the world, that will yet "draw all men unto him," and beautify and ennoble Humanity itself! "Jerusalem" here does not mean the mere city or its Inhabitants; nor is it to be viewed merely as the metropolis of the nation, but as the centre of their religious life—" the city of their solemnities, whither the tril)es went up, to give thanks unto tlie name of the Lord ;" and at this moment it was Itill of them. It
Of white-washing the sepulchres, as Lightfoot sa.ys, was performed on a certain day every year, not for ceremonial cleansing, but, as tlie following words seem rather to implj', to beautify them, -which Indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all imcleanness—What a powerful way of conveying the charge, that with all their fair show their hearts were full of corruption! (Cf. Psalm 5. 9; Romans
3. 13.) But our Lord, stripping otf the figure, next \iolda up their iniquity in naked colours. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto you rselves, that ye are tlie children of them which killed tlie proplicts—i. e., 'ye be witnesses that ye have inherited, and voluntarily served yourselves heirs to, the truth-hating, prophet-killing, spirit of your
Is the whole family of God, then, which is here apostrophlze<l by a name dear to every Jew, recalling to him lathers.' Out of pretended respect and honour, they repaired and Ijenutified the sepulchres of tlie prophets, and with whining hypocrisy said, 'If we had been in their days, how differently should we have treated these prophets?' while all the time they were witnesses to themselves that they were the children of them that killed the prophets, convicting themselves daily of as exact a resemblance in spirit and character to the very classes over whose deeds they pretended to mourn, as child to parent. In Luke 11. 44 our Lord gives another turn to this figure of a grave: "Ye areas graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them." As one might unconsciously walk over a grave concealed from view, and thus contract ceremonial defilement, so the plausible exterior of the Pharisees kept people from perceiving the pollution they contract«d from coming in contact with such corrupt characters. 33. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell 1—In thus, at the end of His minall that wa.s distinctive and precious In his religion. The Intense feeling that sought vent in this utterance comes out first in the redoubling of the opening word—" Jerusalem, Jerusalem !" but, next, in the picture of It which He draws—"that klllest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee!"—not content with spurning God's messages of mercy, that canst not suffer even the messengers to live ! When He adds, " How often would I have gathered thee!" He refers surely to something beyond the six or seven times that Hevisited and taught in Jerusalem whMe on earth. No doubt it points to "the prophets," whom they "killed," to "them that were sent unto her," whom they "stoned." But whom would He have gathered so often? "Thee," truth-hating, mercyspurning, prophet-killing Jerusalem—how often would I have gathered thee! Compare with this that afleoting clause in the great ministerial commission, "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jertisalem .'" (hulte istry, recalling the words of the Baptist at the outset of
24. 47). What encouragement to the heart-broken at their own long-continued and obstinate rebellion ! But we have not yet got at the whole heart of this outburst.
his, our Lord would seem to Intimate that the onlydlflference between their condemnation now and then was, that now they were ripe for their doom, which they were not
I would have gathered thee, He says, "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." Was ever imagery so homely invested with such grace and such sublimity as this, at our Lord's touch? And yet how exquisite the figure itself—of protection, rest, warmth, and then. 34. Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes—The Jhere is emphatic:
'I am sending,' i. p., 'am about to send.' In Luke 11. 49 the variation is remarkable: "Therefore also, said the wisdom of God, I will send them," Ac. What precisely is meant liy "the wisdom of God" here. Is somewhat dlfllcult to determine. To us It appears to be simply an announcement of .a purpose of the Divine Wisdom, in the high style of ancient prophecy, to send a last set of messengers whom the people would reject, and rejecting, would (111 up the cup of their iniquity. But, whereas in Luke it is ' I, the Wisdom of God, will send them,' in Mattliew it is 'I, Jesus, am sending them;' language only uerttting the one sender of all the prophets, the Lord God all manner of conscious well-being In those poor, defenceless, dependent little creatures, as they creep under and feel tliemselves overshadowed by the capacious and kindly wing of the mother-bird! If, wandering beyond hearing of her peculiar call, they are overtaken by a storm or attacked by an enemy, what can they do but In the one case droop and die, and In the other submit to be torn in pieces? But if they can reach in time their place of safety, under the mother's wing, In vain will any en«- my try to drag them thence. For rising into strength, kindling into fury, and forgetting herself entirely In her young, she will let the last drop of her blood be shed out and perish In defence of her precious charge, rather than of Israel now in the flesh. They areevldently evangelical messengers, but called by the familiar Jewish names of
' proi)li<'ts, wls(^ men, and scribes," whoso counterparts were the Inspired and gifted servants of the Loi-d Jesus;