Matt. 23:1a| Then| vv. 1-7: Mark 12:38-39;| Luke 20:45-46
Matt. 23:21a| scribes| Ezra 7:6;| Neh. 8:4
| See note 41 in ch. 2.
Matt. 23:22b| Pharisees| Matt. 3:7
| See note 71 in ch. 3.
Matt. 23:2c| Moses’| John 9:28-29
Matt. 23:3a| do| Deut. 17:10
Matt. 23:3b| works| Matt. 15:3-14;| cf. Rom. 2:17-23
Matt. 23:4a| heavy| Luke 11:46;| Acts 15:10;| cf. Matt. 11:28-30
Matt. 23:5a| seen| Matt. 6:1, 5, 16
Matt. 23:51b| phylacteries| Deut. 6:8;| 11:18
| Phylacteries are small leather boxes containing parts of the law written on parchment. According to Deut. 6:8 and 11:18, they were worn on the forehead as a frontlet and on the left arm. The scribes and the Pharisees broadened them and considered them a charm.
Matt. 23:52c| fringes| Num. 15:38-39;| Deut. 22:12;| Matt. 9:20;| 14:36
| The law required the Israelites to make fringes on the borders of their garments with a band of blue. The fringes signified that their conduct (typified by the garment) was regulated by the heavenly rule (indicated by the band of blue), and they were to be a reminder to them to keep God’s commandments (Num. 15:38-39). The scribes and Pharisees enlarged the fringes, pretending that they were keeping God’s commandments and were being regulated by them to a surpassing degree.
Matt. 23:6a| place| Mark 12:39;| Luke 11:43;| 20:46;| 14:7-8
Matt. 23:7a| salutations| Mark 12:38;| Luke 11:43;| 20:46
Matt. 23:71b| Rabbi| John 1:38
| A title of honor meaning teacher, master.
Matt. 23:81| One
| Christ alone is our Teacher and Master.
Matt. 23:8a| Teacher| John 13:13
Matt. 23:8b| brothers| Luke 22:32;| John 21:23
Matt. 23:91| One
| God alone is our Father.
Matt. 23:9a| Father| Matt. 6:9;| 7:11;| John 20:17;| Rom. 8:15;| Eph. 3:14;| 1|Pet. 1:2
Matt. 23:92| He
| Lit., the Heavenly.
Matt. 23:101| instructors
| Or, guides, teachers, directors.
Matt. 23:102| One
| Christ alone is our Instructor, Guide, Teacher, and Director.
Matt. 23:11a| greatest| Matt. 20:26-27
Matt. 23:12a| exalt| Luke 14:11;| 18:14;| Prov. 29:23
Matt. 23:12b| humble| 1|Pet. 5:6;| Ezek. 21:26;| Job 22:29
Matt. 23:131| hypocrites
| See note 22 in ch. 6. So throughout this chapter.
Matt. 23:13a| close| cf. Matt. 16:19
Matt. 23:132b| not| Luke 11:52
| In today’s Christianity some are just like this.
Matt. 23:141| But
| This verse is not found in the earliest MSS.
Matt. 23:14a| devour| Mark 12:40;| Luke 20:47
Matt. 23:142| judgment
| Or, condemnation.
Matt. 23:15a| proselyte| Acts 2:10;| 6:5;| 13:43
Matt. 23:15b| son| cf. John 17:12;| 2|Thes. 2:3
Matt. 23:151c| Gehenna| Matt. 5:22
| See note 228 in ch. 5. So in v. 33.
Matt. 23:16a| blind| vv. 24, 26: John 9:39;| Rev. 3:17
Matt. 23:16b| guides| Matt. 15:14;| Rom. 2:19
Matt. 23:16c| swears| Matt. 5:33-36
Matt. 23:161| he
| Lit., he owes. So in v. 18.
Matt. 23:171a| sanctifies| Exo. 30:26-29
| To make the gold holy positionally by changing its position from a common place to a holy place. See note 192 in Rom. 6.
Matt. 23:18a| gift| Matt. 5:23
Matt. 23:191a| sanctifies| Exo. 29:37
| This too was a positional sanctification, not a dispositional one, and was accomplished by changing the gift’s location from a common place to a holy place. See note 192 in Rom. 6.
Matt. 23:21a| dwells| 1|Kings 8:13;| Psa. 26:8
Matt. 23:22a| heaven| Luke 15:18, 21
Matt. 23:22b| throne| Psa. 11:4;| Rev. 4:2
Matt. 23:23a| you| Luke 11:42
Matt. 23:23b| give| Deut. 14:22;| Luke 18:12
Matt. 23:231c| justice| Jer. 5:1;| Micah 6:8
| Or, judgment.
Matt. 23:23d| mercy| Prov. 16:6;| Zech. 7:9;| Rom. 12:8
Matt. 23:232| not
| Although the Lord stressed the weightier matters, He charged us not to neglect the lighter ones.
Matt. 23:24a| Blind| Matt. 23:16
Matt. 23:25a| you| vv. 25-28: cf. Matt. 15:1-20;| Mark 7:1-23
Matt. 23:25b| cleanse| Luke 11:39
Matt. 23:27a| whitewashed| cf. Acts 23:3
Matt. 23:27b| graves| Luke 11:44
Matt. 23:27c| bones| Num. 19:16;| 2|Kings 23:16
Matt. 23:27d| uncleanness| Eph. 5:3
Matt. 23:29a| build| Luke 11:47-48
Matt. 23:31a| murdered| Acts 7:52;| 1|Thes. 2:15
Matt. 23:32a| fill| Dan. 8:23;| 1|Thes. 2:16
Matt. 23:33a| vipers| Matt. 3:7
Matt. 23:33b| Gehenna| Matt. 5:22
Matt. 23:34a| Therefore| vv. 34-36: Luke 11:49-51
Matt. 23:34b| send| Acts 13:4
Matt. 23:341c| prophets| Acts 13:1
| The New Testament apostles sent out by the Lord.
Matt. 23:34d| scribes| Matt. 13:52
Matt. 23:34e| kill| Matt. 22:6;| Acts 9:23-24, 29
Matt. 23:34f| scourge| Matt. 10:17;| Mark 13:9
Matt. 23:34g| persecute| Matt. 10:23
Matt. 23:34h| city| Acts 13:50-51;| 14:5-6, 19
Matt. 23:35a| blood| cf. Matt. 27:24;| Rev. 18:24
Matt. 23:35b| blood| Gen. 4:8, 10-11;| Heb. 12:24
Matt. 23:35c| Zachariah| 2|Chron. 24:20-22
Matt. 23:361| All
| Referring to all the sins through which the blood of the righteous was shed on the earth.
Matt. 23:36a| generation| Matt. 24:34
Matt. 23:37a| Jerusalem| vv. 37-39: Luke 13:34-35
Matt. 23:37b| stones| Matt. 21:35;| 2|Chron. 24:21
Matt. 23:371| I
| It was always God Himself who cared for Jerusalem, as a bird flutters over her young (Isa. 31:5; Deut. 32:11-12). Hence, when the Lord Jesus said, “I desired to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her brood under her wings,” He indicated that He was God Himself.
Matt. 23:37c| children| Luke 23:28
Matt. 23:37d| wings| Ruth 2:12;| Psa. 91:4
Matt. 23:381| house
| Since house here is singular, it must denote the house of God, which was the temple (21:12-13). It had been the house of God, but now it was called “your house” because the Jews had made it a den of robbers (21:13).
Matt. 23:382a| desolate| cf. Lev. 26:31-32;| Isa. 64:10;| Jer. 22:5
| This prophecy corresponds with that in 24:2, which was fulfilled when Titus and the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Matt. 23:39a| Blessed| Psa. 118:26;| cf. Matt. 21:9
Matt. 23:391| comes
| This is the Lord’s second coming, when all the remnant of Israel will turn and will believe in Him and be saved (Rom. 11:23, 26).