Matthew 23: Hypocrisy, Woes & Lament
Table of Contents
- The Three Movements
- Conceptual Flow
- The Denunciation Architecture
- Section Analysis
- Unified Framework
- The Anatomy of Hypocrisy
- Diagnostic Summary
- Chapter in One Sentence
- Cross-References
- Personal Notes
The Three Movements
| Section | Focus | Core Principle |
|---|---|---|
| Warning (vv. 1-12) | Teaching vs practice | Authority is valid; hypocrisy is not |
| Seven Woes (vv. 13-36) | Specific indictments | Surface religion masks inner corruption |
| Lament (vv. 37-39) | Divine grief | God’s offered protection vs Israel’s rejection |
Conceptual Flow
MATTHEW 23 STRUCTURE
│
├─ vv. 1-12 WARNING TO CROWDS/DISCIPLES
│ ├─► Pharisees sit in Moses' seat (authority)
│ ├─► Do what they SAY, not what they DO
│ ├─► Heavy burdens on others, no help
│ ├─► All for SHOW (phylacteries, tassels)
│ ├─► Love titles, honor, positions
│ └─► YOU: One Teacher, one Father, one Instructor
│ │
│ └─► GREATEST = SERVANT
│ Exalt self → humbled
│ Humble self → exalted
│
├─ vv. 13-36 SEVEN WOES ON PHARISEES
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #1 (v. 13): Shut kingdom doors
│ │ └─► Won't enter, prevent others
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #2 (v. 15): Corrupt conversion
│ │ └─► Make converts "twice children of hell"
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #3 (vv. 16-22): Twisted oaths
│ │ └─► Gold > Temple? Gift > Altar?
│ │ → WRONG. Container sanctifies content
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #4 (vv. 23-24): Inverted priorities
│ │ └─► Tithe spices, neglect justice/mercy/faithfulness
│ │ → "Strain gnat, swallow camel"
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #5 (vv. 25-26): Outside vs inside
│ │ └─► Clean cup outside, greed inside
│ │ → Clean INSIDE first
│ │
│ ├─► WOE #6 (vv. 27-28): Whitewashed tombs
│ │ └─► Beautiful outside, dead bones inside
│ │ → Appear righteous, full of wickedness
│ │
│ └─► WOE #7 (vv. 29-36): Prophet killers
│ └─► "We wouldn't have killed prophets"
│ → You WILL kill those I send
│ Blood from Abel to Zechariah
│ ALL on this generation
│
└─ vv. 37-39 LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM
├─► "How often I longed to gather you..."
├─► "...as hen gathers chicks under wings"
├─► "...but you were not willing"
└─► House left DESOLATE
│
└─► Won't see me until:
"Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord"The Denunciation Architecture
CHAPTER 22 ENDS:
│
└─► ALL OPPONENTS SILENCED (22:46)
│
└─► No more questions dared
│
NOW: Jesus takes initiative
│
CHAPTER 23 OPENS:
│
└─► Jesus SPEAKS TO crowds + disciples
│
ABOUT: The Pharisees
│
→ Public denunciation
No longer answering traps
NOW: Exposing corruption
STRUCTURAL PATTERN:
│
├─ INSTRUCTION (vv. 1-12)
│ │
│ └─► TO: Crowds + disciples
│ │
│ ABOUT: How to relate to religious leaders
│ │
│ ├─ Their AUTHORITY = valid
│ │ └─► "Sit in Moses' seat"
│ │ Do what they teach (Torah)
│ │
│ ├─ Their EXAMPLE = invalid
│ │ └─► Don't imitate practice
│ │ Words ≠ deeds
│ │
│ └─► Their MOTIVATION = corrupt
│ └─► Everything for show
│ Love titles, honor
│ │
│ CONTRAST: You must be servants
│
└─► INDICTMENT (vv. 13-36)
│
└─► TO: Pharisees directly
│
Seven formal "woes"
│
→ Covenant curse formula
Prophetic judgment speech
│
Not: anger venting
IS: Judicial verdictTHE SEVEN WOES STRUCTURE:
│
└─► Pattern in each woe:
│
├─ "WOE to you..."
│ └─► Judgment announcement
│
├─ "...teachers of the law and Pharisees"
│ └─► Target identification
│
├─ "...HYPOCRITES!"
│ └─► Core accusation
│
└─► Specific charge + consequence
│
→ Each woe exposes different failure mode
FAILURE MODES:
│
├─ #1: Block access (v. 13)
│ └─► Keep others OUT of kingdom
│
├─ #2: Corrupt converts (v. 15)
│ └─► Make others WORSE
│
├─ #3: Distort oaths (vv. 16-22)
│ └─► Twist TRUTH
│
├─ #4: Invert priorities (vv. 23-24)
│ └─► Major on MINOR
│
├─ #5: Externalize religion (vv. 25-26)
│ └─► SURFACE over substance
│
├─ #6: Disguise death (vv. 27-28)
│ └─► APPEARANCE vs reality
│
└─► #7: Repeat history (vv. 29-36)
└─► Same PATTERN as ancestorsTHE LAMENT STRUCTURE (vv. 37-39):
│
└─► Three movements:
│
├─ GOD'S DESIRE (v. 37a)
│ │
│ └─► "How OFTEN I wanted..."
│ │
│ → Not: Once
│ IS: Repeatedly
│ │
│ "Gather your children"
│ │
│ → Maternal image
│ Hen + chicks
│ │
│ Protection, nurture
│
├─ ISRAEL'S REFUSAL (v. 37b)
│ │
│ └─► "...you were NOT WILLING"
│ │
│ SAME VERB for both:
│ │
│ GOD willed → Israel would not
│ │
│ → Free refusal
│ Not: God didn't want
│ IS: Israel wouldn't have it
│
└─► RESULTING DESOLATION (vv. 38-39)
│
└─► "Your house is left to you DESOLATE"
│
├─ Temple? House of Israel?
│ Probably both
│
└─► Condition for restoration:
│
"Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord"
│
Psalm 118:26
│
→ Second coming?
National repentance?
│
→ Future hope
But: Only through acknowledgmentSection Analysis
1. Warning Against Hypocrisy (vv. 1-12)
THE SETTING (v. 1)
│
└─► "Then Jesus said to the crowds
and to his disciples"
│
└─► Audience:
│
├─ Crowds — General public
└─► Disciples — Inner circle
│
→ Both groups instructed
Public teaching
│
About: Religious leaders
Their authority
Their failure
MOSES' SEAT (vv. 2-3a)
│
└─► "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat.
So you must be careful
to do everything they tell you"
│
└─► "Moses' seat"
│
├─ LITERAL: Chair in synagogue
│ └─► Where Torah read/taught
│ Position of authority
│ │
│ Archaeological evidence:
│ Stone seats found in synagogues
│
└─► FIGURATIVE: Teaching office
│
└─► Successors to Moses
Authoritative interpreters
│
→ Their OFFICE = valid
Legitimate authority
│
Therefore: "Do what they tell you"
│
→ Obey Torah teaching
Not: Their additions
IS: Moses' law they transmit
THE CONTRADICTION (v. 3b)
│
└─► "But do NOT do what they DO,
for they do not practice what they preach"
│
└─► "They SAY and do NOT"
│
→ Words ≠ Deeds
Teaching ≠ Living
│
├─ What they SAY: Valid (Moses' law)
└─► What they DO: Invalid (hypocrisy)
│
→ Disconnect defines them
This IS hypocrisyBurden Without Help (v. 4):
HEAVY LOADS (v. 4)
│
└─► "They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads
and put them on other people's shoulders,
but they themselves are not willing
to lift a finger to move them"
│
└─► What are these loads?
│
├─ Extra regulations beyond Torah
│ └─► Oral traditions
│ Interpretive rules
│ Fence around law
│
├─ Ceremonial requirements
│ └─► Ritual purity
│ Sabbath restrictions
│ Tithing minutiae
│
└─► Religious obligations
│
Without help or grace
│
→ They impose
They don't assist
│
"Not willing to lift a FINGER"
│
→ Minimal effort refused
Zero help given
│
Contrast: Matt 11:28-30
│
Jesus: "My yoke is EASY
my burden is LIGHT"
│
→ Pharisees: Heavy + no help
Jesus: Light + with youPerformance Religion (vv. 5-7):
FOR SHOW (v. 5a)
│
└─► "Everything they do
is done for people to SEE"
│
└─► Root word → "theater"
│
→ Religion as performance
Piety for audience
│
NOT: For God
IS: For reputation
PHYLACTERIES (v. 5b)
│
└─► "They make their PHYLACTERIES wide"
│
└─► Small leather boxes
│
Worn during prayer
│
Contain Scripture:
├─ Exod 13:1-10
├─ Exod 13:11-16
├─ Deut 6:4-9
└─► Deut 11:13-21
│
Based on: Deut 6:8
"Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads"
│
→ Physical reminder of Law
Literal application
│
PROBLEM: Making them WIDE
│
→ Bigger = more pious?
Show off devotion
│
External marker
Not: Heart reality
TASSELS (v. 5c)
│
└─► "...and the TASSELS on their garments long"
│
└─► Based on: Num 15:38-40
│
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
Throughout the generations to come
you are to make tassels on the corners
of your garments, with a blue cord"
│
PURPOSE: "You will remember
all the commands of the LORD"
│
→ Memory device
Visual reminder
│
PROBLEM: Making them LONG
│
→ Exaggerated piety
Look-at-me religion
│
Irony: Reminder of commands
While disobeying spirit
LOVE OF HONOR (vv. 6-7)
│
└─► "they love:
- the place of honor at BANQUETS
- the most important seats in SYNAGOGUES
- to be greeted with respect in MARKETPLACES
- to be called 'RABBI' by others"
│
└─► Four spheres:
│
├─ SOCIAL (banquets)
│ └─► Seat of honor at meals
│
├─ RELIGIOUS (synagogues)
│ └─► Prominent position
│
├─ PUBLIC (marketplaces)
│ └─► Public recognition
│
└─► PROFESSIONAL (title)
└─► "Rabbi" = "My great one"
│
→ They LOVE these things
│
→ Heart exposed
Desire for status
Not: Service to God
IS: Service to egoRadical Alternative (vv. 8-12):
TITLE PROHIBITION (vv. 8-10)
│
└─► Three forbidden titles:
│
├─ "RABBI" (v. 8)
│ │
│ └─► "But YOU are not to be called 'Rabbi,'
│ for you have ONE Teacher,
│ and you are all BROTHERS"
│ │
│ Who? (Implied: Christ)
│ │
│ Result: All brothers
│ │
│ → Horizontal equality
│ No hierarchy of teachers
│
├─ "FATHER" (v. 9)
│ │
│ └─► "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,'
│ for you have ONE Father,
│ and he is in heaven"
│ │
│ Not: Biological father
│ IS: Spiritual authority title
│ │
│ → One heavenly Father
│ No human substitute
│
└─► "INSTRUCTOR" (v. 10)
│
└─► "Nor are you to be called instructors,
for you have ONE Instructor,
the Messiah"
│
→ Ultimate authority in Christ alone
INTERPRETATION:
│
└─► Is this absolute prohibition?
│
├─ Some say: NO titles ever
│ └─► Never call anyone teacher, father, etc.
│
└─► Better reading: No titles for STATUS
│
├─ Paul calls himself "father" (1 Cor 4:15)
│ "I became your father through the gospel"
│
├─ "Teachers" exist in church (Eph 4:11)
│
└─► Point: Don't seek honor through titles
Don't create hierarchy of status
│
→ All under ONE Teacher
All under ONE Father
All under ONE Instructor
│
= All brothers
Equal before God
THE REVERSAL PRINCIPLE (vv. 11-12)
│
└─► "The GREATEST among you
will be your SERVANT.
For those who EXALT themselves
will be HUMBLED,
and those who HUMBLE themselves
will be EXALTED"
│
└─► INVERSION:
│
├─ Greatness = service
│ Not: Position, title, honor
│
└─► MECHANISM:
│
Self-exalt → God humbles
Self-humble → God exalts
│
→ Divine reversal
Kingdom economics
│
Same principle: Matt 20:26-28
│
"Whoever wants to be great
must be your servant"
│
→ Jesus = supreme example
Phil 2:5-112. Seven Woes (vv. 13-36)
THE "WOE" FORMULA:
│
└─► Hebrew prophetic tradition
│
→ Prophetic judgment cry
│
├─ Isa 5:8,11,18,20,21,22: "Woe to you..."
├─ Amos 5:18; 6:1: "Woe to you..."
├─ Hab 2:6,9,12,15,19: "Woe to him..."
│
→ Covenant curse
Announcement of doom
│
Not: Emotional outburst
IS: Formal indictment
│
Like: Prosecutor's charges
Before: Divine courtWOE #1 — Blocking the Kingdom (v. 13):
THE CHARGE (v. 13)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you HYPOCRITES!
You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven
in people's faces.
You yourselves do not enter,
nor will you let those enter who are trying to"
│
└─► TWO FAILURES:
│
├─ "You yourselves do NOT ENTER"
│ │
│ → Rejected Jesus
│ Rejected kingdom
│ Outside themselves
│
└─► "Nor let those TRYING to enter"
│
→ People seeking God
Being turned away
│
HOW?
│
├─ False teaching
├─ Impossible standards
├─ Rejection of Messiah
└─► Leading away from Jesus
│
→ Double failure:
Miss it themselves
Cause others to miss itWOE #2 — Corrupting Converts (v. 15):
THE CHARGE (v. 15)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You travel over LAND and SEA
to win a single CONVERT,
and when you have succeeded,
you make them TWICE as much
a child of HELL as you are"
│
└─► MISSIONARY ZEAL:
│
→ Enormous effort
Great distances
To win ONE convert
│
→ Dedication? Yes
But: Misdirected
THE RESULT:
│
└─► Convert becomes WORSE
than teachers
│
WHY?
│
├─ Converts often more zealous
│ Than those born into tradition
│
├─ Learn the WORST parts
│ Of Pharisaic system
│
└─► Adopt hypocrisy
Without cultural restraints
│
→ Multiplication of evil
Not: Kingdom growth
IS: Hell's expansionWOE #3 — Twisted Oaths (vv. 16-22):
THE CHARGE (v. 16)
│
└─► "Woe to you, BLIND GUIDES!
You say, 'If anyone swears by the TEMPLE,
it means nothing;
but anyone who swears by the GOLD of the temple
is bound by that oath'"
│
└─► "BLIND guides"
│
→ Guides who can't see
Lead into ditches (15:14)
│
THE PROBLEM:
│
└─► Casuistry about oaths
│
├─ Swear by TEMPLE → Not binding
└─► Swear by GOLD → Binding
│
→ Created loopholes
Escape clauses
Technicalities to evade truth
THE REBUKE (v. 17)
│
└─► "You BLIND FOOLS!
Which is greater:
the GOLD, or the TEMPLE
that makes the gold sacred?"
│
└─► THE LOGIC:
│
└─► TEMPLE sanctifies gold
Not: Gold sanctifies temple
│
Container > Contents
Sanctifier > Sanctified
│
→ They have it BACKWARDS
THE CORRECTION (vv. 20-22)
│
└─► THREE SWEARINGS:
│
├─ By ALTAR
│ └─► = By altar + everything on it
│ Can't separate
│
├─ By TEMPLE
│ └─► = By temple + GOD who dwells there
│ → God's presence makes temple holy
│
└─► By HEAVEN
└─► = By God's throne + GOD on it
│
→ All oaths ultimately invoke God
No escape clause
│
Better: Don't swear at all (5:34-37)
"Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes'"WOE #4 — Inverted Priorities (vv. 23-24):
THE CHARGE (v. 23)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You give a TENTH of your spices—
mint, dill and cumin.
But you have NEGLECTED
the more important matters of the law—
JUSTICE, MERCY and FAITHFULNESS.
You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former"
│
└─► WHAT THEY DO:
│
Tithe herbs, spices
Small garden produce
│
Tithing these = extreme scrupulousness
│
Deut 14:22: Tithe "all the produce"
│
They extend to smallest herbs
WHAT THEY NEGLECT:
│
└─► "The weightier things of the law"
│
THREE WEIGHTS:
│
├─ JUSTICE
│ └─► Right judgment
│ Fair dealings
│ Defense of oppressed
│
├─ MERCY
│ └─► Compassion
│ Forgiveness
│ Care for suffering
│
└─► FAITHFULNESS
│
└─► Reliability
Covenant loyalty
Trustworthiness
│
→ Micah 6:8:
"Act justly
love mercy
walk humbly with God"
│
SAME trio
THE BALANCE:
│
└─► "Should have practiced latter
without neglecting former"
│
→ Both/and
Not: Either/or
│
Tithe? Yes
Justice, mercy, faithfulness? FIRST
│
→ Priority, not exclusion
THE METAPHOR (v. 24)
│
└─► "You BLIND guides!
You strain out a GNAT
but swallow a CAMEL"
│
└─► GNAT: Smallest unclean flying insect
│
Pharisees would strain wine
Through cloth filter
To avoid swallowing gnat
(Unclean: Lev 11:20-23)
CAMEL: Largest unclean land animal
In Palestine (Lev 11:4)
│
→ Absurd image:
│
Carefully filter tiny gnat
While gulping down whole camel
│
= Extreme scrupulousness on minor
Total neglect of major
│
→ Inverted priorities
Meticulous on small
Blind on largeWOE #5 — External Cleansing (vv. 25-26):
THE CHARGE (v. 25)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You clean the OUTSIDE of the cup and dish,
but INSIDE they are full of
GREED and SELF-INDULGENCE"
│
└─► IMAGERY:
│
Cup + dish
│
→ Ritual purity concern
Pharisees meticulous about
External cleanliness of vessels
│
BUT: Inside full of...
│
├─ Greed — Seizing what's not yours
│
└─► Self-indulgence — Lack of self-control
│
→ Heart problem
Not: Dirty dishes
IS: Dirty hearts
THE SOLUTION (v. 26)
│
└─► "Blind Pharisee!
First clean the INSIDE of the cup and dish,
and then the OUTSIDE also will be clean"
│
└─► ORDER matters:
│
FIRST: Inside
THEN: Outside will follow
│
→ Interior → Exterior
Heart → Behavior
Being → Doing
│
├─ Clean heart → Clean life
└─► Dirty heart + clean exterior = HYPOCRISY
│
→ True religion works inside-out
Not: Outside-inWOE #6 — Whitewashed Tombs (vv. 27-28):
THE CHARGE (v. 27)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You are like WHITEWASHED TOMBS,
which look BEAUTIFUL on the outside
but on the inside are full of
the BONES of the dead
and everything UNCLEAN"
│
└─► BACKGROUND:
│
Tombs whitewashed before Passover
│
WHY?
│
└─► Num 19:16: "Anyone who touches
human bone or grave
will be unclean seven days"
│
→ During pilgrimage festivals
Masses travel to Jerusalem
Could accidentally touch tomb
→ Defiled for feast
│
SOLUTION: Whitewash tombs
Make them visible
So people avoid them
│
→ Tombs look BEAUTIFUL
Fresh white paint
│
BUT: Inside?
│
→ Death, decay, corruption
THE APPLICATION (v. 28)
│
└─► "In the same way,
on the OUTSIDE you appear to people
as RIGHTEOUS
but on the INSIDE you are full of
HYPOCRISY and WICKEDNESS"
│
└─► PARALLEL:
│
├─ Whitewash = Appearance of righteousness
│
└─► Inside = Reality
│
├─ Hypocrisy — Acting, pretense
│
└─► Lawlessness
│
Irony: They're LAW experts
But LAWLESS inside
│
→ Most religious = most corrupt?
Surface hides rotWOE #7 — Prophet Killers (vv. 29-36):
THE CHARGE (vv. 29-30)
│
└─► "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites!
You build TOMBS for the prophets
and decorate the GRAVES of the righteous.
And you say, 'If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have taken part with them
in shedding the blood of the prophets'"
│
└─► WHAT THEY DO:
│
├─ Build tombs of prophets
└─► Adorn monuments of righteous
│
→ Honor dead prophets
Decorate their graves
│
= Distance from ancestors' crimes
"WE wouldn't have done that"
THE EXPOSURE (vv. 31-32)
│
└─► "So you TESTIFY against yourselves
that you are the DESCENDANTS
of those who murdered the prophets.
Go ahead, then, and COMPLETE
what your ancestors started!"
│
└─► SELF-INCRIMINATION:
│
"You witness against yourselves"
│
HOW?
│
└─► "Descendants of those who murdered"
│
Not just: Biological descent
IS: Spiritual continuity
│
→ Same spirit
Same pattern
│
"COMPLETE what ancestors started"
│
"Fill up the measure"
│
→ They will kill Jesus
They will kill his messengers
│
= Proving they're same as ancestors
│
→ Ironic command:
"Go ahead, finish it"
THE VERDICT (v. 33)
│
└─► "You SNAKES!
You brood of VIPERS!
How will you escape being condemned to HELL?"
│
└─► "Offspring of vipers"
│
→ Same language: John the Baptist (3:7)
│
Serpent = Satan imagery (Gen 3)
│
→ Children of devil
Not: Children of Abraham (as claimed)
│
→ Rhetorical question
Answer: You won't
THE PROPHECY (vv. 34-36)
│
└─► "Therefore I am sending you
PROPHETS and SAGES and TEACHERS.
Some of them you will KILL and CRUCIFY;
others you will FLOG in your synagogues
and pursue from town to town.
And so upon you will come
ALL the righteous blood
that has been shed on earth,
from the blood of righteous ABEL
to the blood of ZECHARIAH son of Berekiah,
whom you murdered
between the temple and the altar.
Truly I tell you,
all this will come on THIS GENERATION"
│
└─► JESUS SENDS:
│
"I send" — Emphatic
│
→ Divine prerogative
Like God sending prophets (OT)
│
WHOM?
│
→ Christian leaders to come
Apostles, teachers
THEIR FATE:
│
├─ Kill
├─ Crucify
├─ Flog
└─► Persecute
│
→ Prediction: Christian persecution
Acts fulfills this
(Stephen killed, apostles flogged)
THE BLOOD GUILT:
│
└─► "From ABEL to ZECHARIAH"
│
├─ ABEL: First martyr (Gen 4)
│ └─► Killed by brother Cain
│
└─► ZECHARIAH: 2 Chron 24:20-22
│
Killed in temple court
Last martyr in Hebrew canon
│
(Hebrew Bible ends with Chronicles)
│
→ "Alpha to Omega" of martyrs
First to last
ALL righteous blood
│
"THIS GENERATION" will bear it
│
→ AD 70: Temple destroyed
Nation scattered
│
= Accumulated judgment3. Lament Over Jerusalem (vv. 37-39)
THE CRY (v. 37a)
│
└─► "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you"
│
└─► Repetition: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem"
│
→ Emotional intensity
Deep grief
Personal address
│
Same pattern:
├─ "Martha, Martha" (Luke 10:41)
├─ "Simon, Simon" (Luke 22:31)
└─► "Saul, Saul" (Acts 9:4)
│
→ Tender, sorrowful
THE ACCUSATION:
│
├─ "The one killing the prophets"
└─► "Stoning those sent"
│
→ Present participles
Ongoing character
│
Not: Past mistake
IS: Defining pattern
│
→ City of prophet-murder
GOD'S DESIRE (v. 37b)
│
└─► "how often I have longed
to GATHER your children together,
as a HEN gathers her CHICKS under her wings,
and you were not willing"
│
└─► "How many times I wanted"
│
→ FREQUENCY emphasized
Not: Once
IS: Repeatedly
│
Over and over
Through prophets
Through history
Now: Through Jesus himself
THE IMAGE:
│
└─► Hen gathering chicks under wings
│
→ MATERNAL image for God
(Unusual in Jesus' teaching)
│
├─ Protection from predator
│ └─► Hawk overhead
│ Chicks run to mother
│ Hidden under wings
│
├─ Warmth in cold
│ └─► Feathers insulate
│ Body heat shared
│
└─► Nurture
└─► Close to mother
Safe place
│
OT echoes:
│
├─ Deut 32:11: "Like eagle... spreads wings"
├─ Ruth 2:12: "Under whose wings you came"
├─ Ps 17:8: "Hide me in shadow of your wings"
├─ Ps 36:7: "Take refuge in shadow of wings"
└─► Ps 91:4: "He will cover you with feathers"
│
→ God as protective bird
Gathering, sheltering
│
Jesus claims this role
= Divine claim
THE REFUSAL:
│
└─► "And you were NOT WILLING"
│
CRITICAL: Same verb both times
│
├─ God WANTED (willed)
└─► Israel WOULD NOT (willed not)
│
→ Sovereign desire
Human refusal
│
NOT: God couldn't
IS: They wouldn't
│
→ Tragedy of free rejection
God's longing spurned
THE CONSEQUENCE (v. 38)
│
└─► "Look, your house is left to you DESOLATE"
│
└─► "Your house is left to you desolate"
│
├─ "Left, abandoned" — Present tense: Being left NOW
│
├─ "House"
│ │
│ ├─ Temple? (God's house)
│ ├─ Jerusalem? (City as house)
│ └─► Israel? (House of Israel)
│ │
│ → Probably: All three
│ Encompassing judgment
│
└─► "Desolate, abandoned"
│
→ God's presence departing
│
Ezek 10-11: Glory leaves temple
│
Now: Jesus (God incarnate) leaves
│
→ Desolation follows
AD 70: Physical destruction
THE CONDITION (v. 39)
│
└─► "For I tell you,
you will not see me again until you say,
'Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord'"
│
└─► "You will certainly not see me from now"
│
Strong negation
│
→ Definite departure
THE CONDITION:
│
"UNTIL you say"
│
→ Implies: WILL say eventually
Future acknowledgment
│
WHAT will they say?
│
Psalm 118:26:
│
"Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord"
│
→ Same words: Palm Sunday (21:9)
│
Then: Crowds shouted (many)
Future: Israel will acknowledge
│
WHEN?
│
├─ Second Coming?
│ └─► National recognition at return
│
├─ Conversion of Israel?
│ └─► Rom 11:25-26:
│ "All Israel will be saved"
│
└─► Individual salvation?
└─► Whenever Jews accept Jesus
│
→ Probably: Eschatological
Final recognition
When Christ returns
│
→ Hope embedded in judgment
Not: Final rejection
IS: Temporary blindness
Until acknowledgmentUnified Framework
MATTHEW 23 ARCHITECTURE:
│
├─ INSTRUCTION (vv. 1-12)
│ │
│ └─► To crowds + disciples
│ │
│ ABOUT: Religious leaders
│ │
│ ├─ Their authority = valid
│ │ └─► "Moses' seat"
│ │
│ ├─ Their example = invalid
│ │ └─► Say, don't do
│ │
│ ├─ Their motivation = corrupt
│ │ └─► For show, love honor
│ │
│ └─► YOUR way = servant
│ └─► Greatest = lowest
│
├─ INDICTMENT (vv. 13-36)
│ │
│ └─► Seven Woes
│ │
│ ├─ #1: Block kingdom
│ ├─ #2: Corrupt converts
│ ├─ #3: Twist oaths
│ ├─ #4: Invert priorities
│ ├─ #5: External cleansing
│ ├─ #6: Whitewashed tombs
│ └─► #7: Kill prophets
│ │
│ → Judgment announced
│ Blood guilt accumulated
│ "This generation" bears it
│
└─► LAMENT (vv. 37-39)
│
└─► God's longing vs Israel's refusal
│
├─ Hen gathering chicks = God's desire
├─ "You were not willing" = Israel's choice
└─► House left desolate = consequence
│
Until: "Blessed is he who comes..."The Anatomy of Hypocrisy
WHAT IS "HYPOCRITE"?
│
└─► Greek: hypokritēs
│
Etymology (THIS MATTERS):
│
├─ Original: "One who answers"
│
└─► Became: "Stage actor"
│
└─► One who plays a part
Wears a mask
Performs a role
│
→ Not what they appear
The word literally means ACTOR
THE SEVEN FACES OF HYPOCRISY (from the woes):
│
├─ #1: GATEKEEPING HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Claim to open doors
│ Actually close them
│ │
│ → Religious authority used
│ To exclude rather than include
│
├─ #2: MULTIPLYING HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Zealous to make converts
│ Convert them to corruption
│ │
│ → Activity ≠ fruit
│ Numbers ≠ health
│
├─ #3: LEGALISTIC HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Expert in technicalities
│ Use them to evade truth
│ │
│ → Knowledge used for loopholes
│ Law-expertise serves lawlessness
│
├─ #4: SELECTIVE HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Meticulous on minor
│ Careless on major
│ │
│ → Cherry-pick easy obedience
│ Neglect costly commands
│
├─ #5: SURFACE HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Clean outside
│ Corrupt inside
│ │
│ → Image management
│ Interior neglected
│
├─ #6: DECORATIVE HYPOCRISY
│ │
│ └─► Beautiful exterior
│ Death interior
│ │
│ → Tomb religion
│ Looks alive, actually dead
│
└─► #7: HISTORICAL HYPOCRISY
│
└─► Condemn ancestors
Repeat their sins
│
→ "We're different"
While being same
THE COMMON STRUCTURE:
│
└─► All hypocrisy = GAP
│
Between: Appearance ↔ Reality
Words ↔ Deeds
Outside ↔ Inside
Past ↔ Present
Claim ↔ Character
│
→ The gap IS the hypocrisy
THE OPPOSITE OF HYPOCRISY:
│
└─► INTEGRITY
│
From: Latin "integer" = whole, complete
│
→ No gap
What you see = what is
Inside = outside
│
Jesus' call:
│
"First clean the INSIDE...
then the outside also will be clean"
│
→ Work from center out
Not: Surface managementDiagnostic Summary
INSTRUCTION QUESTION (vv. 1-12):
│
└─► How should you relate to religious leaders?
│
THREE PRINCIPLES:
│
├─ OBEY their teaching (Moses' seat)
│ └─► When it accords with Scripture
│ Not: Their additions
│ IS: The Law they transmit
│
├─ DON'T imitate their practice
│ └─► Words without deeds = hypocrisy
│ Don't copy what contradicts
│
└─► DON'T seek their status
│
└─► No titles for honor
No hierarchy for ego
│
→ One Teacher (Christ)
One Father (God)
One Instructor (Messiah)
│
All brothers
Greatest = servant
WOE QUESTION (vv. 13-36):
│
└─► What makes religious leadership corrupt?
│
SEVEN FAILURE MODES:
│
├─ #1: Use authority to EXCLUDE
│ └─► Block what you should open
│
├─ #2: Make followers WORSE
│ └─► Multiply your corruption
│
├─ #3: Create LOOPHOLES
│ └─► Use expertise to evade
│
├─ #4: Major on MINORS
│ └─► Tithe herbs, neglect justice
│
├─ #5: Focus on OUTSIDE
│ └─► Ignore the inside
│
├─ #6: DECORATE death
│ └─► Beautiful exterior, rotten interior
│
└─► #7: REPEAT what you condemn
└─► Same spirit as ancestors
COMMON THREAD:
│
└─► DISCONNECTION
│
Between what is shown
And what is real
│
→ Hypocrisy in every case
LAMENT QUESTION (vv. 37-39):
│
└─► Why does judgment come?
│
NOT: Because God doesn't care
│
IS: Because God cared + was refused
│
├─ "How OFTEN I wanted to gather you"
│ └─► Repeated desire
│ Multiple opportunities
│
├─ "You were NOT WILLING"
│ └─► Human refusal
│ Chosen rejection
│
└─► "Your house is left DESOLATE"
└─► Natural consequence
Of refusing protection
│
→ God's judgment = giving over
To what they chose
│
Rom 1:24,26,28: "God gave them over..."THE CHAPTER'S SINGLE THREAD:
│
└─► AUTHENTICITY vs PERFORMANCE
│
├─ Pharisees: All performance
│ │
│ ├─ Wide phylacteries (seen)
│ ├─ Long tassels (seen)
│ ├─ Honor at banquets (seen)
│ ├─ Clean cup outside (seen)
│ └─► Whitewashed tomb (seen)
│ │
│ All external
│ All for audience
│ All without substance
│
└─► Jesus' call: Interior first
│
├─ Be servant (not honored)
├─ Clean inside (not outside)
├─ Justice, mercy, faithfulness (not herbs)
└─► Acknowledge reality (not deny)
│
→ Truth from center
Authenticity from within
APPLICATION FLOW:
│
└─► WHERE do you have gaps?
│
Between:
│
├─ What you SAY ↔ What you DO
├─ What you SHOW ↔ What you ARE
├─ What you CONDEMN ↔ What you PRACTICE
└─► What you KNOW ↔ What you LIVE
│
→ The gap = hypocrisy
│
SOLUTION:
│
Not: Better performance
IS: Interior transformation
│
"First clean the INSIDE..."Chapter in One Sentence
Jesus exposes hypocrisy as the gap between appearance and reality—warning crowds not to imitate religious leaders who burden others, seek honor, and perform externally while corrupted internally—pronouncing seven woes that indict their gatekeeping, corruption, oath-twisting, priority-inversion, surface-cleaning, tomb-decorating, and prophet-killing—before lamenting Jerusalem’s refusal of God’s repeated longing to gather and protect them, leaving their house desolate until they finally acknowledge him.
Cross-References
| Verse | Reference | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| 23:2 | Ezra 7:6,25 | Ezra sat in Moses’ seat, teaching Law |
| 23:4 | Luke 11:46 | Load people with burdens, won’t touch them |
| 23:4 | Matt 11:28-30 | Jesus’ yoke is easy, burden light |
| 23:5 | Deut 6:8 | Bind them as symbols on hands/foreheads |
| 23:5 | Num 15:38-40 | Tassels on garments to remember commands |
| 23:5 | Matt 6:1-6 | Don’t practice righteousness to be seen |
| 23:6 | Luke 14:7-11 | Parable of choosing lowest seat |
| 23:8-10 | 1 Cor 3:5-7 | Neither planters nor waterers are anything |
| 23:11 | Matt 20:26-28 | Whoever wants to be great must serve |
| 23:12 | Luke 14:11; 18:14 | Humble exalted, exalted humbled |
| 23:12 | James 4:6,10 | God opposes proud, gives grace to humble |
| 23:12 | 1 Pet 5:5-6 | Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand |
| 23:13 | Luke 11:52 | Taken away key to knowledge |
| 23:15 | Acts 2:10; 6:5 | Proselytes in early church |
| 23:16-22 | Matt 5:33-37 | Don’t swear at all; let yes be yes |
| 23:23 | Deut 14:22-23 | Tithe all produce of seed |
| 23:23 | Micah 6:8 | Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly |
| 23:23 | Hos 6:6 | I desire mercy, not sacrifice |
| 23:24 | Lev 11:4,20-23 | Camel, flying insects unclean |
| 23:25 | Mark 7:1-4 | Pharisees wash cups, pitchers |
| 23:27 | Num 19:16 | Touching grave makes unclean |
| 23:27 | Acts 23:3 | Paul: “God will strike you, whitewashed wall” |
| 23:29-30 | Acts 7:51-52 | Stephen: “You resist Spirit, kill prophets” |
| 23:33 | Matt 3:7 | John the Baptist: “brood of vipers” |
| 23:34 | Luke 11:49 | Wisdom of God sends prophets, apostles |
| 23:35 | Gen 4:8-10 | Abel’s blood cries from ground |
| 23:35 | 2 Chron 24:20-22 | Zechariah killed in temple court |
| 23:37 | Deut 32:11 | Eagle spreads wings over young |
| 23:37 | Ps 17:8; 36:7; 91:4 | Refuge in shadow of wings |
| 23:37 | Luke 13:34-35 | Parallel lament over Jerusalem |
| 23:38 | Jer 12:7; 22:5 | House forsaken, desolate |
| 23:38 | Ezek 10-11 | Glory departs from temple |
| 23:39 | Ps 118:26 | Blessed is he who comes in name of Lord |
| 23:39 | Matt 21:9 | Crowds shouted same at triumphal entry |
| 23:39 | Rom 11:25-26 | All Israel will be saved |
Personal Notes
The Seat vs The Person
CRITICAL DISTINCTION:
│
├─ OFFICE (Moses' seat) → Valid
│ └─► Obey the teaching
│ (When it's Moses' Law)
│
└─► EXAMPLE (their practice) → Invalid
└─► Don't imitate conduct
(When it contradicts)
WHY THIS MATTERS:
│
└─► Authority can be legitimate
While person is hypocritical
│
├─ A corrupt judge still has authority
├─ A hypocritical teacher still teaches truth
└─► An immoral preacher still preaches Scripture
│
→ Don't dismiss truth
Because of messenger
│
BUT: Don't follow example
Of contradiction
MODERN APPLICATION:
│
└─► Church leaders may teach truth
While living falsely
│
├─ Receive the truth
└─► Don't imitate the falseness
│
→ Discernment requiredThe Servant Paradox
KINGDOM ECONOMICS:
│
└─► Up = Down
First = Last
Greatest = Servant
│
├─ Self-exaltation → Humbled (by God)
└─► Self-humbling → Exalted (by God)
│
→ Inverted status system
WHY THIS WORKS:
│
└─► God resists pride (James 4:6)
God gives grace to humble
│
├─ Pride = competition with God
│ └─► God opposes
│
└─► Humility = dependence on God
└─► God lifts up
THE JESUS WAY:
│
└─► Greatness through:
│
└─► SERVICE
│
→ Table servant
The one who waits on others
│
Not: Waited upon
IS: Waiting upon
│
Phil 2:5-11:
│
Christ "made himself nothing,
taking form of servant...
humbled himself...
Therefore God EXALTED him
to the highest place"
│
→ Downward leads upward
(When God does the lifting)The Gnat and Camel
THE IMAGE:
│
├─ GNAT — Smallest unclean flying thing
│ └─► Filter wine through cloth
│ So you don't swallow it
│
└─► CAMEL — Largest unclean land animal
└─► Impossible to miss
Yet: "swallowed"
THE ABSURDITY:
│
└─► Meticulously strain out tiny gnat
While gulping down whole camel
│
→ Extreme care on trivial
Total blindness on massive
│
Like:
│
├─ Carefully counting tithe of herbs
│ While neglecting justice
│
├─ Obsessing over ritual purity
│ While full of greed
│
└─► Decorating prophet tombs
While planning to kill the Prophet
MODERN GNATS & CAMELS:
│
└─► Wherever we're meticulous on small
While ignoring large:
│
├─ Perfect church attendance
│ + Unforgiving heart
│
├─ Correct doctrine on details
│ + No love for neighbor
│
├─ Moral on visible issues
│ + Corrupt in hidden areas
│
└─► Careful religious observance
+ Neglecting justice, mercy, faithfulness
│
→ Ask: What's my camel?
Where am I straining gnats?The Hen and Chicks
THE IMAGE:
│
└─► Hen gathering chicks under wings
│
→ MATERNAL image for God
(Unusual in Jesus' teaching)
│
├─ Protection from predator
│ └─► Hawk overhead
│ Chicks run to mother
│ Hidden under wings
│
├─ Warmth in cold
│ └─► Feathers insulate
│ Body heat shared
│
└─► Nurture
└─► Close to mother
Safe place
WHY THIS IMAGE HERE?
│
└─► After seven woes (judgment)
Comes lament (grief)
│
→ God's heart exposed:
│
├─ Not: Angry judge eager to condemn
└─► IS: Grieving mother longing to protect
│
The judgment IS the rejected protection
│
→ They refused the wings
Now exposed to destruction
THE TRAGEDY:
│
└─► "I wanted"
"You would not"
│
SAME VERB for both
│
├─ Divine will: To gather
└─► Human will: To refuse
│
→ Theological mystery:
│
God's desire ≠ automatic
Human refusal possible
│
Yet: God's purposes not defeated
Only: This generation's judgment
THE FUTURE HOPE:
│
└─► "UNTIL you say..."
│
→ Condition implies fulfillment
Will say eventually
│
"Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord"
│
→ Second coming?
National repentance?
Both?
│
→ Hope within judgment
End is not final
Until acknowledgment comes