Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Matthew
Chapter 23: Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees
Matthew 23 is the King's public reckoning with the religious leaders of Israel, spoken days before the cross. Jesus warns the crowds and disciples not to imitate the scribes and Pharisees, who 'say, and do not,' who love titles and chief seats, who lay heavy burdens on others they will not touch themselves. Then, in eight solemn woes, He tears the mask from their hypocrisy: they shut up the kingdom, devour widows' houses, tithe herbs while neglecting 'judgment, mercy, and faith,' clean the outside of the cup while inside is full of extortion, and are 'like unto whited sepulchres,' beautiful outside but full of death within. Yet the chapter that thunders with judgment ends in tears. Looking over the city that killed the prophets, Jesus cries, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!' The chapter exposes the deadliness of religion without reality, and reveals the heart of God, longing to gather, grieved to be refused.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Matthew chapter 23. For each section you will find the KJV text, word studies that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus warns against religious hypocrisy, pronounces eight woes on the scribes and Pharisees, and weeps over Jerusalem. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
They Say, and Do Not
Do not imitate leaders who love titles and chief seats but do not obey.
Ye Hypocrites
Eight woes tear the mask off religion that is all outside and no heart.
Judgment, Mercy, and Faith
They tithe herbs but neglect what God most requires of the heart.
How Often Would I Have Gathered
The King weeps over the city that would not come to Him.
One Is Your Master, Even Christ (Matthew 23:1-12)
Jesus warns His people not to copy leaders who preach but do not practice, who crave honor instead of humbly serving.
He That Is Greatest Among You Shall Be Your Servant
"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
Word Study
"hypocrites," Greek hupokrites (ὑποκριτής). The word originally meant a stage actor, one who speaks lines and wears a mask that is not his own face. It is the perfect word for the scribes and Pharisees, who "say, and do not," whose whole religion is performance, "all their works they do for to be seen of men." A hypocrite is not simply a sinner but a play-actor of righteousness, presenting to men a holiness he does not have before God. The remedy Jesus gives is the opposite of the stage: take the lowest place, "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant."
Explanation
Jesus warns the crowds about leaders who "say, and do not" -- who bind heavy burdens on others and do all their works "to be seen of men," loving titles and the best seats. Against this He forbids the grasping after honorific titles -- Rabbi, father, master -- that exalt one man over his brothers, for "one is your Master, even Christ," and all disciples are brethren on level ground. The kingdom's greatness is inverted: "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." The way up is down -- "whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted."
Gospel Focus
Before the woes, Jesus draws a careful line. The scribes and Pharisees "sit in Moses' seat", they hold the office of teaching God's law, so where they truly repeat God's word, "observe and do." But "do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." Their fault is not bad doctrine so much as a hollow life: they preach a standard they will not keep, binding "heavy burdens" on others while lifting none themselves, and doing all "to be seen of men," with broad phylacteries, chief seats, and the title "Rabbi, Rabbi." Against this hunger for religious honor Jesus sets a striking rule for His own: "be not ye called Rabbi... call no man your father upon the earth... neither be ye called masters." He is not forbidding ordinary words like "father," but forbidding the spirit that exalts men into the place of God, that dresses religious leaders in titles of ultimate authority and reverence which belong to God alone. For "one is your Master, even Christ... one is your Father, which is in heaven." There is one final Teacher, one Father, one Lord, and before Him "all ye are brethren." This is a word for every generation. Wherever the people of God begin to exalt men, to crave titles and chief seats, to build up a clergy over a laity as though some were nearer God than others, the spirit of the Pharisees has returned. The way of Christ runs the other direction: "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant," and "whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." True greatness in the kingdom is not in being served but in serving, not in the chief seat but in the towel. Guard your heart against the love of being seen; give the honor to Christ, who alone is Master, and take the servant's place.
Ye Make Clean the Outside of the Cup (Matthew 23:13-36)
In woe after woe Jesus exposes a religion of appearances, straining at gnats and swallowing camels, beautiful without and dead within.
Whited Sepulchres
"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."
Word Study
"whited sepulchres," Greek taphois kekoniamenois (τάφοις κεκονιαμένοις). Tombs near Jerusalem were whitewashed so that passers-by would not accidentally touch them and be defiled -- for the law made anyone who touched a grave unclean seven days (Numbers 19:16); they looked bright and clean but were "within full of dead men's bones." It is Jesus' most vivid image of hypocrisy: an outward whitewash of righteousness over an inward corruption of death. The Pharisees "outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." God is not deceived by whitewash; He sees the inside of the tomb.
Explanation
Jesus pronounces seven woes on the scribes and Pharisees, and the refrain is hypocrisy -- a religion scrupulous about the outside and rotten within. They shut the kingdom in men's faces, tithe their garden herbs while omitting "judgment, mercy, and faith," strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, and polish the cup's exterior while it holds extortion. They are "whited sepulchres," beautiful without and full of death within. The most religious men of the age draw the Messiah's sharpest words, a sobering warning that outward devotion can mask a heart far from God.
Gospel Focus
Eight times the word falls like a hammer: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" These are not the words of a mild teacher but of the holy Judge, and their target is the deadliest of all sins, religion without reality. Notice what enrages the Lord. They "shut up the kingdom of heaven against men," barring the door themselves and blocking others. They "devour widows' houses" while making "long prayer" for show. They cross "sea and land to make one proselyte" and produce a convert "twofold more the child of hell" than themselves. As "blind guides" they spin webs of oath-splitting to evade honesty. Most piercing of all, they "pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin", scrupulous over the tiniest matters, "and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." Here is the very essence of their error and a warning to every religious heart: it is possible to be meticulous about small external duties while neglecting the great matters God most desires, justice, mercy, and faithful love. They "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." They "make clean the outside of the cup" while within it is "full of extortion and excess"; they are "whited sepulchres," lovely without and dead within. And they honor dead prophets while preparing to kill the living One and His messengers, proving themselves true "children of them which killed the prophets." The remedy Jesus presses is inside-out cleansing: "cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." God begins with the heart. All the polish of external religion cannot substitute for a heart made clean. This is why the gospel is not reformation of the outside but regeneration of the inside, a new heart, washed by the blood and renewed by the Spirit, out of which flows a righteousness that is real. Do not settle for a whitewashed life. Let Christ cleanse the inside, and the outside will follow.
How Often Would I Have Gathered Thy Children (Matthew 23:37-39)
The judgment closes not in anger but in tears, as the King grieves over the city that would not come to Him.
Ye Would Not
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
Word Study
"would I have gathered," Greek episunagagein (ἐπισυναγαγεῖν). The word means to gather together into one, as a hen gathers her scattered chicks under her wings for shelter and safety. It is a tender image of protective love. The one speaking is Jesus, yet the "how often would I have gathered" reaches back across all of Israel's history, the same LORD who longed over His people through the prophets now weeps over them in flesh. The tragedy is not in His unwillingness but in theirs: "and ye would not." Divine love, offered again and again, meets a human will that refuses.
Explanation
The thunder of the woes breaks into a sob: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens... and ye would not!" The startling word is "how often" -- Jesus claims to be the one who through all the centuries yearned over the city and sent her the prophets, a love that spans Israel's whole history. Only God could say that, for only God was there gathering Israel across the ages. The rejected Messiah weeping over Jerusalem is the LORD who has loved her from the beginning, and now, refused, He leaves her house "desolate" until she blesses Him who comes in the name of the Lord.
Gospel Focus
After the thunder of the woes comes a sound that changes everything: the King weeps. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem", the repeated name is the cry of grief and love, "thou that killest the prophets." And then the heart of God laid bare: "how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Consider who is speaking. Jesus says "how often would I have gathered", spanning all the centuries God had yearned over Israel, sending prophet after prophet. The One weeping over Jerusalem is the very LORD who had loved her from the beginning, now come in flesh. The image is exquisitely tender: a hen, at the approach of danger, calls her chicks and spreads her wings to cover them, ready to take the blow herself. So God longed to shelter His people, and so Christ would soon spread His arms on the cross to gather and to cover. But the whole weight of the tragedy falls on three words: "ye would not." God's love did not fail; their will refused. Here is the sorrow at the center of all judgment, that men perish not because grace was too small but because they "would not" come. "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate", the temple, the city, abandoned to the coming destruction, because they rejected the One who came to save them. Yet even here a door is left ajar: "Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." A day will come when Israel welcomes her Messiah with the very Hosanna they had sung and then betrayed. The chapter that begins with woes ends with a weeping Saviour and an open door. The God who judges hypocrisy is the God who longs to gather, and He gathers still. Do not be found among those of whom it is said, "ye would not." Run to the wings spread wide for you on the cross.
Chapter 23 in Review
Matthew 23 is the King's public verdict on hollow religion. He warns the crowds not to imitate the scribes and Pharisees, who "say, and do not," who love titles and chief seats, reminding His own that "one is your Master, even Christ," and "he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." Then, in eight woes, He exposes their hypocrisy: they shut up the kingdom, devour widows' houses, tithe herbs while neglecting "judgment, mercy, and faith," clean the outside of the cup while within is "full of extortion and excess," and are "whited sepulchres," beautiful without and dead within. Yet the chapter ends not in wrath but in tears, as Jesus laments, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
For the Apostolic reader this chapter is a searching mirror and a tender revelation. It is a mirror, because the sins Jesus condemns are the perennial temptations of religious people: performing for men, craving honor and titles, majoring on minor externals while neglecting the weightier matters of the heart, polishing the outside of the cup. The gospel answer is not a better whitewash but a clean heart, for God begins within, and only Christ can make the inside clean. And it is a revelation of God's own heart, for the same Lord who thunders "woe" also weeps "how often would I have gathered." The One lamenting over Jerusalem is the LORD who loved her through the ages, come in flesh, spreading wings of mercy that His people "would not" accept. So the chapter presses two things upon every reader: let Christ cleanse you from the inside out, refusing all play-acting religion; and do not resist the gathering love of God. His wings are still spread. Do not be found saying, by your refusal, "I would not."
- Hypocrisy is play-acted righteousness: "they say, and do not" (23:3).
- Give ultimate titles and honor to God alone; "one is your Master, even Christ" (23:8-10).
- God requires the weightier matters, judgment, mercy, and faith, not just externals (23:23).
- Cleanse the inside first; God is not deceived by whitewash (23:26-28).
- True greatness is servanthood; the self-exalting are abased (23:11-12).
- Christ longs to gather His people; the tragedy of judgment is "ye would not" (23:37).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you serve God for His eyes, or perform for the eyes of men?
- Are you meticulous about externals while neglecting mercy, justice, and faith?
- Is Christ cleansing you from the inside, or are you only whitewashing the outside?
- Have you run to the wings of mercy Christ spreads, or are you saying by your refusal, "I would not"?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. God requiring mercy over ritual: Micah 6:8; Hosea 6:6. The clean heart God desires: Psalm 51:6, 10; 1 Samuel 16:7. The gathering wings of God: Psalm 91:4; Deuteronomy 32:11. Blood of Abel and Zacharias: Genesis 4:8; 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The warning against the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees: Matthew 23:1-12; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47.
- The eight woes: Matthew 23:13-36; Luke 11:37-52; Micah 6:8.
- The lament over Jerusalem: Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.