THEN JESUS SPOKE TO THE CROWDS. Probably in the Court of the Gentiles in the temple. This is the official close of his public ministry, just as the Sermon on the Mount was the beginning. This is more than a scolding. It is a "tongue-lashing" rebuke of the anti-God actions of the teachers of the Law... [ Continue Reading ]
THE AUTHORIZED INTERPRETERS. They were the only religious teachers the people had. They did teach the Law of Moses, but added in their own traditions (Matthew 15:1-9).... [ Continue Reading ]
SO YOU MUST OBEY. They were to obey the teachers of the Law when they did teach the Law. [The Law of Moses ended at the Cross. Galatians 3:10-14; Ephesians 2:14-16.] DO NOT... IMITATE. Their examples teach a lie.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY FIX UP HEAVY LOADS. The Law was itself a heavy load which no one could carry (Acts 15:10). But they added traditions to it to make it even heavier (Matthew 22:36). See Matthew 23:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
JUST SO PEOPLE WILL SEE THEM. They wanted to make everyone think they were holy. They made containers of calf skin, put verses of Scripture written on parchment in these, and then fastened them on their foreheads and arms to show they were always thinking about God's word. [The verses were Exodus 12... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY LOVE THE BEST PLACES. Where everyone would be sure to see them. They wanted the glory.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY LOVE TO BE GREETED WITH RESPECT, With flattering talk. What Jesus is speaking of here, and in the next few verses, are the "religious titles" which they loved to hear, and which showed they were "boss" [one who domineers] over the faith of others.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU MUST NOT BE CALLED TEACHER.' [Rabbi in the Hebrew language.] About the same as Doctor of Divinity. Jesus rebukes all who use religion as a means of gaining glory for themselves. This sin of "showing off' [ostentation] was the root of the Pharisees' other sins. The teachers of the Law did not all... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YOU MUST NOT CALL ANYONE HERE ON EARTH FATHER.' That is, "Father" as a religious title. The teachers of the Law loved to be called _Abba_ which means "Father," _in the sense_ in which God alone is _Father._ LEADER. Another religious title, used _in the sense_ in which only Jesus is the Leader of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREATEST ONE AMONG YOU. The true measure of greatness is not what others do for you, but what you do to help others.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOEVER MAKES HIMSELF GREAT. This is a universal rule of God. The one who is so very proud of himself is humbled. The one who is kind, gentle, and loving, will be honored by God himself. See the parable in Luke 18:9-14.... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW TERRIBLE FOR YOU! He makes eight statements of impeachment against the Jewish leaders. YOU LOCK THE DOOR. They did this by teaching lies which prevent people from believing in Christ. See Luke 11:52.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WIDOWS. We see Jesus allowing women to help him financially out of their great love (Luke 8:2-3). But these teachers of the Law and Pharisees were using religion as a fraud to cheat widows of their property. Their "show" of loving God made their sin all the worse.... [ Continue Reading ]
TO WIN ONE CONVERT. These Jewish leaders wanted to convert everyone to Judaism and make them Jews [proselytes], because they expected that God would then send the Messiah to set up a political kingdom and make them rulers over the world. YOU MAKE HIM TWICE AS DESERVING. They made fanatics out of the... [ Continue Reading ]
BLIND GUIDES. They deliberately shut their eyes to God's truth, yet made people follow them. IF A MAN SWEARS. TAKES A VOW. In their silly thinking, they could take a vow by the temple, and not have to keep it; but if they took a vow by the gold of the temple, they were bound by it.... [ Continue Reading ]
BLIND FOOLS! The temple makes the gold holy, so the temple is more important. They are looking at it backwards!... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU ALSO TEACH. The altar and the gift are all one that is, equal in being holy.... [ Continue Reading ]
21-22. AND WHEN A MAN SWEARS. Taking a vow by the temple is equal to taking a vow by God himself. Heaven is equal to God himself. This means that all vows are by God and all equally binding. But see what Jesus said in Matthew 5:33-37.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU GIVE TO GOD ONE TENTH. They were very careful to tithe even herbs in their gardens. BUT YOU NEGLECT TO OBEY. The really important things they left undone. They did not do the important things such as justice, mercy, and honesty, but were fanatics about the little things [which were also importan... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU STRAIN A FLY OUT OF YOUR DRINK. _Satire._ Jesus had a sense of humor. Can you imagine them straining out the fly, and then swallowing the camel! This illustrates Matthew 23:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU CLEAN THE OUTSIDE. They had a ritual for washing the outside of cups and plates, and they would not eat or drink from anything that had not been prepared in this way. CLEAN WHAT IS INSIDE THE CUP FIRST. Jesus says they must make their heart pure first, then the ritual purity will take care of it... [ Continue Reading ]
_27-28._ YOU ARE LIKE WHITEWASHED TOMBS. Just before the time of Passover, all the tombs and graves were whitewashed so no one would be made ritually unclean by touching one of them (Numbers 19:16), and to make them beautiful. From where they stood in the temple, they could see the whitewashed tombs... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU MAKE FINE TOMBS FOR THE PROPHETS. They honored these men by building monuments to them, rather than by doing what they said to do. Even Herod the Great (an inhuman monster) rebuilt the tomb of David.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YOU SAY. But they were in fact doing the very same things which their ancestors did!... [ Continue Reading ]
SO YOU ACTUALLY ADMIT! He is saying: "You have proved yourselves to be the same kind of people as your ancestors who murdered the prophets." From where they stood, they could see the whitewashed tombs of the prophets on Olivet, including the tomb of Zechariah (Matthew 23:35).... [ Continue Reading ]
GO ON, THEN. As if he says: "Complete what your ancestors started murder the Holy One." [This can also be symbolic: "Your ancestors murdered the prophets, and you bury them by teaching lies."]... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO ESCAPE? The Bible speaks to warn, as well as to invite.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SO I TELL YOU. Read Luke 11:49-51. I WILL SEND. Even after the Cross, God sent the apostles and evangelists [preachers of the Good News] to offer them a chance to repent. But the Jewish leaders did just what Jesus said they would do.... [ Continue Reading ]
AS A RESULT. The best explanation is the parable in Luke 20:9-16. These people not only approved the sins of their ancestors, but they would murder the Son of God. As a result the combined guilt of all the ages of time would fall upon this group of people. Notice, it is the people who are living rig... [ Continue Reading ]
JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM! The Jewish leaders were concentrated in Jerusalem. This makes it symbolic of the whole Nation. HOW MANY TIMES. The city had been warned many times by the prophets. Jesus had visited it at least six or seven times, and taught in its streets for months. Even after the Cross, Jesu... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW YOUR HOME WILL BE COMPLETELY FORSAKEN. This is a double prophecy. It says that when Jesus leaves the temple, God will also desert it and will no longer accept its worship. It also says that God will remove his protection and allow the city to be totally crushed (Zechariah 11:6).... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL YOU SAY. Both a "curse" of doom, and a promise of hope! "Unbelief is a veil which closes their minds to Truth and Eternal Life. But that veil will vanish when they tum to Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:14-18). The hope of the Jews can only come true in Jesus Christ. [The Christian Jew is a FULFILLED J... [ Continue Reading ]