The Gospels · Chapter 23 of 28
Matthew 23
Jesus warns the crowds and disciples against the scribes and Pharisees, who teach truly but do not practice, loving honor and burdening others. He pronounces a series of woes on their hypocrisy, blindness, and pride, and their history of killing the prophets. He closes with a grieving lament over Jerusalem, longing to gather her children as a hen gathers her chicks.
What happens in Matthew 23
Jesus tells the crowds and disciples to heed what the scribes and Pharisees teach from Moses's seat but not to imitate their deeds, for they say and do not, binding heavy burdens while seeking praise, prominent seats, and the title Rabbi. He calls his followers instead to humility, for one is their Master and Father, and the greatest is the servant. Then he pronounces repeated woes on these hypocrites who shut the kingdom against others, devour widows' houses, swear deceitful oaths, tithe herbs while neglecting judgment, mercy, and faith, and clean the outside while inwardly full of extortion.
They are whited tombs, beautiful outside but full of death within. They honor dead prophets while sharing their fathers' guilt, and greater judgment will fall on that generation. Finally Jesus laments over Jerusalem, the city that kills prophets, saying how often he would have gathered her children as a hen her chicks, but they would not. Their house is left desolate.
Matthew 23 in context
This is Jesus's final public discourse in Matthew, delivered in the temple during his last week amid mounting conflict with the religious authorities. The scribes and Pharisees were respected teachers and interpreters of the law. Phylacteries were small boxes of Scripture worn on the body.
The seven woes echo the prophetic tradition of pronouncing judgment. The closing lament reveals grief beneath the rebuke, and looks ahead to the coming desolation of Jerusalem and its temple.
Main themes of Matthew 23
Matthew 23 (KJV)
1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4For 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. 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 13But 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. 14Woe 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. 15Woe 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. 16Woe 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! 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 18And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23Woe 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. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe 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. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27Woe 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. 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And 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. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, 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: 35That 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. 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37O 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! 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For 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.
Verses to carry from Matthew 23
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”Matthew 23:12
“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.”Matthew 23:23
“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!”Matthew 23:37
Direct words of Jesus
How Matthew 23 points to Jesus
Even in this chapter of woes, Jesus reveals himself. He claims a unique place as the one Master and teacher, and he speaks with the authority to pronounce judgment on Israel's leaders as the prophets once did, yet more, for he sends prophets and wise men to them. Most strikingly, in the closing lament he speaks as one who has long yearned over Jerusalem, saying how often he would have gathered her children as a hen gathers her chicks.
This is the voice of divine love, patient across generations, grieving a rejection that will cost him his life. The One who denounces empty religion is the One whose sheltering wings the city refused. He exposes hypocrisy not to crush but because he desires the inward reality, mercy and faith, that only he can give.
Questions about Matthew 23
Were the scribes and Pharisees wrong to tithe carefully?
No, Jesus says they ought to have done it, but not to leave the weightier matters undone. Their error was straining out tiny details while neglecting judgment, mercy, and faith, swallowing a camel while choking on a gnat. Careful obedience becomes distorted when it majors on minor points and ignores what matters most to God. Jesus does not dismiss faithfulness in small things but insists it must never crowd out justice, compassion, and trust.
Why does the harsh discourse end with a tender lament?
The woes are severe, but they flow from love, not mere anger. Jesus grieves over the very people he rebukes, longing to gather Jerusalem's children as a hen shelters her chicks. The lament shows that his warnings aim at repentance, not destruction. He speaks as one who has patiently sought them and been refused. The tension between judgment and tears reveals the heart of God, who confronts sin precisely because he desires to save.
Reflection
It is easier to polish the outside than to cleanse the heart, to say the right words than to live them. Jesus looks past the surface to what fills the cup within. Where does your practice fall short of your profession? He exposes hypocrisy not to shame but to gather you under his sheltering wings.
A prayer from Matthew 23
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