Matt. 23:1-331Then 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? (Matthew 23:1‑33).
JESUS’ denunciation of hypocrisy was directed against the Scribes and Pharisees. These men sat in Moses’ seat. That is they took the place of teachers of the law. And Jesus told the multitude to observe their teachings, but not to do as they did. Their life did not correspond with their teachings. They were hypocrites; that is, they pretended to be very good, when their lives showed that they were very bad. They bound heavy burdens upon others that they would not touch themselves. They did all their works to be seen of men. They thus sought honor from men, and not from God. They made a great show of their religion in making broad their phylacteries and enlarging the borders of their garments, and they loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called Rabbi, Rabbi.
All this was self-seeking and self-exaltation, and Jesus condemns it. He tells them not to be called Rabbi, nor to call men their father, for one was their Master, even Christ, and one was their Father, even God. So we are not to call our spiritual teachers Master, or Father. The greatest one is to take the place of servant, to take the lowest and humblest place, as Jesus did, in order to be a blessing to others. Then Jesus adds: “And whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Then Jesus pronounces woe after woe upon the Scribes and Pharisees because of their ways.
They shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. They would, not go in themselves, nor would they suffer others to go in.
They devoured widows houses, and for a pretense made long prayers, and because of this they would receive greater judgment.
They compassed sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he was made, they made him twofold more the child of hell than themselves.
They were blind guides, and said, if a man swore by the temple, it was nothing, but if he swore by the gold of the temple, he was a debtor. Fools and blind, they did not consider that the temple was greater than the gold, and that the temple sanctified the gold. Again they said, if a man swore by the altar, it was nothing; but if he swore by the gift upon it, he was guilty, not considering that the altar was greater than the gift, and that the altar sanctified the gift. Then Jesus tells them that he who swore by the altar, swore by it and all that was on it; and he that swore by the temple, swore by it and by Him that dwelt in it; and he that swore by heaven, swore by the throne of God, and Him that sat on it.
All this is very solemn, and shows how wrong it is to swear by anything whatever.
Elsewhere Jesus says, “Swear not at all.” “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Matt. 5:34-3734But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. (Matthew 5:34‑37). Every form of profane swearing is wrong; and all such expressions as “My goodness,” and many other such things in common use, are condemned by the words of the Lord Jesus. “Yes,” and “No,” are enough. All else is sin.
We will do well to take heed to this lesson Jesus teaches in His condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees. Many fall into the habit of using strong expressions in their conversation, and by words of different kinds, all of which Jesus condemns.
How much better it is to speak simply and truthfully in the fear of God, and to add nothing to our “Yes,” or “No.” In this way we do not offend God, and there will be a chasteness and dignity about our speech that will commend itself to our fellow-men, and our word will have far more weight than when accompanied by these sinful expressions.
ML 09/13/1903