New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Matthew 23
3
"So you must obey them. Do everything they tell you. But don't do what they do. They don't practice what they preach.
Reference
4
They tie up heavy loads and put them on other people's shoulders. But they themselves aren't willing to lift a finger to move them.
Reference
5
"Everything they do is done for others to see. On their foreheads and arms they wear little boxes that hold Scripture verses. They make the boxes very wide. And they make the tassels on their coats very long.
Reference
6
"They love to sit down in the place of honor at dinners. They also love to have the most important seats in the synagogues.
Reference
Love
3 John 1:9
7
They love to be greeted in the market places. They love it when people call them 'Rabbi.'
Reference
8
"But you shouldn't be called 'Rabbi.' You have only one Master, and you are all brothers.
Reference
Parallel theme
James 3:1
1 Peter 5:3
Matthew 17:5
Luke 22:32
References Christ
Revelation 1:9
Matthew 23:10
10
You shouldn't be called 'teacher.' You have one Teacher, and he is the Christ.
12
Anyone who lifts himself up will be brought down. And anyone who is brought down will be lifted up.
Reference
13
"How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.
Reference
Kingdom
Acts 13:8
Parallel theme
Luke 11:52
Zechariah 11:17
Acts 8:1
2 Timothy 4:15
2 Timothy 3:8
Resurrection
Matthew 23:29
Matthew 23:23
Matthew 23:27
Isaiah 33:14
15
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
Reference
Creation
Acts 14:2
Parallel theme
Acts 13:10
Acts 13:43
Ephesians 2:3
John 8:44
Matthew 5:22
Galatians 6:12
Galatians 4:17
16
"How terrible for you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone takes an oath in the name of the temple, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gold of the temple must keep the oath.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 15:14
Matthew 23:24
Matthew 23:26
Matthew 23:19
James 5:12
Temple
Matthew 23:17
17
You are blind and foolish! Which is more important? Is it the gold? Or is it the temple that makes the gold holy?
Reference
18
"You also say, 'If anyone takes an oath in the name of the altar, it means nothing. But anyone who takes an oath in the name of the gift on it must keep the oath.'
19
You blind men! Which is more important? Is it the gift? Or is it the altar that makes the gift holy?
Reference
20
"So anyone who takes an oath in the name of the altar takes an oath in the name of it and of everything on it.
21
And anyone who takes an oath in the name of the temple takes an oath in the name of it and of the One who lives in it.
Reference
22
And anyone who takes an oath in the name of heaven takes an oath in the name of God's throne and of the One who sits on it.
Reference
23
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cummin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, like fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.
Reference
Grace
Micah 6:8
Hosea 6:6
Matthew 9:13
Matthew 12:7
Judgment
Luke 11:42
Proverbs 21:3
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 15:22
Leviticus 27:30
Luke 18:12
24
You blind guides! You remove the smallest insect from your food. But you swallow a whole camel!
Reference
25
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You clean the outside of the cup and dish. But on the inside you are full of greed. You only want to satisfy yourselves.
26
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish. Then the outside will also be clean.
Reference
27
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and clean.
Reference
28
It is the same with you. On the outside you seem to be doing what is right. But on the inside you are full of what is wrong. You pretend to be what you are not.
Reference
29
"How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You build tombs for the prophets. You decorate the graves of the godly.
30
And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of those who lived before us, we wouldn't have done what they did. We wouldn't have helped to kill the prophets.'
31
So you give witness against yourselves. You admit that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets.
34
So I am sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers. You will kill some of them. You will nail some to a cross. Others you will whip in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town.
Reference
35
"So you will pay for all the godly people's blood spilled on earth. I mean from the blood of godly Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. Zechariah was the one you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Reference
Blood
Revelation 18:24
Jeremiah 26:15
2 Kings 21:16
2 Kings 24:4
Hebrews 12:24
Isaiah 26:21
Parallel theme
Zechariah 1:1
Genesis 4:8
Jeremiah 26:23
Righteousness
Hebrews 11:4
37
"Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and throw stones in order to kill those who are sent to you. Many times I have wanted to gather your people together. I have wanted to be like a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings. But you would not let me!
Reference
Parallel theme
Ruth 2:12
Psalm 91:4
Psalm 17:8
Psalm 36:7
Psalm 63:7
Matthew 22:3
Hosea 11:2
Prophecy
Jeremiah 35:15
Nehemiah 9:26
Matthew 5:12
Summary of Matthew 23
Matthew 23 is one of Jesus' strongest confrontations with religious hypocrisy, as He addresses the crowds and His disciples while directly exposing the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees, who possess religious knowledge and authority but frequently fail to practice the righteousness they teach.
Jesus acknowledges that these leaders occupy an important teaching position connected with Moses' authority, but He warns the people not to imitate their behavior because they place heavy burdens on others while failing to carry those burdens themselves.
A major theme throughout the chapter is the danger of performing religion for recognition, because Jesus repeatedly criticizes leaders who seek prominent seats, impressive titles, public greetings, and visible displays of devotion rather than pursuing humility and genuine faithfulness before God.
Jesus therefore establishes a radically different model of leadership by declaring that the greatest person among His followers must become a servant, reinforcing the principle that spiritual authority is intended to serve people rather than elevate the leader.
The chapter then develops into a series of severe warnings, often called the woes, in which Jesus identifies specific forms of religious corruption, including preventing people from entering God's kingdom, exploiting vulnerable widows, creating misguided converts, manipulating religious oaths, and focusing on minor technical details while ignoring justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
One of Jesus' most important criticisms concerns the leaders' habit of carefully observing small religious requirements while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness, showing that obedience to God cannot be measured simply by how precisely someone follows visible religious rules.
Jesus repeatedly uses images of blindness, dirty cups, and whitewashed tombs to demonstrate that external religious appearance can conceal deep internal corruption, emphasizing that God examines the heart rather than being impressed by outward displays of holiness.
The comparison with whitewashed tombs is particularly powerful because a tomb could appear clean and attractive on the outside while containing death within, making it an appropriate picture of leaders who appear righteous publicly while being internally controlled by hypocrisy, greed, pride, and lawlessness.
Jesus then confronts the leaders' claim that they would never have persecuted the prophets of the past, explaining that their present rejection of Him demonstrates that they are continuing the same pattern of resistance that characterized their ancestors.
The chapter becomes increasingly solemn as Jesus predicts that God's messengers will continue to face rejection and persecution, while warning that the generation rejecting Him will experience severe consequences.
Yet even after delivering such strong condemnation, Jesus' final words concerning Jerusalem are filled with grief rather than hatred, as He compares His desire to gather and protect its people to a mother bird gathering her young beneath her wings.
This combination of judgment and sorrow reveals that Jesus' condemnation is not driven by personal revenge but by His grief over people who repeatedly reject God's invitation, ignore His messengers, and refuse the protection and salvation He offers.
The warning that Jerusalem's house will be left desolate points toward the catastrophic events that would eventually culminate in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in AD 70, although the immediate setting remains Jesus' final days before His crucifixion.
The central message is that Matthew 23 condemns religious hypocrisy in its many forms, showing that spiritual leadership without humility, justice, mercy, faithfulness, and genuine obedience becomes spiritually dangerous because it can mislead both the leader and the people who follow them.
The chapter ultimately teaches that God values inner transformation above outward religious appearance, that true spiritual greatness is expressed through humble service, and that religious knowledge, tradition, status, and public reputation are worthless when they are disconnected from love for God, justice toward others, mercy toward the vulnerable, and faithful obedience.
Jesus acknowledges that these leaders occupy an important teaching position connected with Moses' authority, but He warns the people not to imitate their behavior because they place heavy burdens on others while failing to carry those burdens themselves.
A major theme throughout the chapter is the danger of performing religion for recognition, because Jesus repeatedly criticizes leaders who seek prominent seats, impressive titles, public greetings, and visible displays of devotion rather than pursuing humility and genuine faithfulness before God.
Jesus therefore establishes a radically different model of leadership by declaring that the greatest person among His followers must become a servant, reinforcing the principle that spiritual authority is intended to serve people rather than elevate the leader.
The chapter then develops into a series of severe warnings, often called the woes, in which Jesus identifies specific forms of religious corruption, including preventing people from entering God's kingdom, exploiting vulnerable widows, creating misguided converts, manipulating religious oaths, and focusing on minor technical details while ignoring justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
One of Jesus' most important criticisms concerns the leaders' habit of carefully observing small religious requirements while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness, showing that obedience to God cannot be measured simply by how precisely someone follows visible religious rules.
Jesus repeatedly uses images of blindness, dirty cups, and whitewashed tombs to demonstrate that external religious appearance can conceal deep internal corruption, emphasizing that God examines the heart rather than being impressed by outward displays of holiness.
The comparison with whitewashed tombs is particularly powerful because a tomb could appear clean and attractive on the outside while containing death within, making it an appropriate picture of leaders who appear righteous publicly while being internally controlled by hypocrisy, greed, pride, and lawlessness.
Jesus then confronts the leaders' claim that they would never have persecuted the prophets of the past, explaining that their present rejection of Him demonstrates that they are continuing the same pattern of resistance that characterized their ancestors.
The chapter becomes increasingly solemn as Jesus predicts that God's messengers will continue to face rejection and persecution, while warning that the generation rejecting Him will experience severe consequences.
Yet even after delivering such strong condemnation, Jesus' final words concerning Jerusalem are filled with grief rather than hatred, as He compares His desire to gather and protect its people to a mother bird gathering her young beneath her wings.
This combination of judgment and sorrow reveals that Jesus' condemnation is not driven by personal revenge but by His grief over people who repeatedly reject God's invitation, ignore His messengers, and refuse the protection and salvation He offers.
The warning that Jerusalem's house will be left desolate points toward the catastrophic events that would eventually culminate in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in AD 70, although the immediate setting remains Jesus' final days before His crucifixion.
The central message is that Matthew 23 condemns religious hypocrisy in its many forms, showing that spiritual leadership without humility, justice, mercy, faithfulness, and genuine obedience becomes spiritually dangerous because it can mislead both the leader and the people who follow them.
The chapter ultimately teaches that God values inner transformation above outward religious appearance, that true spiritual greatness is expressed through humble service, and that religious knowledge, tradition, status, and public reputation are worthless when they are disconnected from love for God, justice toward others, mercy toward the vulnerable, and faithful obedience.