THE LAST WEEK OF JESUS' PUBLIC MINISTRY AND HIS CRUCIFIXION
-Jesus’ Last Public Discourse - A Denunciation of the Jewish Leaders
-Matthew 23:1-39; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47
-“This entire chapter” [Matthew 23 - rc] “is an exposition and denouncement of the sin of the
scribes and Pharisees; Jesus speaks with unsparing yet with just severity. It is spoken to the
people and his disciples; it is his final admonition to the people against the pernicious teachings
of the Pharisees and their corrupt lives” (Boles, Matthew, pg 441).
-vs 2-12
-“Christ recognized that the scribes and Pharisees were successors to some of the dignity and
authority of Moses, not in the sense of really possessing such authority, but in the sense of being
responsible for teaching Moses’ word and faithfully interpreting it to the people” (Coffman,
Matthew, pg 359).
-The people were to follow the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees as long as those
teachings were in accordance with the Law of God. However, the scribes and Pharisees
were very hypocritical. Therefore, the people were not to follow their ways.
-It is true that the Law was a heavy burden to carry (see Acts 15:10). However, in addition to
the Law, the Jews had added many traditions upon which great focus was placed - traditions
that increased the yoke.
-With these traditions, the Jewish leaders made strict applications upon the people. However,
the leaders themselves would not adhere to these applications but, instead, they exempted
themselves.
-Jesus reveals that the actions of the Jewish leaders were done “…to be seen of men…”
(Matt 23:5).
-In regards to their broad phylacteries consider the following: “They were strips of
parchment on which were written four passages of the law; viz.: Ex. xiii. 3-10; 11-16;
Deut. vi. 4-9; xi. 13-21. These were enclosed in a leather case and were fastened to the
forehead and left arm. They authority for wearing them was purely traditional, and the
practice seems to have arisen from a literal interpretation of Ex. xiii. 9,16; Deut. vi. 8;
xi. 18. The Pharisees made the leather case large, that their righteousness might be more
conspicuous” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 607).
-Regarding the borders of the garments, see Numbers 15:38-40 and Deuteronomy 22:12.
Again, the Jewish leaders utilized theirs in such a way as to gather more attention to
themselves and appear more righteous than others.
-The Jewish leaders enjoyed occupying the chief seats at the synagogue and at feasts because
they loved the glory of men. For the same reason, they enjoyed the greetings that they
received amongst the people - “…they loved to hear their disciples hail them in a crowd as
‘rabbi,’ ‘great teacher’” (Boles, Matthew, pg 443).
-“But be not ye called Rabbi” (Matt 23:8), “And call no man your father…” (Matt 23:9),
“Neither be ye called masters…” (Matt 23:10) - “Only God is our Father in a spiritual
sense and Jesus with the Bible our teacher; faithful disciples of the Lord recognized no
other teacher or father. With like import we should not call anyone our ‘master,’ ‘for one
is your master, even the Christ.’ ‘Rabbi,’ ‘Father,’ and ‘Master’ should not be used to
take the place of God, Christ, or his truth; but such titles of profession as may be used in
giving honor to whom honor is due are not forbidden by Jesus here” (Boles, Matthew, pg
444).
-“Positively no Father, Rabbi, Reverend, Doctor, or other religious title-holder has any
authority at all to legislate, absolve, bind, loose, require, or demand, in any religious
sense, anything whatsoever, upon anyone whomsoever” (Coffman, Matthew, pg 362)!
-Once again we find Jesus teaching an important lesson regarding humility and servitude.
-A Series of Woes Pronounced
-“’Woe’ is a word of solemn denunciation of punishment; it implies that great calamities of the
most awful nature are impending over the guilty from the divine justice; it may also imply a
retributive destiny for years and ages of sin. The scribes and Pharisees are here called
‘hypocrites,’ and upon them Jesus pronounced his most scathing denunciations while on earth”
(Boles, Matthew, pgs 445-446).
1. vs 13 - Not entering the kingdom and hindering others
-Due to their rejection of Christ - the Jewish leaders would not enter into the kingdom of
heaven. In addition, they hindered others from entering.
-“Our Lord’s language is figurative and presents the kingdom of God as a house around the
door of which the Pharisees have gathered, not entering in themselves, and blocking the
way against those who would enter” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 608).
2. vs 14 - Devouring widows’ houses, making long prayer
-Some translations do not contain this verse. The NASB includes it but places it in
brackets. The NIV and ESV omit the verse but provide footnotes which explain that some
manuscripts include it. Even if it is omitted in Matthew, the same basic words are provided
in Luke’s account (see Luke 20:47).
-“They were like cunning, ferocious beasts; they devoured the substance of widows who
were the most defenseless of the poor and the most deserving of sympathy and kindness.
They influenced widows to give them of their property as an act of piety, or to bequeath it
to them. As spiritual advisers of men, and sometimes as the executors of their wills and the
guardians of their children, they had special opportunities to rob widows of their property”
(Boles, Luke, pg 390).
-The long prayers were for show and appearance in the pursuit of the glory of men.
3. vs 15 - The corrupting of a proselyte
-There was certainly nothing wrong with seeking to gain proselytes to the Law. However,
the Jewish leaders “…taught their proselytes their opinions and disregarded the word of
God; they exalted the doctrines of men above the word of God” (Boles, Matthew, pg 447).
Such degradation would then grow worse and worse as the process continued.
4. vs 16-22 - Blind guides
-Here, we can see the foolishness of these Jewish leaders and their traditions.
-They had invented distinctions that were utilized to determine whether or not oaths
had to be kept. If a person made a vow “by the temple” they didn’t consider the oath
binding. Yet, if that same person made the same vow “by the gold of the temple” it was
considered binding. They took a similar approach with vows made “by the altar” or “by all
things thereon.”
-Jesus pointed out that a part invoked the whole whether it be the temple and its gold, the
altar and its sacrifice or heaven and its occupants.
-As Jesus had previously taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “4 But I say unto you, 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, 37).
5. vs 23-24 - Strain at a gnat
-“This…woe is upon an extreme scrupulousness in regard to the slightest ritual performances,
with a slight remorse for the grossest immoralities” (Boles, Matthew, pg 449).
-There was nothing wrong with their attention to detail for “these ought ye to have done.”
It was their neglect of other things that led to this woe. “The trouble was that such petty
little deeds of scrupulosity were the principal concern of the scribes and Pharisees. They
could murder the Son of God but would not think of neglecting to tithe a sprig of dill on the
back doorstep. It was precisely in such a tradition that they finally appeared before Pilate
to extort a death sentence for the Master, while refusing at the same time to enter the
governor’s court lest they be defiled” (Coffman, Matthew, pg 368)!
-With hyperbole, Jesus represented them as straining a gnat out of their water but swallowing
a camel.
6. vs 25-26 - Cleaning the outside but not the inside
-The Jewish leaders emphasized the ceremonial cleansings for the purpose of appearing
clean (i.e. righteous). Yet, they neglected their inner selves and remained filled with
“greed and self-indulgence” (vs 25, NIV).
-“[A] pure inner life makes clean outward conduct” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 610).
7. vs 27-28 - Whited sepulchres
-“The implications in such a comparison by the Lord are profound. The Pharisees, with all
their pomp and glamour, earthly glory and prestige, outward beauty and ostentation, were,
for all that, actually dead in the eyes of Jesus. They were dead spiritually and morally.
Although their inward decay was concealed with an attractive veneer of political and social
respectability, it was not hidden from the penetrating knowledge and vision of the Son of
God, who knew their hearts” (Coffman, Matthew, pg 370).
8. vs 29-36 - Adorning the graves of persecuted prophets
-See page 92 of our study.
-Not only had the Jewish leaders killed the prophets down through the centuries, these
leaders at the time of Jesus - at the time He spoke these very words - were plotting to kill
Him.
-Following the resurrection and ascension of our Savior, the Jewish leaders would
continue to persecute those that worked in His name. “The apostles and inspired teachers
were sent by Jesus into all the world. These apostles were to be inspired by the Holy Spirit
and would warn the people of their sins and dangers. (Ex. 7:1; John 4:19; 1 Cor. 14:1,34.)
These were cruelly treated; the Jews stoned Stephen (Acts 7:59), cut off James’ head, or
rather caused a cruel king to do it, to please them (Acts 12:2). They scourged Peter and
other apostles (Acts 5:40), persecuted Paul and Barnabas from city to city, and doubtless
many others whose names are written only in martyrology of the Lamb’s book of life”
(Boles, Matthew, pg 455).
-The nation was guilty and consequences would be faced. “Your fathers were guilty. You
have shown yourselves to be like them. You are about, by killing the Messiah and his
messengers, to fill up the iniquity of the land. The patience of God is nearly exhausted, and
the nation is about to be visited with signal vengeance. These national crimes deserve
national judgments; and the proper judgment for all these crimes are about to come upon you
in the destruction of your temple and city” (Barnes).
-In regards to “Zacharias son of Barachias” there are different ideas amongst commentators
as to who Jesus was referring to. We simply do not know. In his commentary on Matthew,
H. Leo Boles points out, “He was slain…where they ought to have been worshipping God”
(pg 455).
-Within the time of that generation, Divine retribution would take place - a reference to the
coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
-“God’s patience, exhausted at last, became God’s wrath” (Coffman, Matthew, pg 374)!
-vs 37-39 - Jesus laments over Jerusalem
-Having just pronounced coming judgment, Jesus once again laments in regards to Jerusalem’s
coming doom. (See page 125 of our study.)
-With His crucifixion just days away, Jesus still demonstrated tenderness and compassion toward
the people. His willingness to gather the people together and protect them had not diminished.
He still desired penitence on the part of His people. He continued to reach out to them as the
Messiah and offer them an abundance of spiritual blessings but they would not. What a
statement of tenderness and tragedy!
-Due to their stubborn rebellion, Jesus said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
-“Scholars omit the word ‘desolate’ (see ASV margin). Whether or not the word is in the
original, the meaning surely is” (Coffman, Matthew, pg 376).
-Remember the words of Malachi - “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD
of hosts” (Mal 3:1).
-Jesus was no longer claiming it as His. He was leaving it in the hands of the people - empty.
-In verse 39, Jesus says, “Ye shall not see me henceforth…” Obviously, He was not speaking in
physical terms due to the fact that, in just a matter of days, the Jewish leaders would have Jesus
seized and brought before them where they would abuse Him, wrongfully accuse Him and then
deliver Him over to the Romans with the demand for His crucifixion. therefore, Jesus was
speaking in a spiritual sense.
-They had squandered the opportunity to “see” Jesus as the prophesied Messiah while He
was in their midst. They witnessed His miraculous deeds firsthand. They, in His very
presence, heard His teachings of truth. No longer would this be the case. A wonderful
opportunity had been afforded them. They wasted it - His final, public discourse having
now been concluded.
-No longer would He teach these rebellious people. If they were going to “see” Him as
the prophesied Messiah - as “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36) - they would have to do so as
a result of those that “…cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt 23:39).