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Matthew 23

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📖 Matthew introduction

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1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ✦ 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. ✦ 3Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. ✦ 4And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. ✦ 5And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ✦ 6And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, ✦ 7and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. ✦ 8But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ✦ 9And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ✦ 10And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11But the greatest of you shall be your servant. ✦ 12Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. ✦ 13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ✦ 15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. ✦ 16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ ✦ 17You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ✦ 18And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’ 19You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ✦ 20Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21And the one who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells in it. ✦ 22And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. ✦ 23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ✦ 24You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! ✦ 25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ✦ 26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean. ✦ 27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ✦ 28So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ✦ 29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ✦ 30and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ✦ 31So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ✦ 32Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ✦ 33You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? ✦ 34“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ✦ 35so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ✦ 36Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. ✦ 37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ✦ 38Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ✦ 39For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Where this chapter connects

Matt 23 ·19Luke 11 ·10Matt 5 ·8Matt 15 ·7Matt 21 ·6Luke 20 ·51 Th 2 ·5Acts 7 ·5

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

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