saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.
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Matthew 23:2-7 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Parallel Translations
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saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat.
All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.
For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them.
But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments,
and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,
the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.
-
sayinge. The Scribes and the Pharises sit in Moses seate.
All therfore whatsoever they byd you observe that observe and do: but after their workes do not: For they saye and do not.
Ye and they bynde hevy burthes and grevous to be borne and ley the on menes shulders: but they themsylfes will not heave at them with one of their fyngers.
All their workes they do for to be sene of me. They set abroade their philateries and make large borders on there garmetes
and love to sit vppermooste at feastes and to have the chefe seates in the synagoges
and gretinges in the marketes and to be called of men Rabi.
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Saying, The Scribes and the Pharises sit in Moses seate.
All therefore whatsoeuer they bid you obserue, that obserue and doe: but after their workes doe not: for they say, and doe not.
For they binde heauie burdens, and grieuous to be borne, and lay them on mens shoulders, but they themselues will not moue them with one of their fingers.
All their workes they doe for to be seene of men: for they make their phylacteries broad, and make long the frindges of their garments,
And loue the chiefe place at feastes, and to haue the chiefe seates in the assemblies,
And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
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Cross-references (62)
- Luke 11:46 (v4) He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger…
- Matthew 6:1-16 (v5) “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in…
- John 12:43 (v5) for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
- Acts 15:10 (v4) Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to…
- Luke 20:46 (v2) “Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the…
Show all 62 cross-references
- Galatians 6:13 (v4) For even they who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your…
- 2 Timothy 3:5 (v3) holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.
- Romans 2:19-24 (v3) and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher…
- Titus 1:16 (v3) They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
- Deuteronomy 6:8 (v5) You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
- Mark 12:38 (v2) In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,
- Luke 16:15 (v5) He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men…
- John 5:44 (v5) How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Acts 5:29 (v3) But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Philippians 2:3 (v5) doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
- 3 John 1:9 (v6) I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say.
- Numbers 15:38-39 (v5) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them that they should make themselves fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their…
- Matthew 11:28-30 (v4) “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am…
- Mark 12:38-39 (v6) In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces, and the…
- Luke 11:43-54 (v6) Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and…
- John 1:38 (v7) Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being…
- Exodus 13:9 (v5) It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong…
- Deuteronomy 22:12 (v5) You shall make yourselves fringes on the four corners of your cloak with which you cover yourself.
- Proverbs 6:21-23 (v5) Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you.…
- Proverbs 25:6-7 (v6) Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men; for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up…
- Malachi 2:7 (v2) For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.
- Matthew 23:23 (v4) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law:…
- Luke 14:7-11 (v6) He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, “When you are invited by…
- Luke 20:47–21:1 (v5) who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation.” He looked up and saw the rich…
- John 1:49 (v7) Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
- Romans 13:1 (v3) Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by…
- James 2:1-4 (v6) My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes…
- Deuteronomy 17:9-12 (v3) You shall come to the priests who are Levites and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the…
- 2 Chronicles 30:12 (v3) Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by Yahweh’s word.
- Ezra 7:6 (v2) this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king…
- Ezra 7:25 (v2) You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are…
- Psalms 50:16-20 (v3) But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips, since you hate…
- Proverbs 3:3 (v5) Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
- Matthew 9:20 (v5) Behold, a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment;
- Matthew 21:30 (v3) He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go.
- Luke 20:46-47 (v6) “Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the…
- John 3:2 (v7) The same came to him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that…
- John 3:26 (v7) They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he baptizes, and…
- John 6:25 (v7) When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
- John 7:18 (v5) He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
- John 20:16 (v7) Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”
- Philippians 1:15 (v5) Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and some also out of good will.
- Revelation 2:24 (v4) But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don’t have this teaching, who don’t know what some call ‘the deep things of…
- Exodus 18:19-20 (v3) Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God. You…
- Exodus 18:23 (v3) If you will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in…
- Deuteronomy 4:5 (v3) Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do so in the middle of the land…
- Deuteronomy 11:18 (v5) Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall…
- 2 Kings 10:16 (v5) He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh.” So they made him ride in his chariot.
- Nehemiah 8:4-8 (v2) Ezra the scribe stood on a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah,…
- Matthew 15:2-9 (v3) “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered them, “Why do…
- Matthew 20:21 (v6) He said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your…
- Matthew 23:8 (v7) But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.
- Mark 9:5 (v7) Peter answered Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
- Mark 10:51 (v7) Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Rabboni, that I may see again.”
- Acts 15:28 (v4) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things:
- Romans 12:10 (v6) In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (v5) he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–7 We ought to hear whatsoever any wicked teachers teach…
We ought to hear whatsoever any wicked teachers teach us purely out of the word of God, yet so that we eschew their evil manners.
Because God appointed the order, therefore the Lord would have his word to be heard even from the mouth of hypocrites and hirelings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–7 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in…
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Ver. 2. Sit in Moses’ chair] i.e. Have the ordinary office of teaching the people, but quo iure, by what law, he questioneth not. The priests and Levites should have done it, but the Scribes and Pharisees had for present taken it upon them, stepped into the chair, and there set themselves, {a} Rom 2:20. So Hildebrand and his successors have invaded Peter’s chair, as they call the see of Rome; but what said an ancient? Non habent Petri haereditatem, qui Petri fidem non habent. They have no right to Peter’s chair that have not Peter’s faith. The Index Expurgatorius commands ( sublata fide) endure for the faith, instead of Fidem Petri, the Faith of Peter, to print it Sedem Petri. The seat of Peter, Perfrica frontem, said Calvus to Vatinius, et digniorem te dic qui Praetor fieres quam Catonem, Put on a good face, and say that thou art fitter for the office than Cato himself. (Quintil. lib. ix. cap. 2.) But what a bold face had Barcaena the Jesuit, who, Diabolo advenienti occurrit obviam petiitque ut cathedram eius occuparet, quia erat dignior, meeting the devil, required his chair of him, as one that better deserved it. He had his desire, I doubt not. But if Scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ chair, it is no news than for bad men to succeed better; as Timotheus Herulus did Proterius the good Bishop of Alexandria, and as Arminius did Junius in the professor’s place at Leyden.
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{a} καθιζω, Sedeo. colloco. I sit, I lie down.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Our Saviour saith the same of the lawyers, Luk…
Our Saviour saith the same of the lawyers, Luk 11:46. The
burdens here mentioned were not their traditions and ritual things, Christ would never have before commanded his disciples to observe and do them, but the things truly commanded by the law of God, especially the ceremonial law, called a yoke, Act 15:10, which (say the apostles) neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. They are, saith our Saviour, rigid exactors and pressers of the law of God upon others, but will not themselves use the least endeavours (such as the putting to of a finger) themselves to do them.
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1. He blames them that their own lives no way answered their doctrine.
2. It may be, he also blames their too rigid pressing the law in all the minute things of it.
There may be a too rigorous pressing of the law. Good teachers will be faithful in delivering the whole counsel of God, yet teaching no more than themselves will endeavour to practise; and being conscious of human infirmity, they will do it with great tenderness and compassion, joining law and gospel both together.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv4–5 These heavy burdens which the Pharisees laid upon the…
These heavy burdens which the Pharisees laid upon the people’s shoulders, were counsels and directions, rules and canons, austerities and severities, which the Pharisees introduced and imposed upon their hearers, but would not undergo the least part of those severities themselves. If we do not follow our own counsels, we must not think to oblige others what he is unwilling to perform himself. It is very sinful to give that counsel to others, which we refuse to take ourselves.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–7 Saying, the Scribes and Pharisees,.... The Persic version adds,…
Saying, the Scribes and Pharisees,.... The Persic version adds, the priests: but Christ does not here speak of the sanhedrim, or grand council of the nation, and of their legislative power; but of those that were the teachers of the people, and the interpreters of the law; and of those, who, though they corrupted the word with their glosses and traditions, yet retained some truth, and at least came nearer truth, than the Sadducees; who therefore are omitted, and only Scribes and Pharisees mentioned, who gave the literal and traditional sense of the Scriptures; of whom he says, they
sit in Moses's seat: not that they were his successors in his office as a legislator and mediator; though the Persic version reads it, "sit in the place and chair of Moses"; but they read his law, and explained it to the people: this post and place, as yet, they kept in the office they were, and were to continue; and the people were to regard them so far as they spoke consistent with the law, until it had its full accomplishment in Christ. The allusion is not to the chairs in which the sanhedrim sat in trying and determining causes, but to those in which the doctors sat when they expounded the law; for though they stood up when they read the law, or the prophets, they sat down when they preached out of them: this custom of the synagogue was observed by our Lord; see Luk 4:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–5 The scribes sit in the chair of Moses -…
The scribes sit in the chair of Moses - That is, read and expound the law of Moses, and are their appointed teachers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 7 Verse 3. All therefore whatsoever] That is, all those…
Verse 3. All therefore whatsoever] That is, all those things which they read out of the law and prophets, and all things which they teach consistently with them. This must be our Lord's meaning: he could not have desired them to do every thing, without restriction, which the Jewish doctors taught; because himself warns his disciples against their false teaching, and testifies that they had made the word of God of none effect by their traditions. See Mt 15:6, &c. Besides, as our Lord speaks here in the past tense - whatsoever they HAVE commanded, οσαειπωσιν, he may refer to the teaching of a former period, when they taught the way of God in truth, or were much less corrupted than they were now.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4–5 Mat 23:4. For they bind heavy burdens — Not…
Mat 23:4. For they bind heavy burdens — Not only insisting upon the most minute circumstances of the ceremonial law, called a yoke, Act 15:10; and pressing the observation of them with more strictness and severity than God himself did; but by adding to his word, and imposing their own inventions and traditions under the highest penalties: witness their many additions to the law of the sabbath, by which they made that day a burden, which was designed to be a joy and delight: but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers — They press upon the people a strictness in religion which they themselves will not be bound by, but secretly transgress their own traditions, which they publicly enforce.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–7 Scribes and Pharisees - See the notes at Mat…
Scribes and Pharisees - See the notes at Mat 3:7.
Moses’ seat - Moses was the great legislator of the Jews. By him the Law was given. The office of explaining that Law among the Jews devolved on the scribes and Pharisees. In the synagogues they sat while expounding the Law, and rose when they read it. By “sitting in the seat of Moses” we are to understand authority to teach the Law; or, as he taught the nation by giving the Law, so they taught it by explaining it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 7 The Scribes. They, who professed the greatest zeal for…
The Scribes. They, who professed the greatest zeal for the law of Moses, and gloried in being the interpreters of it, sat upon the chair of Moses, succeeded to his authority of governing the people of God, of instructing them in his law, and of disclosing to them his will. Such, therefore, as did not depart from the letter of the law, were called Scribes. But such as professed something higher, and separated themselves from the crowd, as better than the ordinary class of men, were called Pharisees, which signifies, separated. (Origen) --- God preserveth the truth of the Christian religion in the apostolic See of Rome, which in the new law answers to the chair of Moses, notwithstanding the disedifying conduct of some few of its bishops. Yes, though a traitor, as vile as Judas himself, were a bishop thereof, it would not be prejudicial to the integrity of the faith of God’s Church, or to the ready obedience and perfect submission of sincere good Christians, for whom our Lord has made this provision, when he says: do that which they say, but do not as they do. (St. Augustine, Ep. clxv.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–7 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit--The Jewish teachers…
Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit--The Jewish teachers stood to read, but sat to expound the Scriptures, as will be seen by comparing Luk 4:16 with Mat 23:20.
in Moses' seat--that is, as interpreters of the law given by Moses.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–7 2. Sit in Moses’ seat — By being the…
2. Sit in Moses’ seat — By being the transcribers, readers, and teachers of Moses’ words. The seat or cathedra was also used by Grecian philosophers in lecturing, who were thence called cathedrarii. The synagogue expounders stood while reading the very words of the law, but sat while expounding it. These scribes and Pharisees were in no way the successors of Moses by ordination or lineal descent. They had not, any more than the Sadducees or Herodians, a regular organic office. Their seat was not an apostolic throne, an episcopal see, or any successional position whatever. All they had was a reading desk and chair, from which, as from Moses himself, the words of Moses could come forth. The Greek word for sit signifies, have seated themselves.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 7 2. sit in Moses’ seat] i. e. succeed him…
2. sit in Moses’ seat] i. e. succeed him as teachers. For sitting as the posture of a teacher cp. ch. Mat_5:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–7 (2) The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’…
(2) The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.—The words were probably spoken of their collective action as represented in the Sanhedrin, rather than of their individual work as interpreters of the Law. As such, they claimed to be the authoritative exponents of the Law, and our Lord recognises (unless we suppose a latent protest in His words, like that which is veiled in the “full well ye reject” of Mar_7:9) their official claim to reverence.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7 Vers. 2-12. The moral character of the scribes and…
Vers. 2-12. The moral character of the scribes and Pharisees, and warning to Christ"s disciples.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses" seat. In the seat of the great judge and lawgiver. This is stated as an undoubted fact (ekayisan), with no idea of blame attached. Literally, sat on the seat of Moses from time immemorial. These (meaning not individuals, but the collective body) are the authorized expounders and teachers of the Law; their position is assured; they are not to be displaced. The scribes were the party chiefly denoted; they were of the Pharisaical sect; hence the addition, "and the Pharisees," by which is intimated, not that these latter, qua Pharisees, had any teaching office, but that the former shared their religious opinions. The Sadducees seem to have had no popular influence, and were never recognized as leaders. The Levitical priests never appear in the Gospels as teachers or expositors of the Mosaic system; this function of theirs had devolved upon scribes and lawyers.
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HOMILIES BY MARCUS DODS Vers. 2-33. Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Pharisees first appear under this name in Jewish history about the year B.C. 160. There had been Separatists, or Puritans, as far back as the Captivity, but it was alter the return to Palestine that events gave an impulse to the Separatist idea so strong as to consolidate what might otherwise have remained a tendency. The Jews had learned the value of commerce, and it was found impossible, in dealing with foreign merchants, to observe the minute regulations prescribed by the more zealous. The minority, who even pretended to this, were obliged to become Separatists, not only from the Gentiles, but from their own less scrupulous coreligionists. Hence their frequent connection with the scribes. There had always been scribes in Israel, men who could draw state or legal documents. But after the influence of Ezra had stimulated, if it had not created, a desire to know the Law, synagogues were to be found in every town. And a synagogue implied a copy of the Law and a person who could read it. The scribes therefore necessarily became a profession, with just such a curriculum for pupils and candidates as distinguish professions among ourselves. It was inevitable that they should acquire great influence among the people. For in their best days they were the guardians of the Law, and strove unceasingly to make it supreme over every act of every person. Not only did the scribe discharge all the functions of a modern lawyer, but he was appealed to in all circumstances where the application of the law might seem obscure. They were both the makers of the law and its administrators, and they did not scruple, sitting apart; from active life, to enforce on men engaged in it all the wire drawn and fantastic distinctions which their minds, imbecile with attention to the letter of the Law and with unpractical pedantry, could contrive. It was this inconsiderate exercise of their authority which provoked our Lord"s rebuke. But burdensome as was the teaching of the scribes, two causes operated to make them the most popular members of the community.
1. To them was committed the key of the kingdom of heaven; they had power to bind and loose they alone could give a man assurance that he had actually attained to the righteousness required by the Law.
2. The people were at one with them in their grand aim to give the Law absolute sway over the life of every Jew. The Pharisees who did live as the scribes enjoined, were in the eyes of the people the true Israel, the pattern Jews. The scribes and Pharisees, then, though not identical, were closely related, so closely that our Lord subjects them to one common rebuke. The Zealots, who repudiated any king but Jehovah, and refused to pay tribute to Caesar, were the natural result of Pharisaic teaching. And indeed the Pharisees did themselves refuse to swear allegiance to Herod. They may be looked on, therefore, as the national party. Their influence was not solely and throughout evil, for to them and to the scribes was due the knowledge of the Law to which our Lord so often appealed. But the grave defects of their teaching, and its ruinous influences on the religious character, are so distinctly enounced in the Gospels that they need not be dwelt on. The origin of the Sadducees explains their position in the state. It is generally agreed that they take their name from Zadok, who was elevated to the high priesthood by Solomon. It was the same line which inherited the office after the Exile, and through all the changes in the Hebrew state the high priests maintained great influence, and in our Lord"s time we find them still sitting as presidents in the highest court, the Sanhedrin. Still, also, there were grouped round them the Sadducees! It was to this party that men of wealth, men in office, and men of pure priestly descent, attached themselves, although many of the priests leant more to the Pharisees. They lived in luxury, and their morality was not high. At the same time, whether from envy of the popularity of the Pharisees, or from common sense, they resisted the Pharisaic additions to the Law. Thus they refused to accept the doctrine of the resurrection, not being able to find it in the Books of Moses. They are rarely mentioned in the Gospels, because they were mostly in Jerusalem, and their ideas had found no acceptance with the people. From the leaven of Pharisaism, or ultra-legalism, three mischievous results follow.
3. The minute regulations which are extended to the whole of life leave no room for conscience to exercise itself, and accordingly it pines and dies. Minute observances obtain a magnified importance.
4. The bare performance of the duty enjoined is reckoned everything, while the state of heart is overlooked. We shall escape the leaven of the Pharisee if we learn to pay more attention to the heart than to the conduct; if we have so true a delight in pleasing the Lord that we do not consider what men think of us. The leaven of the Sadducees is perhaps even more certainly fatal to true religion. The Pharisee has sincerity, though it is quite superficial; he has zeal, though misdirected; but the Sadducee has neither. He is all for this world, and, save to forward him in it, religion is an encumbrance. His heart is not gladdened with any loving thoughts of God, nor his spirit refreshed by fellowship with the unseen world. If we escape these influences we shall do what few have done. For all men are under the temptation either to make too much of the observances of religion or to make them a mere form. Worldliness deadens a man"s spirit to spiritual impressions, and gradually saps his faith till he ceases to believe in anything but the palpable world with which he has now to do. On the other hand, if the leaven of the Pharisee prevails to the extent of making us fear God more than we love him, and do by constraint what we ought to do because we delight in it, we are in as unwholesome a state as the Sadducee we reprobate. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv2–7 2. The scribes and the Pharisees. Associated because almost…
2. The scribes and the Pharisees. Associated because almost all the scribes were of the sect of Pharisees. The scribes, the Jewish scholars, the theologians and lawyers, would naturally be of the religious sect. Sit in the Moses' seat. Are the expounders of the law of Moses.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 sit in
sit in
Cf. Ezr 7:6; Ezr 7:25; Ezr 7:26. Jesus’ disciples were to honour the law, but not the hypocritical teachers of it.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v5 Their passion for honor from men:
Their passion for honor from men:
v. 5. But all their works they do for to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
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v. 6. and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues,
v. 7. and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
In public, where they were before the eyes of the people, the Pharisees and scribes were models of piety and virtue. Their works, all their public acts, were done with that object in mind, for they were actors that performed beautifully. A few instances of such hypocritical behavior are given. God had commanded the Jews, Deu 6:8, that they should bind His words for a sign upon the hand and as frontlets between the eyes. This the Jewish leaders explained in the literal sense. Hence the phylacteries, or remembrancers, strips of vellum or parchment, about an inch wide and from twelve to eighteen inches long, on which were written Deu 11:13-21; Deu 6:4-9; Exo 13:11-16; Exo 13:1-10. These were placed in tiny chests or boxes, one of which was fastened to the forehead, for the intellect and mind, the other to the left arm, for the heart. The Pharisees made these remembrancers of the Law exceptionally large, either in the size of the parchment or of the letters in which the texts were written. In the same way the Pharisees exaggerated in the matter of the borders, tassels, or fringes on their garments, which the Jews wore according to Num 15:37-40, to remind them of the commandments of the Lord. They were fastened to the garments with blue ribbons, since blue was the symbolical color of God, of heaven, of His covenant, and of faithfulness. Verses from the Law were usually woven into these strips. In making these borders very wide and conspicuous, the scribes and Pharisees wanted to parade their zeal for the Law of God. In the same way they dearly loved, and always tried to get for themselves, the highest seat, the first sofa, the place of honor at a festive meal; they always chose the seat reserved for the elders in the synagogue; their vanity craved the formal address of the public teacher, when the lay people deferentially called them Rabbi. It was an inordinate, a sickening ambition.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 they bind heavy burdens that are difficult to carry,…
they bind heavy burdens that are difficult to carry, and then they put them on people's shoulders. But they themselves will not move a finger to carry them
Here "bind heavy burdens ... put them on people's shoulders" is a metaphor for the religious leaders making many difficult rules and making the people obey them. And "will not move a finger" is an idiom that means the religious leaders will not help the people. AT: "they make you obey many rules that are difficult to follow. But they do nothing at all to help the people follow the rules" (See: Metaphor and Idiom)
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They do all their deeds to be seen by people
This can be stated in active form. AT: "They do all their deeds so that people can see what they do" (See: Active or Passive)
For they make their phylacteries wide, and they enlarge the edges of their garments
Both of these are things the Pharisees do to appear as if they honor God more than other people. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
phylacteries
small leather boxes containing paper with scripture written on it
they enlarge the edges of their garments
The Pharisees made the tassels on the bottom of their robes especially long to show their devotion to God.
translationWords
bind
burden
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–7 23:2 the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the…
23:2 the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses: They transmitted the oral traditions that were associated with the law and thought to be from Moses, and they judged religious and social matters on the basis of these traditions (see 15:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.