Matthew 23


Matthew 23 is the twenty-third chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible and consists almost entirely of the accusations of Jesus against the Pharisees. The chapter is also known as the "Seven Woes" or Woes of the Pharisees. In this chapter, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hypocrisy.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 39 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This concentrated attack on the Jewish religious authorities is only included in the Gospel of Matthew, showing Jesus as a fierce controversialist concerning the important cause to contrast the values of the kingdom of heaven and the superficial approach to religion.

The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced (23:13–36)

When the previous part was directed to the crowd and disciples, this part addresses the scribes and Pharisees, in the form of 'Seven Woes' as a powerful climax to repudiate their leadership.

Verse 13

Some manuscripts add here verse 14: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.
The phase "enter the kingdom of heaven" appears three other times in the Gospel, at,, and.

Verse 36

"These things" in the Greek texts are ταῦτα πάντα in the Textus Receptus and critical Westcott-Hort text but Heinrich Meyer notes that the reversed reading, πάντα ταῦτα, is also "well attested".

The Fate of Jerusalem (23:37–39)

This last part acts as the inevitable conclusion of the hypocrisy of the leaders to the total guilt of Israel in its rejection of God's messenger: Jerusalem has rejected the call of God's last and greatest messenger and will receive judgment for it.

Verse 39

Citing Psalm 118:26, echoing Matthew 21:19.

Other Gospels

Luke 11:37-54 parallels Matthew 23, but Luke's version has six, not seven, accusations, and is thus known as the "Six Woes". Luke's version is also shorter than Matthew's. Luke 13:34-35 parallels Jesus' lament over Jerusalem in #The Fate of Jerusalem |verses 37-39.

Citations