Dr Paul Allen

Illuminated Manuscript, Gospels of Freising, Evangelist Portrait of Matthew, Walters Art Museum Ms. W.4, fol. 33v (Photo credit: Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts ) “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” ( Matthew 23:25 ) Three of the eight “woes” in Matthew 23 deal with a particular aspect of spiritual cleanliness . This one seems to emphasize personal cleanliness. The next verse amplifies the thought: “Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” ( Matthew 23:26 ). The emphasis is on the internal heart. The biblical principle is very clear. If our hearts are not right, our lives will not be righteous. If what is “inside” is not clean, the “outside” will never be clean. Perhaps a list of the more obvious Bible references will help refocus our commitment. “Keep thy heart w

Dispute of Jesus and the Pharisees over tribute money (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” ( Matthew 23:13 ) Our Lord Jesus pronounced eight “woes” in Matthew 23 on the religious leaders of His day. This one condemns them for refusing the liberty that Christ was bringing with the new covenant. The first “formal” message that Jesus preached was taken from the great prophecy in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” ( Luke 4:18 ). Later, the apostle Paul noted that “before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (

Deutsch: Christus im Hause des Pharisäers, Jacopo Tintoretto, Escorial (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:1–4 “The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses ’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you — but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice” ( vv. 2–3 ). Since most Jews esteem the Pharisees, Jesus knows that the crowds face spiritual peril if they follow these teachers in their actions. He therefore continues to confront the Pharisees after poking holes in their understanding of Psalm 110 ( Matt. 22:41–45 ). Seeing that the people are hanging upon His every word ( v. 46 ), Jesus begins warning them to steer clear of Pharisaic hypocrisy. Christ actually had more in common with the Pharisees than any other first-century Jews, and He does not condemn all they hold dear in Matthew 23 . Like Jesus, the Pharisees affirmed the existence of angels, the resurrection, and they taught from the full Old Testament canon . Furthermore, Matthew 23 does not rebuk