View source for Matthew 23


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||[[File:matthew.jpg|center|thumb|[[Matthew]] was inspired to explain the [[kingdom of God]] to the Jews and the Parthians so that they might [[repent]] of the ways of error<Ref name="Errorbn">{{Errorbn}}</Ref> which were spots in their [[religion]].<Ref name="Spotsq">{{Spotsq}}</Ref> They needed to [[repent]] of systems of [[social welfare]] of the [[cities of blood]] and seek [[the way]] of His [[righteousness]]. All the nations of the [[world]] of [[Rome]] were using systems of [[force]] to provide a [[social safety net]] for their [[citizen]]s at the [[tables]] which were a [[snare|snare and a trap]] through their [[temples]] of [[paganism]], like [[Cain]], [[Nimrod]], and [[Pharaoh]] ''making the word of God to none effect'' with their ''means and method'' of [[corban]]. But the brethren of [[Christ]] are they who [[doeth]] the will of the [[Father]] in [[heaven]].]]
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| '''Comments''' 
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| '''V2''' <span style="color:red">'''[[scribe]]s and the [[Pharisees]] sit in Moses' seat: '''</span> Why was that important? Who was king? In [[Exodus 18]]:13 Moses sat iL jugsmennt of the people but turned much of that over to the people and the cities of refuge which was their appeals court and eventually the [[Sanhedrin]].
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|  What is the significance of that claim?<Br> The [[kingdom of God]] was designed with [[no king]] nor ruler and given a way to live together to remain free souls under God.
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|  The [[Pharisees]] as blind guides<Ref name="Blindlead'">{{Blindlead}}</Ref> had perverted the [[Torah]] so that what they said the scriptures were telling the people to do would [[Corban|make the word of God to none effect]]. What did they have wrong?
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|  V4 "bind<Ref name="desmeuo">{{1195}}</Ref> heavy burdens<Ref name="phortion">{{5413}}</Ref> and ''grievous  to be borne''<Ref name="dusbastaktos">{{1419}}</Ref> , and lay<Ref name="epitithemi">{{2007}}</Ref>  them on men's shoulders" This was done in part by the [[sophistry]] of their false interpretation of the scriptures. It was also due to their [[Corban]] which was a [[covetous practices|covetous practice]] establish through the [[consent]] and [[exercise authority|exercising authority]] of [[Herod]] which was making the people [[merchandise|human resources]] as [[One purse|One Purse]] and a [[city of blood]] because the people had an [[appetite]] for and took delight in the [[dainties]] of these rulers which are the [[wages of unrighteousness]].
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| V5 <span style="color:red">'''...to be seen of men: they make broad their [[phylactery|phylacteries]]'''</span> which are pieces of parchment containing sentences of the law put in a leather pouch strapped to the forehead with the leather thong wrapped around the arm to the hand. This was a symbolic ritual describing a form of [[meditation]] that had been unmoored from its meaning. See also enlarging the [[Fringe|borders of their garments]] or the need for [[breeches]], or removing [[leaven]].
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| 7 ''Rabbi'' meaning ''teacher'' is more often translated ''master''.
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| V8 <span style="color:red">for '''one is your Master'''</span> ''kathegetes''<ref name="kathegetes">{{2519}}</Ref> This wisdom is part of the teaching to not [[exercise authority]] one over the other<Ref name="exauth">{{exauth}}</Ref>, be not a [[person|respecter of persons]]<Ref name="respectq">{{respectq}}</Ref>, and he is to be greater is to be a servant<Ref name="serveth">{{serveth}}</Ref> which is repeated in '''verse 11'''.
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| '''V9''' <span style="color:red">call no man your '''[[father]]''' upon the earth: for one is your '''[[Father]]''', which is in heaven. </span> This is part of His teaching on the head of the Church, which the keys to are through revelation and not a [[flesh and blood]]. Every church should serve God by serving the people, not tickling the ears while delivering the people back into [[bondage]]. Yet, the [[His Holy Church]] is composed of [[flesh and blood]] souls led by the [[Holy Spirit]], in the [[world]] but not of it, who like the [[Levites]] who as [[joint heirs]] and belong to God.
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| '''V10, 11, 12'''  Verse 9 sits between the repeated statement <span style="color:red">"for '''one is your Master'''</span> ''kathegetes''<ref name="kathegetes">{{2519}}</Ref> All express the <Ref name="opheilo">{{3784}}</Ref>  is translated "ought" and is found in verses 16 and 18 but translated debtor and guilty.
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| '''First four woes''' <Br> 1. '''V13''' shut up the kingdom by a [[false religion|false key]].<Br>2. '''V14''' devour widows' homes because of inheritance taxes and property taxes. The same was true at the time of Christ. <Br>3. '''V15''' by consent a ''proselyte''<Ref name="proselutos">{{4339}}</Ref>, and when he is made a foreigner to the kingdom by [[covetous practices]] which is [[idolatry]] and [[bite |biting onr another]]<Br>4. '''V16...22''' blind guides when it comes to [[swear]]ing by the [[reserve fund]] of the temple with their offerings and gifts<Ref name="doron">{{1435}}</Ref> of [[Corban]] <Br>
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|  They were blind guides for they led the people away from the [[righteousness]] of [[The Way|God's Way]] which are [[freewill offerings]] to set the [[tables]] of [[welfare]] established by [[Moses]] for God and His people or what the New Testament calls [[charity]]. The [[table]] of the [[Pharisees]] was a [[snare]]. Jerusalem had become one of the [[cities of blood]] where the civil government called itself [[benefactors]] but [[exercise authority]]<Ref name="exauth">{{exauth}}</Ref> one over the other.
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| They applied to the civil government to obtain the [[dainties]] of their rulers and took [[oaths]] and made pledges creating [[the bands]] of authority that brought them back [[entangled]] in the [[yoke of bondage]].
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| '''Four more woes'''<Br> 5. '''23V''' They omitted the [[Weightier matters|weightier matters]] of the law, [[judgment]], [[mercy]], and [[faith]]: because their corban was not by charity but by force like [[foolishness]] of  [[King Saul]]'''V23''' The English word “[[duty]]”<Ref name="ought">{{1163}}</Ref> only appears a few times in the New Testament but the same Greek word is also translated “ought” which appears many times. And as I said “ought" is simply the auxiliary verb "used to express duty or moral obligation.
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| Another word "opheilo" is translated "ought" and is found in verses 16 and 18 but translated debtor and guilty.
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|  6. '''V25''' [[Psalms 109]]:11  The '''[[extortion]]er''' is a lenderlender<Ref name="nashah">{{05383}}</Ref> in [[Psalms 109]] and catches or en[[snare]]s<Ref name="naqash">{{05367}}</Ref> all that the [[wicked]] have and the strangers spoil his [[employ|labour]].<Br>7. '''V26''' they appear righteous unto men, but are dead and full of [[hypocrite|hypocrisy]]<Ref>{{5272}}</Ref> and [[iniquity]]<Ref>{{458}} </Ref><Br>8. ''' V27 - 33''' Ye are the children of them which killed the prophets...'''Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?'''
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| 35v [[John the Baptist]] was the son of someone who was literally one of the acting High priests of Judea, one [[Zacharias]]<Ref>{{2197}}</Ref> '''[[Origen#John Zachariah and murder|Origen]]''' suggested that the Zechariah mentioned in [[Matthew 23]]:35 may be the father of [[John the Baptist]].  Zechariah was killed by those under [[Herod]]'s order because he did not reveal the location of John and Elizabeth to them, according to the  [[Gospel of James]], but the text does not support the idea that it was the soldiers who killed him. Still others contradict even this report. 
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| It was certainly a time of corruption where they feared even Jesus going to Jerusalem and we also see this in the [[Gospel of James#Hid from the tumult|Gospel of James]] and in the history of the [[Sanhedrin]].
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| '''Questions'''
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| Do you have the [[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]] or the [[Corban of Christ]]? 
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|  Do you [[love]] one another through [[fervent charity]] or [[Bite]] one another with the teeth of your [[Benefactor]] who [[exercise authority]]<Ref name="exauth">{{exauth}}</Ref> according to the [[covetous practices]]<Ref name="jesuscovet">{{jesuscovet}}</Ref> which is [[idolatry]]?<Ref name="Isidolatry">{{Isidolatry}}</Ref>
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| Are you back in the [[bondage of Egypt]] because your [[appetite]] for the [[dainties]] at the [[tables]] of [[rulers]] which should have been for your [[welfare]] but was a [[snare]]?<Ref name="snaretrap">{{snaretrap}}</Ref>
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| Do you want to [[repent]] and [[seek]] the [[kingdom of 
God]] and His [[righteousness]] or place your [[hope]] in the [[wages of unrighteousness]]?
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| *
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== Eight Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees ==

[1] Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his [[disciples]],

[2] Saying, <span style="color:red">'''The [[scribe]]s and the [[Pharisees]] sit in [[Moses]]' seat: '''</span>

[3] <span style="color:red">'''All therefore whatsoever they bid<Ref name="epo">{{2036}}</Ref> you observe, that observe<Ref name="tereo">{{5083}}</Ref>  and do; but do not ye after their works<Ref name="ergon">{{2041}}</Ref>:<Ref>Jesus is talking about us doing something different than the Pharisees. Were they [[Workers of iniquity]]?</Ref> for they say, and do not.'''</span> 

=== They bind burdens ===

[4] <span style="color:red">'''For they bind<Ref name="desmeuo">{{1195}}</Ref>  heavy burdens<Ref name="phortion">{{5413}}</Ref>  and grievous  to be borne<Ref name="dusbastaktos">{{1419}}</Ref> , and lay<Ref name="epitithemi">{{2007}}</Ref>  them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.'''</span><Ref>[[Pharisees]] were the government of Judea and [[Religion]] was they way they operated the [[welfare]] system of the day through their [[Corban]].</Ref> 

[5] <span style="color:red">'''But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their [[phylactery|phylacteries]]<Ref name="phylacteries">[[phylactery]]: pieces of parchment containing sentences of the law put in a leather pouch strapped to the forehead with the leather thong wrapped around the arm to the hand.</Ref>, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 

[6] <span style="color:red">'''And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats<Ref name="protokathedria">{{4410}}</Ref>  in the [[synagogues]], '''</span>

[7] <span style="color:red">'''And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, [[Rabbi]], Rabbi.'''</span><Ref name="Rabbi">{{4461}}</Ref> 

[8] <span style="color:red">'''But be not ye called [[Rabbi]]<ref name=Rabbi></Ref>: for one is your Master<ref name="kathegetes">{{2519}}</Ref>, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.'''</span>


== Call No man father ==


[9] <span style="color:red">'''And call no man your [[father]] upon the earth: for one is your [[Father]], which is in heaven. '''</span>

[10] <span style="color:red">''' Neither be ye called masters<ref name="kathegetes"></Ref>: for one is your Master<ref name="kathegetes"></Ref>, even Christ. '''</span>

[11]  <span style="color:red">'''But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.'''</span><Ref name="firstlast">{{firstlast}}</Ref>

[12]  <span style="color:red">'''And whosoever shall exalt<Ref> {{5312}}</Ref> himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.'''</span><Ref name="firstlast">{{firstlast}}</Ref>

=== First four woes ===

[13] <span style="color:red">'''But woe unto you, scribes and [[Pharisees]], [[hypocrites]]<ref name="hypocrites">{{5273}}</Ref>! for ye shut up the [[kingdom of heaven]]<Ref>The [[Kingdom of God]] and the [[Kingdom of Heaven]] are the same.</Ref> against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. '''</span>

[14] <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, scribes and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.'''</span>

[15] <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, scribes and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte<Ref name="proselutos">{{4339}}</Ref>, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. '''</span>

[16] <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, ye blind guides,<Ref name="Blindlead'">{{Blindlead}}</Ref> which say, Whosoever shall [[swear]] by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall [[swear]] by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! '''</span><Ref name="opheilo">{{3784}}</Ref> 

=== Blind fools ===

[17] <span style="color:red">'''Ye [[fool]]s and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?'''</span>

[18]  <span style="color:red">'''And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.'''</span><Ref name="opheilo"></Ref> 

[19] <span style="color:red">'''Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?'''</span> 

[20] <span style="color:red">'''Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. '''</span>

[21] <span style="color:red">'''And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. '''</span>

[22]  <span style="color:red">'''And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.'''</span>

=== Four more woes ===

[23]  <span style="color:red">'''Woe unto you, [[scribe]]s and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! for ye pay [[tithe]] of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the [[Weightier matters|weightier matters]] of the law, [[judgment]], [[mercy]], and [[faith]]: these ought<Ref name="ought">{{1163}}</Ref> ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 

[24] Ye blind guides,<Ref name="Blindlead'">{{Blindlead}}</Ref> which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.'''</span>

[25]  <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, [[scribe]]s and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of [[extortion]] and excess. [26] Thou blind [[Pharisee]], cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.'''</span>

[27]  <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, scribes and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. [28] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy<Ref>{{5272}}</Ref> and [[iniquity]]<Ref>{{458}} </Ref>.'''</span>

[29]  <span style="color:red">'''<u>Woe unto you</u>, scribes and [[Pharisees]], hypocrites<ref name="hypocrites"></Ref>! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the [[righteous]], '''</span>

[30] <span style="color:red">'''And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the [[prophets]]. '''</span>

[31] <span style="color:red">'''Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. '''</span>

[32] <span style="color:red">'''Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.'''</span>

== Generation of vipers ==

[33]  <span style="color:red">'''Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?'''</span>

[34] <span style="color:red">'''Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your [[synagogue]]s, and persecute them from city to city: '''</span>

[35] <span style="color:red">'''That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of [[Zacharias]] son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. '''</span>

[36] <span style="color:red">'''Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. '''</span>

== Lament over Jerusalem ==

[37] <span style="color:red">'''O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! '''</span>

[38] <span style="color:red">'''Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. '''</span>

[39] <span style="color:red">'''For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.'''</span>
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== Footnotes ==

<references />

[[Category:Matthew]]