Matthew 23:13, commentary and pictures

Christ's woe pronounces guilt and coming judgment on the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites because they shut the kingdom of heaven against men, neither entering themselves nor suffering those who were entering to go in. The kingdom they barred is opened by the key of knowledge, which is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent as eternal life, an inward divine life essential to true holiness that is unlocked in the Scriptures. They took away that key by distorting and falsely interpreting Scripture and Christ's words, fixing attention on outward forms and endless religious services while enslaving minds to tradition, deception, and fear of exclusion from the synagogue. This was not excusable ignorance but willful blindness from selfish ambition for wealth, honor and position, with outward zeal concealing jealousy, pride, hatred and love of the world, so Christ exposed them in fearless, scathing words of righteous indignation joined with love and mercy. The same woe falls just as surely on priests, ministers, teachers and all in responsibility today who assume authority over conscience, falsely interpret God's word and hinder seekers and God's messengers, and they are accountable for the souls they turn away unless they repent.

Words and Setting

The woe pronounces guilt and coming judgment on the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites because they shut the kingdom of heaven against men, neither going in themselves nor permitting those who were entering to go in. Their refusal to enter and their hindrance of seekers bore terrible guilt, for by teaching and example they rejected the salvation brought to them and kept others from it. This was not excusable ignorance, since selfish motives and ambition for wealth and honor with attachment to old customs led them to close their eyes to light and oppose gospel reform. Reverence for tradition and blind faith in a corrupt priesthood enslaved the people, and the leaders obstructed the way of life by distorting words spoken to give life, falsely interpreting Scripture, making God's law ineffective in practice, and leading people away from truth. They also used deception, false reports and misrepresentation to turn others against the truth, so the warning reaches all who follow that example, including ministers who turn people from truth to fables and malign those who teach it.

The exposure took place openly, with authority and fearless denunciation of the Jewish religious leaders and their hypocrisy. It was on the last day in the temple courts, in the very setting where they taught human commandments as doctrine and practiced dishonesty. The severity of the rebuke revealed true greatness and the purity of the teaching set against theirs.

The kingdom is opened by the key of knowledge, which is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, as eternal life for all who believe. The rabbis and teachers took away this key that should have unlocked the wisdom of the Old Testament Scriptures. By doing so they shut the kingdom against the poor, the afflicted and the ignorant, barring them and leaving them to perish. Against that barring stands the purpose to proclaim the gospel to all people, learned and unlearned, rich and poor.

What was shut out was entrance into a kingdom whose nature includes inward divine life essential to true holiness. By distorting and twisting Scripture the leaders blinded those who might otherwise have learned that nature. Their endless religious forms fixed attention on outward services while true religion was neglected, so people could not recognize the kingdom set before them.

How They Barred Entry

The barring of entry was done by distorting, twisting and falsely interpreting Scripture and Christ's words, so that people could not recognize the nature of Christ's kingdom and the inward divine life essential to true holiness. That false teaching and misinterpretation led people away from truth and made God's law ineffective in practice. Reverence for tradition and blind faith in a corrupt priesthood enslaved the people, and the guilt lay in refusing to enter while hindering those who were trying to enter and thirsting for life. Endless religious forms fixed attention on outward services while true religion was neglected.

Enslavement came through customs, traditions and unquestioning trust in a corrupt priesthood that kept people from truth. It was maintained by repeating tradition after tradition and long-spun theories and talk of Abraham, by those who supposed control was in their own hands because of position and authority and felt no need of gospel reform. Human traditions and false teaching thus perverted Christ's words, so that leaders neither entered themselves nor allowed those who were coming to enter, bringing judgment for rejecting mercy and resisting truth.

Deception was another bar, for leaders who rejected Christ used false reports and misrepresentation to turn others against Him and the truth, neither entering themselves nor letting seekers enter. They sought in every way to destroy the force of truth and to eclipse God's light from the view of the people, while professing under garb of religion to be representatives of God even while committing gross transgressions and stirring with enmity to put Him out of the way. Coercion joined deception, for they shut the kingdom against those who would enter by threatening to denounce them and turn them out of the synagogue. Pushing and crowding people out of the church repeats the same hypocrisy of self-righteous leaders whose outward zeal and religious show cannot hide hearts ruled by jealousy, hatred and malice, and it can lead to loss of souls.

They stood between seekers and truth as false interpreters of God's word, quieting concern and fears about salvation and obstructing acceptance of the message. In doing so they refused to enter themselves while hindering those beginning to enter, and became accountable for the souls they hindered. Closing people off from light repeats that conduct, for rejecting the light God sends and trying to keep it from reaching others leads people to mistake truth for error and turn away from entering. Hindering the advancement of Christ's kingdom by standing in the way of God's messengers kept people from receiving the gospel and entering, and the same obstruction continues through envy, jealousy, distrust and refusal to cooperate.

Motives and Spiritual Blindness

Their shutting of the kingdom was not excusable ignorance, for selfish and corrupt motives led them to close their eyes to the light, reject the salvation brought to them, and oppose gospel reform. Ambition for wealth, honor, position and status, together with attachment to old customs, kept them from entering themselves while their teaching and example kept others from entering. The same condemnation rests on all who claim to represent Christ yet deny Him by life, reject the light of truth and despise mercy through selfishness and love of wealth and worldly honor.

Outward zeal, pretended godliness and religious show concealed hearts overflowing with deceit and iniquity. Those hearts were ruled by jealousy, hatred, malice, pride, envy, selfishness and love of the world, without humility, mercy and love. Seeking status and authority and striving to be first and to rule over others, they appeared zealous for God while remaining unsubdued, unsanctified, unhumbled and proud, and by their example and treatment of others drove souls away to their loss.

They were so spiritually blinded that they could not discern the relative importance of what they should understand. That blindness showed itself in neglecting justice, mercy and love for God and giving no practical evidence of love for the brethren, while being very scrupulous about little matters. They made a man an offender for a word, dealt unjustly, tampered with conscience by subtle reasoning and imaginary distinctions between degrees of guilt, lightly passing over very serious wrongs while severely condemning lesser wrongs.

Practicing iniquity under a cloak of godliness brings especially heavy retribution. Christ hates all vain pretense, and His severe and burning denunciations fall heavily upon all hypocrisy, self-deception and cherishing of sin. There is more hope for an open sinner than for a hypocrite, for even the chief of sinners who comes in penitence with a sense of sinfulness is treated with tenderness and accepted, while the pretender who persists in evil while professing godliness faces judgment.

Christ's Fearless Denunciation

His denunciation laid bare the real condition, corrupt character and terrible guilt of the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites who shut the kingdom of heaven against men. They neither entered themselves nor allowed those who were entering and thirsting for life to go in, but obstructed the way of life by distorting Christ's words, by human traditions and false and corrupt teaching that led away from truth. Their reverence for tradition and blind faith in a corrupt priesthood enslaved the people, and He sought to break those chains and expose the rulers so that Israel's hope of receiving and obeying the light He brought would not be lost. Those condemned made great pretensions and presented themselves as having superior knowledge, yet they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God, worshiping in vain while teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. To pervert His words and hinder souls from entering through such traditions was guilt that, if mercy was rejected and truth resisted, would bring judgment.

He spoke openly in the temple courts where human commandments were taught as doctrine, speaking with authority and fearlessly denouncing and condemning the hypocrisy and dishonest practices of the Jewish religious leaders. His words were keen, searching, scathing and burning earnestness with terrible severity against hypocrisy, self-deception, iniquity cloaked by godliness, and the abominations He saw in the church and in the world. An open sinner has more hope than one who practices iniquity under a cloak of godliness, for religious hypocrisy is the greater danger. He would not allow the people to be deceived by false claims to righteousness and sanctity.

His rebuke was righteous indignation against grave sins hateful to God, in which love and mercy were joined with indignation against wrongdoing. It was not retaliation or unholy anger, and not spoken with irritated temper, unkindness or discourtesy.

He rebuked those who took high religious titles to themselves as hypocrites who neither enter the kingdom nor permit others who would enter to go in. True highest honor is humility learned from Him who was most exalted among men and angels yet meek and lowly of heart. No fallible, sinful man should be called by a title such as reverend, which belongs to God alone.

His messages in Matthew 23:13-36 warned against an exacting and intolerant spirit and against rejecting the Lord's reproof, and those who persist in that path face judgment. They warned against cherishing sin while emphasizing mercy and passing over His judgments against sin and sinners.

Warning for Later Generations

Christ's denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees and His warning not to follow blind leaders was recorded as an admonition for future generations. The reason is that assuming authority over conscience and exalting human authority to rule the conscience would continue as a curse afflicting the church in every age. Religious leaders who claim such authority obstruct people from entering God's kingdom, for they neither enter themselves nor allow those entering to go in. They bar the way by rejecting clear evidence about Christ and turning others away from the truth.

The same woe pronounced upon the Pharisees is a scathing rebuke upon priests and rulers for impenitence and opposition to truth and righteousness. That woe falls just as surely on priests, rulers, and all in positions of responsibility today who do a like work unless they repent. It comes through misrepresenting Christ's righteousness, spiritual blindness, an overbearing and imperious spirit, lack of principle, and dimmed spiritual eyesight that neglects God's great and sacred work. It belongs to those not actuated by right principles who reveal no justice, mercy and love of God and give no practical evidence of love for the brethren, who are scrupulous about little matters and make a man an offender for a word yet deal unjustly with the Lord's heritage, tamper with conscience, make imaginary distinctions between degrees of guilt by subtle reasoning, lightly pass over very serious wrongs while severely condemning lesser wrongs, and cherish and work false principles, for righteousness exalts a nation and sin brings it to ruin, as true of individuals as of nations.

The warning applies to ministers who turn people from truth to fables and malign those who teach it, using deception, false reports and misrepresentation to turn others against Christ and the truth. It applies to those who seek status and appear zealous for God while acting without humility, mercy and love, so that by example and treatment of others they shut people out of heaven and cause loss of souls. It applies to the self-righteous who seek to be first in everything and love the best places at feasts and in worship, whose outward zeal and religious practice conceal proud, unsubdued, unsanctified, unhumbled hearts open to envy, jealousy, hatred and malice, while they neglect justice, mercy and love for God. Striving for status and ruling over others in this way drives souls away and causes their loss. Christian Pharisaism repeats this obstruction when rigid, restrictive practices or the exercise of kingly power hinder rather than advance God's work and confine the spread of present truth. Like the Pharisees, popular ministers oppose the message when people question their authority, denouncing it as Satan's work and stirring others to revile and persecute its messengers.

Those who hinder in this way are accountable for the souls they hinder. They stand between seekers and the truth by falsely interpreting God's word and quieting concern about salvation, refusing the kingdom themselves and obstructing acceptance of the message by those beginning to enter. The priests in Jesus' day had turned lawful authority to unlawful ends. A pharisaical spirit still separates people from the Bible standard, while human inventions and plans eclipse sacred things and exclude divine instruction, and those who assume authority over others without God's sanction exercise a corrupting influence rather than the spirit of Christ.

Call to Present Faithfulness

Neglecting granted light and joining in the world's works leaves people in darkness and in a more unfavorable, even worse position than the Jews on whom the woe was pronounced. Darkness comes from neglect to improve light and opportunities granted, so that professing to have light far in advance of others while works do not correspond with profession leaves men and women in darkness. Christ hates all vain pretense and his denunciations fall heavily upon all hypocrisy, while he treats the penitent with tenderness even when they have been the chief of sinners. Those who have spent life in sin in the darkness of error but gladly accept truth when opened to their understanding, and come to God in penitence with a sense of sinfulness, are accepted by him and are in a more favorable position for the perfection of Christian character than are those who have had great light and have failed to improve upon it.

Refusing to repent and yield pride can shut a person out of the kingdom of heaven, especially when wrongdoing is concealed and truth is turned from, while confession and forsaking of sin offer hope of mercy. Those who have entered the kingdom must not bar the way for people who want to leave error and come to Christ, for opposing the truth and its call to Christ repeats the obstruction of leaders who refuse to enter themselves and prevent others from entering. The Pharisees hindered the advancement of Christ's kingdom by standing in the way of God's messengers while he was among them, and their opposition kept people from receiving the gospel and entering the kingdom of heaven. In the same way, people who obstruct God's work by envy, jealousy, distrust, and refusing to cooperate stand in the way of others who might otherwise be reached.

Christ denounced with burning earnestness and words of terrible severity the abominations he saw in the church and in the world, and would not allow the people to be deceived by false claims to righteousness and sanctity. His example means those who follow him must stand where no binding influence holds them speechless when they hear wrong sentiments expressed. They must exercise God-given manhood with freedom of speech and freedom of faith, refusing to be cowered into silence by a masterful spirit. When they hear wrong sentiments and false statements they must not harmonize with them or listen without protest or verify statements they know are not true, but must speak out in protest and correction.

Those in sacred positions of trust must reform their characters, because people judge Christ by the mercy, tenderness, patience, and love they see in his professed representatives. Character and conduct that repeat the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees deserve the same judgment pronounced in the denunciation extending through Matthew 23:13-36.