Matthew 23:5, commentary and pictures

Spoken in the temple in His final day of teaching to His disciples against the scribes and Pharisees, Christ exposed that all their religious works were done to be seen of men, making broad their strips of parchment bearing Scripture worn on forehead and arm and enlarging the borders of their garments into conspicuous badges to gain notice, admiration and reverence. What God had commanded as a blue ribbon on the borders and His words as a sign on the hand and frontlets between the eyes was meant as an inward reminder of duty to love God supremely and the neighbor as self, shaping the mind and heart to appear in honest, kind and merciful actions rather than in mere visible display. Their exactness in forms and show of piety, prayer, almsgiving and zeal sought honor for self and not obedience to God, while their lives opposed the law they taught in selfishness, hard-heartedness, exploitation of the poor, and neglect of its weightier principles of mercy, humility and love. Christ was not awed by such pretension but rebuked it with lessons of humility, compassion and love, for vanity and pride seeking fame from men bring only an earthly reward and are abhorrent to God, while the humble and contrite are heard in heaven. The denunciation was recorded as an admonition to future generations not to follow blind leaders or rest in formal outward religion, for office does not make men infallible and true reform must begin in the heart, and the same woe falls on later conspicuous religious dress and the Pharisaic spirit of pride and rule over conscience.

Words and Historical Setting

Christ spoke these words in the temple on His final day of teaching, addressing the scribes and Pharisees in the hearing of His disciples as part of His woes and denunciation of the Pharisees.

The phylacteries were strips of parchment bearing portions of Scripture, worn on the forehead and head and on the wrists and arms, and the borders of the garments were enlarged for display. Making them broad and conspicuous turned them into badges worn to gain notice, admiration, reverence, and regard as devout. Strict observance of such outward forms lacked spiritual life and devotion, leaving no room for transforming truth and covering lack of true godliness.

God had commanded Israel to put a blue ribbon bearing words of the law on the borders of their garments as a reminder of duty to keep His commandments. That reminder called them to love God supremely and the neighbor as self, embracing duty to God and to neighbor. They made these displays more prominent and added words to what God specified even as their words, actions, and lives moved farther from the law, departed from purity and obedience, and opposed the law.

The command to keep God's words as a sign on the hand and as frontlets between the eyes was meant to shape the mind and heart inwardly and be shown in righteous, kind, and merciful actions. The hands were to reflect honest and merciful conduct, and the eyes and countenance were to show a life guided by God's word. Wearing Scripture visibly did not give God's law a deeper hold on mind or heart, and without letting it transform the life the signs became badges of showy devotion serving desire for public admiration and honor.

The leaders addressed were stern, bearded men in ornate and costly robes, with distinctive head coverings and long robes, impressive clothing, and lofty manners. Their love of prominent places at feasts and in synagogues revealed desire for status rather than sincere godliness. Praying at length in public and on street corners and giving alms to be seen, with concern for outward appearance taking precedence over purity of character and holiness of life, showed the same concern for outward appearance and status.

Hypocrisy Exposed and Rebuked

All their works, every good deed and religious work and ceremony and every show of zeal, were done to be seen of men, not to obey and honor God but to gain a name and esteem for self. The aim was to win notice and approval and respect and honor and admiration and reverence, and to make others think them pious and holy and devoted. They made their devotion conspicuous by broadening their phylacteries and enlarging the borders of their garments, turning visible signs of religion into badges to draw eyes to their piety, and the same love of status appeared in their love of prominent places at feasts and in synagogues. This description also fits later conspicuous religious dress and deference, as with State Church priests' clerical robes receiving public reverence as the ancient rabbis did.

Their outward display of devotion and sanctity and exactness in forms stood in sharp contrast to their conduct and character, for their lives opposed the law and did not reflect purity and holiness and obedience. While professing to obey they refused real obedience, and did not live or do the truth they taught, for the signs that should have shaped heart and life into righteous and kind and merciful actions became mere badges of showy devotion serving desire for public admiration and honor. They claimed lives wholly given to religion yet joined religion with exploitation of widows and the poor and selfish use of offerings, with hypocrisy and hard-heartedness and selfishness and lack of humility and charity and mercy and love for God. God had commanded a blue ribbon bearing words of the law on the garment borders as a reminder of duty to keep His commandments and to love God supremely and neighbor as self, with duty to God and neighbor, but they made these displays more prominent and added words to what He specified even as their words and actions moved farther from the law.

They were spiritually blinded so they could not discern the relative importance of what they needed to understand, neglecting the weightier matters and principles of the law for matters of lesser importance. Their strict observance of outward forms lacked spiritual life and devotion, and their self-righteous attachment to forms left no room for transforming truth. Driven by spiritual pride, this outward appearance of piety violated both the spirit and the letter of the law, covering lack of true godliness and making religion a burden of rituals and restrictions rather than a true representation of God.

Christ was not awed by these pretensions and gave them no word of approval or flattery, but rebuked them with lessons of humility and compassion and love. Seeking fame and honor from men, as in wearing long robes and standing praying on street corners and displaying religion to win public admiration, brought only an earthly reward and not the happiness or salvation He taught. All such vanity and pride from self-righteousness and selfishness are abhorrent to God, while it is the humble and contrite whose prayers are heard in heaven. Their visible religious symbols did not keep them from being ignorant that the time for the Messiah to appear had come.

Warning for Later Generations

Matthew 23:5 belongs to Christ's denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees and to His warning against following blind leaders. That warning confronts their undue assumption of authority and was recorded as an admonition to future generations against allowing human authority to rule the conscience. As in Jesus' day, religious leaders can misuse legitimate authority for wrongful ends, and their office does not make their conduct or commands infallible. When clerical authority conflicts with Scripture, Scripture understood by the mind must govern conscience.

The broadening of phylacteries and enlarging of garment borders describes enlarging visible signs of religious dress to win notice and reverence, as the ancient rabbis did. The same description applies to conspicuous clerical robes and the public deference received by State Church priests. Were Christ upon the earth today, priests and rulers would hear the same scathing rebukes and woes pronounced upon them for impenitence and opposition to truth and righteousness. For the Pharisaic spirit still appears in pride, contentiousness, and the desire to rule others, departing from the Bible standard and from humility learned at Jesus' feet.

The verse warns against performing religious acts to win people's notice while appearing devout and righteous outwardly with heart and motives remaining wrong. True reform must begin in the heart, not in a show made for others. Broadened phylacteries were part of a conspicuous, formal display of religion rather than heartfelt faith, coexisting with exploiting the poor. That outward show of righteousness belonged to a formal religion of rites and ceremonies, seen also in praying at length in public and giving alms to be seen, where visible religious practice did not mean heartfelt faith.