Mateus 23
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 23
Phillips - The Lord was not denouncing Israel's mission to mankind. It was Israel's destiny to witness to the world about the true and living God; and that will be Israel's mission in the millennium. Jesus was denouncing proselytizing people to Pharisaic, rabbinic Judaism. Louis Barbieri - The problem with this was that by their actions they were condemning many individuals to eternal damnation. By imposing external restrictions of Rabbinic traditions on their converts, they were preventing these people from seeing the truth. (See Bible Knowledge Commentary - Page 74) C H Spurgeon (Matthew Commentary) - The “woe” related to the unholy zeal of the scribes and Pharisees in gaining adherents to Judaism and their own party, and by the process making them even worse than themselves. They freely gave time and trouble to the work with the prospect of a very slight return: “Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte. ” They would, as it were, drag the Great Sea with a seine net in the hope of entangling one proselyte in its meshes; or they would go over all the land in order to persuade one Gentile to be circumcised so as to become “a Jew outwardly.” The result to the proselyte was only evil: “When he is made, ye make him two fold: more the child of hell than yourselves. ” Perverts usually become bigots. The proselyte would naturally imitate the vices of his hypocritical teachers, without having that knowledge of the Scriptures which might to some extent exercise a wholesome restraint upon them. The circumcised heathen would be a Judas rather than a Jew, a veritable “son of perdition.” NET NOTE - Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (huios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.” The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5–6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36). Proselyte (4339) proselutos from proserchomai to come near to join) describes one who has approached or drawn near-- a stranger, foreigner, one who comes from his own people to another. A proselyte is a convert to a cause. “A newcomer,” “a convert,” or “one who has come over” (to a new faith or way of life) The word proselutos is used in the Septuagint to signify "a stranger" or "sojourner" (Exodus 12:48, 49, etc.), and at this time was applied to a convert to Judaism (Acts 2:10; 6:5), whether circumcised, "a proselyte of righteousness;" or uncircumcised, "a proselyte of the gate." In the NT proselutos is a technical term for a Gentile who has come over into Judaism (circumcision, baptism, sacrifice) usually won over from paganism through Jewish missionary efforts and then by submitting to c circumcision (males), self-baptism before witnesses (The Talmud adds that Gentile conversion must be supervised by three Jews - The Talmud of Babylonia) and offering of a sacrifice. The first use of proselutos is by Jesus describing Jewish "missionaries" who traveled far "to make one proselyte and when he becomes one, (he is made) twice as much a son of hell as" the Jewish missionary. (Mt 23:15). In their zeal to make converts one of the places the Jewish missionaries had visited was Rome. Zodhiates says that "such zeal being so remarkable at that time that it became proverbial among the Romans." Luke also describes Jewish proselytes from Antioch. Some of the proselytes in Palestine in the day of Christ were the centurion (Mt. 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10), who was an officer in the army of Herod Antipas, the Greeks who were going up to worship at the Passover (Jn 12:20), and possibly (evidence only circumstantial) Pilate's wife (Mt 27:19). PROSELUTOS- 4x/4v - Mt. 23:15; Acts 2:10; Acts 6:5; Acts 13:43 PROSELUTOS IN THE SEPTUAGINT - Ex 12:48; Exod. 12:49; Exod. 20:10; Exod. 22:21; Exod. 23:9; Exod. 23:12; Lev. 16:29; Lev. 17:3; Lev. 17:8; Lev. 17:10; Lev. 17:12; Lev. 17:13; Lev. 17:15; Lev. 18:26; Lev. 19:10; Lev. 19:33; Lev. 19:34; Lev. 20:2; Lev. 22:18; Lev. 23:22; Lev. 24:16; Lev. 24:22; Lev. 25:23; Lev. 25:35; Lev. 25:47; Num. 9:14; Num. 15:14; Num. 15:15; Num. 15:16; Num. 15:26; Num. 15:29; Num. 15:30; Num. 19:10; Num. 35:15; Deut. 1:16; Deut. 5:14; Deut. 10:18; Deut. 10:19; Deut. 12:18; Deut. 14:29; Deut. 16:11; Deut. 16:14; Deut. 24:14; Deut. 24:17; Deut. 24:19; Deut. 24:20; Deut. 24:21; Deut. 26:11; Deut. 26:12; Deut. 26:13; Deut. 27:19; Deut. 28:43; Deut. 29:11; Deut. 31:12; Jos. 8:30; Jos. 20:9; 1 Chr. 22:2; 2 Chr. 2:17; 2 Chr. 15:9; 2 Chr. 30:25; Ps. 94:6; Ps. 146:9; Isa. 54:15; Jer. 7:6; Jer. 22:3; Ezek. 14:7; Ezek. 22:7; Ezek. 22:29; Ezek. 47:22; Ezek. 47:23; Zech. 7:10; Mal. 3:5; QUESTION - Why did Jesus refer to the Pharisees as a “child of hell” in Matthew 23:15? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15). This is one of the “seven woes” pronounced by the Lord against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. To understand why Jesus would refer to a convert of the Pharisees as a “child of hell” (literally, “son of Gehenna”), we have to look at the context of Jesus’ words. Jesus is instructing His followers about the religious hypocrites who are themselves “children of hell.” Jesus begins His condemnation of the religious leaders of the day in Matthew 22 with a parable. The story of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–15) condemns the leaders’ self-righteousness and their refusal to accept God’s provision for their salvation. Because their hearts were still hard, they responded by trying to entrap Jesus with questions about taxes (verses 16–22), the resurrection (verses 23–33), and the Law (verses 34–40). Jesus avoided their traps and indicted them for knowing neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (verse 29). Then He turned the tables on them, asking them a question they couldn’t answer about the Messiah (verses 41–46). Once He had silenced them, He used the occasion to teach His disciples the truth about the teachers of the Law in chapter 23. To be a child of hell is to be deserving of hell, that is, to be awfully wicked. In Matthew 23, Jesus explains that the Pharisees and Sadducees displayed their wickedness in many ways. They did not practice what they preached (verse 3). They burdened the people with religious rituals and ceremonies of their own invention and made no effort to help them to bear them (verse 4). All their religious rituals were done in a public manner in order to receive the praise and glory from others (verses 5–7). For all these sins and more, Jesus pronounces “woes” upon them for their guilt and the punishment that would surely await them. The Pharisees and their converts were children of hell primarily because they rejected God’s provision for their salvation, attempting to justify themselves through their own righteous deeds. In so doing, they “shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” (Matthew 23:13). Jesus said that, when they made a Gentile convert, they made him double the child of hell that they were—the former pagan became twice the hypocrite that they were, twice as confirmed in wickedness. By opposing Jesus, the leaders tried to convince people that He was an impostor. Many were ready to embrace Him as the Messiah and were about to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the hypocrites prevented it. Jesus says they had “taken away the key of knowledge” (Luke 11:52), meaning they had taken away the right interpretation of the ancient prophecies respecting the Messiah. In that way they prevented the people from receiving Jesus as their promised Redeemer. Just as the Pharisees and Sadducees became children of hell by rejecting Jesus as their only Savior, so do millions today. All who remain in their sins are deserving of hell because God demands justice, and wickedness must be paid for (Romans 6:23). If we reject Christ’s payment for our sins, we must pay for them ourselves, thus rendering ourselves children of hell. Matthew 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ KJV Matthew 23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, 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! BGT Matthew 23:16 Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοὶ οἱ λέγοντες· ὃς ἂν ὀμόσῃ ἐν τῷ ναῷ, οὐδέν ἐστιν· ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ὀμόσῃ ἐν τῷ χρυσῷ τοῦ ναοῦ, ὀφείλει. NET Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.' CSB Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever takes an oath by the sanctuary, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by his oath.' ESV Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' NIV Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' NLT Matthew 23:16 "Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple,' but that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.' YLT Matthew 23:16 'Woe to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor! MIT Matthew 23:16 How horrible your destiny, you blind counselors who say, "It means nothing to swear on the basis of the temple, but it is binding if one swears on the gold of the temple." NJB Matthew 23:16 'Alas for you, blind guides! You say, "If anyone swears by the Temple, it has no force; but anyone who swears by the gold of the Temple is bound." NRS Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' blind: Mt 23:17,19,24,26 15:14 Isa 56:10,11 Jn 9:39-41 Whoever swears by the temple: Mt 5:33-34 Jas 5:12 it is: Mt 15:5,6 Mk 7:10-13 he is: Ga 5:3 Related Passages: Matthew 5:33-37+ “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ 34 “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God 35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 36 “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. (NOTE: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemned all swearing of vows. A simple yes or no would be sufficient for one who is committed to always speak the truth! In other words, Jesus teaches that our words should be true without the need for oaths!) Matthew 15:14+ “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Jesus Pronouncing Woes on Religious Leaders AN EVASIVE DISTINCTION REGARDING OATHS In Matthew 23:16-22 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for creating a hierarchy of oaths where some were considered binding, and others were not, depending on what one swore by. In short, they had developed a system that allowed them to evade their commitments if they swore by something "less sacred." ESV Study Note (borrow) - As in much of their belief system, they focus on misguided superficial distinctions and overlook the higher principles of the law. Woe (ouai) to you, blind (tuphlos - again in Mt 23:19, 24) guides (hodegos) - This woe has to do with the way Pharisees perverted oaths and goes through Mt 23:22 (6 verses). Jesus substitutes "blind guides" for hypocrites speaking of their spiritual blindness making them dangerous guides who would only lead people to hell and never to heaven. These guides prided themselves on their presumed greater spiritual knowledge, but as Jesus said in Mt 15:14+ they were blind guides leading the spiritually blind and both groups were doomed to judgment if they never had their eyes opened spiritually. Barbieri points out that "In the first two woes Jesus spoke of the leaders' effects on others; in the other five woes He spoke of the leaders' own characters and actions." Who say, ‘Whoever swears (omnuo) by the Temple (naos - sanctuary, not Temple complex = hieron), that is nothing (oudeis); but (term of contrast) whoever swears (omnuo) by the gold of the Temple (naos) is obligated (opheilo - present tense) (NET = "bound by that oath" YLT = "Is debtor") - The Pharisees perverted the truth about oath taking saying that there were distinctions in the binding force of oaths depending on what he swore by or upon. In short, Jesus says they had developed a double standard for swearing oaths. So if one swore by the Temple the person was not obligated to carry out his oath. They said if a man swore by the gold of the Temple, he was obligated (was a debtor) to fulfill the oath. In short, this was the perverted "logic" the Pharisees used regarding oaths, arbitrarily saying that swearing on the unholy gold was more binding than swearing on the holy temple or the holy altar! Reformation Study Bible quips that "This way of taking oaths is like children making promises with their fingers crossed behind their backs. God desires truth in all our words (Mt 5:37)." A person could lie all he wanted, provided he swore by the temple and not by the gold of the temple. John
Mateus 23
Phillips adds "They are stunned, shocked, and stabbed to the heart, for they have been thoroughly exposed by the preacher from Nazareth. Will they repent? No. Revenge is their word. They will have this man who claims to be their King dead and in His tomb before the week is out. For (term of explanation) you build (oikodomeo - present tense) the tombs (taphos) of the prophets and adorn (2885) kosmeo) the monuments (mnemeion) of the righteous (dikaios) - Memorials were commonly erected in Palestine. Jesus builds His case here that they may have been builders of tombs and memorials, He will go on to say they built them with blood on their hands. Jesus goes on to expose this as a kind of historical virtue-signaling: honoring the dead while rejecting the truth they stood for. It was easy for them to build tombs and monuments for these prophets could no longer prophesy of the sins of these religious hypocrites. ESV Study Bible (borrow) - Funerary art became rich and varied around this time, with widespread ornamentation of tomb facades, ossuaries, and stone coffins, as well as wall paintings and graffiti. Plummer - "These men who professed to be so distressed at the murdering of the Prophets, were themselves compassing the death of Him who was far greater than any Prophet" A T
Mateus 23
Phillips adds that "Such was their foolish mistake! The scribes and Pharisees were soon to dye their hands crimson in richer blood drawn from nobler veins. Their fathers had martyred God's saints; they would murder God's Son." (See Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary - Page 439) Matthew 23:31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. KJV Matthew 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. BGT Matthew 23:31 ὥστε μαρτυρεῖτε ἑαυτοῖς ὅτι υἱοί ἐστε τῶν φονευσάντων τοὺς προφήτας. NET Matthew 23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. CSB Matthew 23:31 You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ESV Matthew 23:31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. NIV Matthew 23:31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. NLT Matthew 23:31 "But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. YLT Matthew 23:31 So that ye testify to yourselves, that ye are sons of them who did murder the prophets; MIT Matthew 23:31 Right there you testify against yourselves. For you have conceded you are the offspring of those who murdered the prophets, NJB Matthew 23:31 So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the children of those who murdered the prophets! NRS Matthew 23:31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. testify : Jos 24:22 Job 15:5,6 Ps 64:8 Lu 19:22 that: Ac 7:51-52 1Th 2:15,16 Related Passages: Acts 7:51-52+ “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; LIKE FATHER LIKE SON So you testify (martureo - present tense - continually) against yourselves, that you are (present tense - continually) sons (huios) of those who murdered (phroneuo) the prophets (prophetes) On one hand they venerated the prophets posthumously while opposing and persecuting God’s messengers in the present including Jesus Himself, at that very moment preparing to kill the greatest Prophet of all and thus testifying against themselves! Jesus uses sons (huios) to show their relationship to their murderous ancestors. Pulpit Commentary - By busying yourselves about adorning the tombs of the prophets slain by your ancestors, you show your descent and the spirit which animates you. They were true sons of their fathers, inheriting their murderous instincts, following their steps. Like father, like son. They inherited and put in practice the same false principles which led their ancestors astray. William MacDonald on you testify - But how did they witness this? It almost seems from the preceding verse that they dissociated themselves from their fathers who killed the prophets. First, they admitted that their fathers, of whom they were physical sons, shed the blood of the prophets. But Jesus used the word sons in the sense of meaning people with the same characteristics. He knew that even as they were decorating the prophets' graves, they were plotting His death. Second, in showing such respect for the dead prophets, they were saying, "The only prophets we like are dead ones." In this sense also they were sons of their fathers. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) Gilbrant - by their (the scribes and Pharisees) own words ("our fathers," Mt 23:30), they testified to their relationship to those who killed the prophets. They would act no more responsibly than their forefathers (cf. Matthew 23:34; Acts 7:52). (Complete Biblical Library) Matthew 23:32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. KJV Matthew 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. BGT Matthew 23:32 καὶ ὑμεῖς πληρώσατε τὸ μέτρον τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν. NET Matthew 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! CSB Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' sins! ESV Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. NIV Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! NLT Matthew 23:32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. YLT Matthew 23:32 and ye -- ye fill up the measure of your fathers. MIT Matthew 23:32 and you fit the profile of your fathers. NJB Matthew 23:32 Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began. NRS Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. the measure: Ge 15:16 Nu 32:14 Zec 5:6-11 Related Passages: Genesis 15:16+ “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Fill 'er Up! REPEATING HISTORY KILLING THE PROPHET Fill up (pleroo - aorist imperative), then, the measure (metron) of the guilt of your fathers (pater) - The idea of fill up in this context is keep on sinning which would prove the Scribes and Pharisees to be as evil as were their fathers. In short, what their fathers began would be completed by them, their sons. And they would soon obey Jesus' command (fill up) and murder the Prophet Jesus, thus following in the footsteps of their forefathers. William MacDonald on fill up - The fathers had filled the cup of murder part way by killing the prophets. The scribes and Pharisees would soon fill it to the brim by killing the Lord Jesus and His followers, thus bringing to a terrible climax what their fathers had begun. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) Pulpit Commentary on fill up - An imperative, expressive of Divine irony, containing virtually a prophecy. Complete your evil work, finish that which your fathers began (comp. John 13:27). The measure. There is a certain limit to iniquity; when this is reached, punishment falls. The metaphor is derived from a full cup, which a single drop more will make overflow. This added drop would be the death of Christ and the persecution of his followers. Then vengeance must follow (comp. Genesis 15:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:16). Bruce - "Fill up the measure of your fathers; crown their misdeeds by killing the prophet God has sent to you. Do at last what has long been in your hearts. The hour is come" Stu Weber notes that "This was not only a prophecy, but a pronouncement of judgment. Sometimes the way God judged the evil was by allowing them to continue on deeper into their sin, thus condemning themselves (cf. Rom. 1:18-32; also Isa. 6:9; Jer. 44:25; Amos 4:4-5). (See Holman New Testament Commentary - Matthew)