Mateus 23
William MacDonald · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 23
William MacDonald adds on the woes that "These are not "curses," but rather expressions of sorrow at their fate, not unlike the expression, "Alas for you!" (See Believer's Bible Commentary - Page 1289) Pulpit Commentary - These terrible "woes" are not only evoked by indignation, and pronounced as a solemn judgment, they are also expressive of the profoundest pity, and are prophetic of the future. They have, indeed, a twofold reference — they refer first to temporal judgments and visitations, now ready to fall; and secondly to the retribution in the eternal world. That the meek and lowly Jesus should utter such awful denunciations shows how greatly he was moved how he left nothing untried to turn these hard hearts to introspection and repentance. A T
Mateus 23
William MacDonald - Strangely, religious leaders are often the most active opponents of the gospel of grace. They can be sweetly tolerant of everything but the good news of salvation. Natural man doesn't want to be the object of God's grace and doesn't want God to show grace to others. (See Believer's Bible Commentary - Page 1289) David
Mateus 23
William MacDonald - A modern analogy is the zeal of false cults. One group is willing to knock on 700 doors to reach one person for their cause; but the final result is evil. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) Pulpit Commentary says travel around on sea and land "is a proverbial expression, denoting the employment of every means, the exercise of the utmost effort. One might have thought that, in its proud isolation and exclusiveness, Judaism would not have exposed itself to this reproach. But what says Josephus? In more than one passage of his histories he testifies to the zealous propagation of the Jewish religion, and in some cases the enforcement of circumcision on vanquished enemies (see 'Ant.,' 18:3. 5; 20:2. 4; 'Bell. Jud.,' 2:17. 10; 'Vita,' § 23)....In making converts, the Pharisees sought rather to secure outward conformity than inward piety, change of external religion than change of heart. There was no love of souls, no burning zeal for the honour of God, in their proselytism. They were prompted only by selfish and base motives — vain glory, party spirit, covetousness; and if they converted men to their own opinions, with their false tenets, gross externalism, and practical immorality, they had far better have left them in their irresponsible ignorance. THOUGHT - How zealous are we who know and have been forever transformed by the truth of the Gospel to cross land and sea to win one convert to Jesus? How about just crossing over the fence to that lost neighbor who lives behind us? I realize it is "scary" to share the Gospel, because we all like the approval of men and fear rejection. The truth is the only way we can really do this is supernaturally, filled with the Spirit, Who gives us the "fruit" of boldness (Acts 4:31+). It cannot be accomplished by our might or our power but by His Spirit (Acts 1:8+)! May God grant us boldness this week to share eternal life in Christ with one soul otherwise destined for eternal separation from God. For the glory and honor of God, by His Spirit and in the Name of His Son. Amen J C
Mateus 23
William MacDonald - Can Incarnate Love speak such scathing words? Yes, because true love must also be righteous and holy. The popular conception of Jesus as an innocuous reformer, capable of no emotion but love, is unbiblical. Love can be firm, and must always be just. It is solemn to remember that these words of condemnation were hurled at religious leaders, not at drunkards and reprobates. In an ecumenical age when some evangelical Christians are joining forces with avowed enemies of the cross of Christ, it is good to ponder the example of Jesus, and to remember the words of Jehu to Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?" (2 Chron. 19:2). (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) A T
Mateus 23
William MacDonald - It is highly significant that the chapter which, more than almost any other, contains the woes of the Lord Jesus, closes with His tears! After His bitter denunciation of the Pharisees, He utters a poignant lament over the city of lost opportunity. The repetition of the name—"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem"—is charged with unutterable emotion. (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) Craig Blomberg feels that "Jerusalem” is a metonymy (the use of one name or object to refer to a closely related item) for the corrupt leadership of the people. Jesus' words betray great tenderness and employ maternal imagery. . . Here Jesus wishes he could gather all the recalcitrant “children” of Israel, to love, protect, and nurture them like a mother hen does with her baby chickens. Similar imagery recurs frequently in Jewish literature (e.g., Deut 32:4; Ps 36:7; Ruth 2:12; Isa 31:5)" (See Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) How often I wanted (thelo) to gather your children (teknon) together (episunago), the way a hen gathers (episunago) her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling (ouk - absolute negation + thelo) - As John 1:11+ said "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." Note Jesus wanted to gather, not to condemn and disperse, but justice dictates He must condemn all who reject Him. God’s arms are open. The tragedy isn’t His unwillingness to save — it’s our unwillingness to come. The Jews for the most part failed to act like frail, innocent, dependent chicks and instead of coming to Jesus for protection from the wrath to come, they ran from Him and rejected Him. This is truly such a sad, tragic picture to ponder. Notice the sad irony of the two uses of the verb thelo - "I wanted (thelo)...you were unwilling (ouk + thelo)!" Pulpit Commentary on gathers her chicks under her wings - A tender similitude, which is found in the Old Testament and in classic authors. It implies love, care, and protection. Thus the psalmist prays, "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings;" "In the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, until these calamities be overpast" (Psalm 17:8; 57:1); comp. Deuteronomy 32:11; Isaiah 31:5, etc. Although it is a bit technical, there is an interesting change in the verbs from the singular (Jerusalem...kills...stones...) to the plural in the verb unwilling. You say so what? Kills and stones refer to the city (singular), but now switching to the plural, Jesus brings the rejection down to a personal level describing the people's rejection (not just the rejection by an abstract "Jerusalem"). Does that make sense? God’s arms are ever open, so the tragedy is not His unwillingness to save but the unwillingness of men to humble themselves and come to Him. A C Gaebelein: What a loving, sublime lamentation this is! The King is a King of Love and His heart yearns over His city Jerusalem. How He did long for them! The illustration He uses is one they fully understood, not alone by its simplicity, a hen gathering her chickens, but also because their elders had mentioned this very fact. The Rabbis spoke of Messiah under the name of the Shekinah and declared that Israel would be gathered under the wings of the Shekinah, where they would find rest and blessing. And now the Shekinah was with them. The promised One has come and they would not have Him. They turned away from Jehovah, their King. Their house -- no longer “the Father’s house” -- is to be left desolate. They would see Him in no wise henceforth. That this has a national significance, the rejection of them is evident. And no sooner were the words spoken than He left the temple and went away. (Matthew 23 Commentary) Grant Osborne: The lament flows right out of the preceding context. Jesus had to indict first the leaders for their hypocrisy and sin, and then in the previous verse had to extend that judgment to the whole nation. This caused Jesus deep sorrow, and he wants them to know the deep love of both God and himself for them. By using the metaphor of a hen and her chicks, Jesus reveals his tender concern to see the people of Jerusalem get right with God. At the same time, they have already rejected his offer, and so their future is “desolate.” (Mt 23:38) Yet one thing is certain: he will return as the royal Messiah. (Mt 23:39) (See Matthew - Page 860) Pulpit Commentary on unwilling - Unmoved by warning and chastisement, impenetrable to long suffering love, ungrateful for mercies, the Jews repulsed all efforts for their amendment, and blindly pursued the course of ruin. It was always in their power to turn if they willed (ED: YES BUT ONLY AS ENABLED BY THE SPIRIT), but they wilfully resisted grace, and must suffer accordingly (comp. Isaiah 30:15). NET NOTE - The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion. Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your … you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill … sent to you”). How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her. QUESTION - Why did Jesus say He wanted to gather Jerusalem’s children as a hen gathers her chicks (Matthew 23:37)? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - As Jesus came into Jerusalem during the Passion Week, He mourned over Israel’s history of rejecting God’s prophets and His people’s refusal to believe and repent. In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces judgment on the Jewish religious leaders and their dead religion (Matthew 23:1–39). He grieves over the misguided and spiritually lost children of Jerusalem, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me” (Matthew 23:37, NLT). Despite Israel’s waywardness and the disobedience of its leaders, the relentlessly loving heart of Jesus aches to gather Jerusalem’s children as a hen gathers her chicks. The poignant imagery evokes a mother hen desiring to enfold her vulnerable hatchlings into the protective shelter of her wings to nurture, guide, and defend. For the past three years, Jesus had been pleading with the people of Jerusalem to repent and be saved. Rather than heed the voice of their Messiah, the city is on the brink of crucifying its long-awaited Savior. The Lord knows that history is about to repeat itself—the people of God had a track record of killing God’s prophets. Jesus wants to protect and shield His people, but they won’t let Him. God’s love and compassion—as revealed in His Son, Jesus—are permanent and unchanging because they are part of His nature. “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:13, NLT; see also 1 John 4:8, 16). No matter how deeply we wade into sin and disobedience, the Lord will always want us back. He is perfectly loyal and consistent: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:22–23, NLT; see also Romans 3:3–4). Jesus’ desire to gather Jerusalem’s children as a hen gathers her chicks resonates in God’s message through the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hover over Jerusalem and protect it like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save the city; he will pass over it and rescue it” (Isaiah 31:5, NLT). It echoes in this ancient Song of Moses: “Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions” (Deuteronomy 32:11, NLT). And it ripples throughout the psalms: “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection” (Psalm 91:4, NLT; see also Psalm 17:8; 36:7). God loves all people but is especially committed to loyal relationships with His own children (Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 103:17; Isaiah 54:10; Hosea 11:1–4). God’s love for His own is unparalleled. He is more ferociously protective than a mama bear with her cubs and more sacrificial than a nursing mom with her newborn baby: “Jerusalem says, ‘The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.’ Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins” (Isaiah 49:14–16, NLT). The apostle Paul prays for believers to “have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully” (Ephesians 3:18–19). God’s love is perfect and eternal; He never stops reaching out to us with His love, and nothing we do can separate us from it (Romans 8:38). As unfathomable as it may seem, our loving Father always longs to gather us to Himself as a hen gathers her chicks safely under her wings. Matthew 23:38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! KJV Matthew 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. BGT Matthew 23:38 ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος. NET Matthew 23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate! CSB Matthew 23:38 See, your house is left to you desolate. ESV Matthew 23:38 See, your house is left to you desolate. NIV Matthew 23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. NLT Matthew 23:38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. YLT Matthew 23:38 Lo, left desolate to you is your house; MIT Matthew 23:38 Pay attention! Your house is abandoned to you as an empty shell. NJB Matthew 23:38 Look! Your house will be deserted, NRS Matthew 23:38 See, your house is left to you, desolate. Mt 24:2 2Ch 7:20,21 Ps 69:24 Isa 64:10-12 Jer 7:9-14 Da 9:26 Zec 11:1,2,6 14:1,2 Mk 13:14 Lu 13:35 19:43,44 21:6,20,24 Ac 6:13,14 THEIR HOUSE LEFT EMPTY GOING FROM GLORY TO DESOLATION Behold (idou) - Jesus uses this interjection to gain their full attention. "Listen up!" is the idea. "Don't miss what I am about to tell you." Your house (oikos) - The question is to what does your house refer? The answer ranges from the Temple, the city of Jerusalem or even Israel as a whole. Writers like Carson and Hagner see a reference to all three entities. If He is addressing the Temple, it is interesting He calls it "your house," implying it is no longer the habitation of God. He is God. He is in the Temple complex as He speaks. But He would soon depart from the Temple and be crucified. Is being left (aphiemi - abandoned) to you desolate (eremos) - Jesus is giving a prophecy that God’s presence is departing much like the Shekinah glory departed the temple in Ezekiel 10+. Desolate is a vivid word that means means abandoned, uninhabited, barren, or laid waste. Henry