Sitting in Moses' Chair: Matthew 23:1-36 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Focus Passage: Matthew 23:1-36 (NASB)

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their *I.e. small cases containing Scripture texts worn on the left arm and forehead for religious purposesphylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. ⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [*This v not found in early mssWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

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.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Read Matthew 23:1-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the group of people He seemed to have the most difficulty with were the scribes and Pharisees. These two groups of people were the most religious of the religious people living at that time, and in many ways, their religion was their life.

While Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Jesus cautioning the people about becoming like the scribes and Pharisees, only Matthew goes into great detail describing where the scribes and Pharisees had missed God’s plan. Matthew tells us that Jesus said to those listening, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.” (v. 2-5)

It is interesting that Jesus describes the scribes and Pharisees teaching as being worthwhile, but their actions as being worthless. Jesus told the people, “Therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.” (v. 3)

The role of the religious leaders was to show God to the people, but the only picture they were painting of God was a harsh, demanding dictator that was standing by, ready to punish those who messed up. The religious leaders had set up rules and laws to protect them from coming close to breaking God’s laws, because in their minds, God is very strict and protective of His law.

When these first century Jewish leaders compared God’s will for His people on a spectrum measuring obedience and compassion, they firmly believed that He would only be compassionate on those who were obedient. Obedience was at the foundation of what they taught, but they didn’t even live up to their own standard. This may be why Jesus shared a few verses later, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” (v. 13-14 [Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47])

The problem Jesus had with the religious leaders while He was present on earth is they had built the wall between humanity and God so high that it was impossible to get through – and then after they had that wall built, they didn’t go through themselves. Because of their teaching, and especially their actions, the scribes and Pharisees turned people off of even wanting to know God.

This warning to those living in the first century also cautions me to live out what I teach. The leaders in the first century spoke more conservatively than they acted, but perhaps it is better to err in the other direction. It may be better to live in a more conservative way than what we communicate to others. If we live and share God’s love, forgiveness, and acceptance towards those who have repented, we are accurately representing His character as displayed through Jesus’ life on earth!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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