Matthew 23 · The Lantern

Woes to Scribes and Pharisees

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

But further, if Christ reproves the scribes and Pharisees, sitting in the official chair of Moses, but not doing what they taught, what kind of (supposition).

When He has shut the mouths of the Pharisees and shown them to be incurably diseased, then He speaks about them. He speaks about their life and manner of living, admonishing His listeners not to despise their teachers even if they have a corrupt life.

Above it was shown how the Pharisees and scribes were provoked by the glory of Christ, and also by his wisdom, by which he had confounded them; now he shows how they were provoked by the justice with which he rebuked them. And he does two things. First, he instructs certain ones; secondly, he reproves them, at but woe to you, scribes and Pharisees.

saying: “On the seat of Moses sat down the scribes and the Pharisees.

The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, as professing his Law, and boasting that they can interpret it. Those that do not depart from the letter of the Law are the Scribes; those who make high professions, and separate themselves from the vulgar as better than they, are called Pharisees, which signifies 'separate.' Those who understand and expound Moses according to his s…

Poemen also said, 'Teach your heart to follow what your tongue is saying to others.' He also said, 'Men try to appear excellent in preaching but they are less excellent in practising what they preach.'

The scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. The chair properly belongs to teachers; and therefore those are said to sit upon the chair who are successors of Moses; Sirach 24:33: Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justice. Hence those who taught the law of Moses sat upon the chair of Moses.

All things therefore, as much as they shall tell you, perform and observe. But do not perform after their works; for they speak and do not act.

Moreover, according to the simple sense of this saying where he says: do all things whatsoever they tell you to do, but do not do according to their works, we say that by these words he wishes to show that there are certain persons in the Church who, as far as speech is concerned, are indeed capable of teaching marvelous things and expound them according to reason, but are unwi…

(Chapter 23, Verses 1 and following.) Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves on the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, observe and do it, but do not do their works. For they speak, but do not practice. What is gentler, what is kinder than the Lord?

Then he admonishes them to obedience with caution; and he does two things. First, he exhorts them to obey; secondly, to beware.

And they tie up heavy and hard-to-bear burdens and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

And together with these He mentions also another charge against them, that they are harsh to those accountable to them. "For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they will not move them with their finger." He mentions here a twofold wickedness, their requiring great and extreme strictness of life, without any indulgence, from t…

(interlin.) Or, bind burdens, that is, gather traditions from all sides, not to aid, but to burden the conscience.

For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, etc. For the Lord wishes to exaggerate their malice, because they say, and do not. If they simply said and did not do, this would still be tolerable; but this does not suffice them, because they add most grievous burdens to the precepts of God.

And all their deeds they do in order to be seen by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and enlarge the tassels,

And their works likewise they do to be seen of men, using outward circumcision, taking away actual leaven out of their houses, and doing such like things. But Christ's disciples fulfil the Law in things secret, being Jews inwardly, as the Apostle speaks. (Rom. 2:29.)

Three brothers once came to a hermit in Scetis. One of them said to him, 'Abba, I have memorized the Old and New Testaments.' But the hermit answered, 'And you have filled the air with words.' The second said to him, 'I have written out the Old and New Testaments with my own hand.' But the hermit said, 'And you have filled the window-ledge with manuscripts.' The third said, 'Th…

And all their works they do to be seen by men. Here he sets forth their intention; and he does two things. First, he reveals their intention; secondly, he warns the disciples to avoid them. And first he sets forth their intention; secondly, he explains it, at for they make their phylacteries broad, etc. What is the reason why they say and do not? Because they are incorrigible.

and they love the chief place at the banquets and the first seats in the synagogues

But what should be said of those who love the first couches at banquets and the first seats in the synagogues and the first greetings in the marketplace and to be called Rabbi by men?

It should be noted, that He does not forbid those to whom this belongs by right of rank to be saluted in the forum, or to sit or recline in the highest room; but those who unduly desire these things, whether they obtain them or not, these He enjoins the believers to shun as wicked.

And what do they seek? To be seen by men. Now this glory is shown in three things: in primacy, in the reverence shown, and in the praise of the name; for whoever seeks glory seeks one of these, or all of them. But these men sought primacy in a sacred place and in a public place; hence regarding the public place he says, and they love the first places at feasts.

and the greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men ‘Rabbi.’

And herein they are not without fault, that the same men should be concerned in the litigations of the forum, who in the synagogue in Moses' seat, seek to be called Rabbi by men.

They love the first salutations, first, that is, not in time only, before others; but in tone, that we should say with a loud voice, Hail, Rabbi; and in body that we should bow low our head; and in place, that the salutation should be in public. That is, they wish to be called, not to be such; they desire the name, and neglect the duties.

Likewise, they desire reverence; hence he says, and salutations in the marketplace, i.e., that they be greeted and honored by men, that the hood be removed before them, and that knees be bent before them; and they desire to be called by men, Rabbi, i.e., that they be praised as masters.

But you yourselves may not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, and you yourselves are all brothers.

So, too, righteousness-for the God of righteousness and of creation is the same-was first in a rudimentary state, having a natural fear of God: from that stage it advanced, through the Law and the Prophets, to infancy; from that stage it passed, through the Gospel, to the fervour of youth: now, through the Paraclete, it is settling into maturity.

(cont. Helvid. 15.) All men may be called brethren in affection, which is of two kinds, general and particular. Particular, by which all Christians are brethren; general, by which all men being born of one Father are bound together by like tie of kindred.

But be not you called Rabbi. In this part he forbids the imitation of glory; secondly, he invites to humility, at he that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. Now it should be noted that he who has primacy has the duty of instructing and governing; the first of these belongs properly to a master, the second to fathers.

And call no one your father on the earth; for One is your Father, who is in heaven.

Neither may you be called instructors, since your Instructor is One, the Christ.

And again He adds, "Neither be ye called guides, for one is your guide, even Christ;" and He said not, I. For like as above He said, "What think ye of Christ?" and He said not, "of me," so here too. But I should be glad to ask here, what they would say, who are repeatedly applying the term one, one, to the Father alone, to the rejection of the Only-begotten.

(non occ.) Because it was clear who was the Father of all, by this which was said, Which art in Heaven, He would teach them who was the Master of all, and therefore repeats the same command concerning a master, Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master, even Christ.

Likewise, neither be ye called masters, for one is your master: Christ. Hence Christ attributes mastership to himself, because Christ is the Word; and therefore it belongs to him to teach, because no one teaches except through the Word. Likewise, he is master with respect to his human nature, because he was sent to teach; John 1:18: no man has seen God at any time.

And the greatest among you will be your servant.

Or otherwise; And if one minister the divine word, knowing that it is Christ that makes it to be fruitful, such a one professes himself a minister and not a master; whence it follows, He that is greatest among you, let him be your servant. As Christ Himself, who was in truth our Master, professed Himself a minister, saying, I am in the midst of you as one that ministers.

Since those who have arrived teaching new beliefs for the most part do so from conceit and arrogance, I will say something concerning the value of the teaching. The Lord cuts short this opinion and way as leading to destruction. He says, "You love glory and the places of first importance." Meanwhile he desires the servant's role and cultivates humility.

He that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. After he has drawn them back from pride, he exhorts them to humility. And first he sets forth the exhortation; secondly, he assigns the reason. And this can be continued as follows. Chrysostom says: you ought not to be called fathers, nor masters; hence you should not seek these things ambitiously, but rather humility.

And he who will exalt himself will be humbled, and whoever will humble himself will be exalted.

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for you yourselves neither enter, nor even do you allow those entering to go in.

[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour the houses of the widows, and as a pretext praying long; through this you will receive more excessive judgment.]

The Pharisees and the Scribes then would neither enter in, nor hear Him who said, By me if any man enter in he shall be saved; (John 10:9.) nor would they suffer those to enter in, who were able to have believed through the things which had been spoken before by the Law and the Prophets concerning Christ, but shut up the door with every kind of device to deter men from entering…

He calls them hypocrites for professing piety and doing nothing worthy of what they profess, but instead, they would make pretence of long prayer and would devour the widows' means. Indeed they were mockers who deceived the simple and like leeches sucked them dry.

Woe to you (...) who devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. This is the second woe, in which the pretense regarding prayer is touched upon.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you traverse the sea and the dry land to make one convert; and when he may become so, you make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who go about the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he has been made, you make him a son of gehenna twice as much as you yourselves are.

(Mor. xxxi. 9.) But forasmuch as hypocrites though they do ever crooked things, yet cease not to speak right things, and thus by their good instructions beget sons, but are not able to bring them up by good life, but the more they give themselves up to worldly works, the more willingly do they suffer those whom they have begotten to work the same.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte. And this is explained in two ways, as referring to the time after Christ, and to the time before Christ. If to the time after, then he speaks of things future and present.

Woe to you, blind guides, who are saying, ‘Whoever may swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever may swear by the gold of the temple is bound.’

Woe to you, guides of the blind, who say: whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, is bound. Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And: whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is upon it, is bound. Fools and blind!

(Quæst. Ev. i. 34.) The temple and altar we may also understand of Christ Himself; the gold and the gifts, of the praise and sacrifice of prayer which we offer in Him and through Him. For not He by them, but they by Him, are sanctified.

Woe to you, blind guides. In this he shows how they are pretenders of sanctity in those things that are owed to prelates. And first, regarding offerings; secondly, regarding tithes, at woe to you (...) who tithe mint, etc. See: first he sets forth their tradition; secondly, he argues against it with three reasons.

Foolish and blind! For which is greater — the gold, or the temple which is sanctifying the gold?

And you say, ‘Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is bound.’

You blind men! For which is greater — the gift, or the altar which is sanctifying the gift?

The one therefore having sworn by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it;

and the one having sworn by the temple swears by it and by the One dwelling in it;

and the one having sworn by the heaven swears by the throne of God and by the One sitting upon it.

In like manner the custom which the Jews had of swearing by the Heaven He reprobates. For they did not, as they supposed, avoid the danger of taking an oath by God, because, Whose sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

(ord.) For whoso swears by the creature that is subject, swears by the Divinity that rules over the creation.

Then another reason is set forth: and he that swears by heaven, i.e., by heaven, does not swear by it except because it is the throne of God, and because the power of God is manifested there; hence he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon. Psalm 10:5: God is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of the mint and the dill and the cumin, and you have neglected the weightier matters of the law — the justice and the mercy and the faithfulness. But these it was necessary to do, and those not to be leaving aside.

But I judge that, morally, all are called scribes who suppose nothing more to be set down in the Scriptures than what the plain wording of the Scripture shows, but who moreover despise those who "search out the depth of God". Likewise all are Pharisees who justify themselves and separate themselves from the rest, "saying: Do not draw near to me, for I am clean".

Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. Through it the scribes and Pharisees received "Woe" from our Redeemer, because it had taught them to keep festival, and Sabbath, and to pay tithe of cummin.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who tithe mint and anise and cummin. Here he rebukes them regarding tithes; and he does three things. First, he sets forth their custom; secondly, he introduces the teaching; thirdly, he sets forth a certain likeness. The second is at these things you ought to have done; the third is at blind guides, who strain out a gnat, etc.

Blind guides, who are straining out the gnat but swallowing the camel!

Or, straining out a gnat, that is, putting from them small sins; swallowing a camel, that is, committing great sins, which He calls camels, from the size and distorted shape of that animal.

(Verse 24) Blind leaders, straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. I believe the camel refers to the understanding of the present situation, the magnitude of the teachings, judgment, mercy, and faith. The gnat, on the other hand, represents the tithing of mint, dill, cumin, and other cheap herbs.

Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. In this part he sets forth a likeness; hence he says, who strain out a gnat. He who strains swallows with difficulty. Hence he means to say that they put great care into the smallest things and little care into great things.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inwardly they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

But what reason is there in going to prayer with hands indeed washed, but the spirit foul?-inasmuch as to our hands themselves spiritual purities are necessary, that they may be "lifted up pure" from falsehood, from murder, from cruelty, from poisonings, from idolatry, and all the other blemishes which, conceived by the spirit, are effected by the operation of the hands.

In different words, but to the same purport as before, He reproves the hypocrisy and dissimulation of the Pharisees, that they showed one face to men abroad, but wore another at home.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, who make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish. Above, the Lord rebuked the Pharisees for the pretense they outwardly displayed, which they did not have in their hearts, but twisted toward profit; here, for the pretense of purity which they outwardly showed.

Blind Pharisee! Cleanse first the inside of the cup, that the outside of it also may become clean.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you resemble whitewashed tombs, which outside indeed appear beautiful, but inside they are full of bones of the dead and of all impurity.

Wherefore that also must be held to be the resurrection, when a man is reanimated by access to the truth, and having dispersed the death of ignorance, and being endowed with new life by God, has burst forth from the sepulchre of the old man, even as the Lord likened the scribes and Pharisees to "whited sepulchres." Whence it follows that they who have by faith attained to the r…

The monks praised a brother to Antony. Antony went to him and tested him to see if he could endure being insulted. When he saw that he could not bear it, he said to him, 'You are like a house with a highly decorated outside, but burglars have stolen all the furniture by the back door.'

Woe to you, (...) because you are like whitened sepulchres. Here he rebukes them with respect to spiritual sins. And first he sets forth the likeness; secondly, he explains it. A sepulchre is where a dead body rests. The dead bodies of the saints are the temple of God, in which God dwells; 1 Corinthians 3:17: the temple of God is holy, which you are.

Thus also you yourselves outside indeed appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the just, and you say: if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their partners in the blood of the prophets. therefore you bear witness to yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.

He deplores them, not for building tombs for the prophets, for that is pleasing to God, but for doing these things in pretence, and for passing judgement on their fathers while doing worse things themselves, and exceeding them by far in malice.

Then when he says, woe to you, (...) who build the sepulchres of the prophets, he rebukes them for the pretense of piety, and he does two things. First, he sets forth their pretense; secondly, their cruelty, at wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, etc. Likewise, they pretend in two ways, by deeds and by words.

and you say, ‘If we were in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

Thus you bear witness to yourselves that you are sons of those having murdered the prophets.

What kind of accusation is this, to Call one the son of a murderer, who partakes not in his father's disposition? Clearly there is no guilt in being so; wherefore this must be said in proof of their resemblance in wickedness.

What they thought in their hearts, that they spoke by their deeds. Christ lays bare here the natural habit of all wicked men; each readily apprehends the other's fault, but none his own; for in another's case each man has an unprejudiced heart, but in his own case it is distorted. Therefore in the cause of others we can all easily be righteous judges.

Then he sets forth their cruelty. And first, in general; secondly, in particular. And he sets forth the temporal punishment, at behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes. Regarding the first, he first describes the origin; secondly, the imitation of evil; thirdly, he threatens punishment.

And you yourselves, fill up the measure of your fathers!

And in the prophetic writings, the historical sense is the body, the spiritual meaning is the soul; the sepulchres are the letter and books themselves of Scripture. They then who attend only to the historical meaning, honour the bodies of the Prophets, and set in the letter as in a sepulchre; and are called Pharisees, i. e.

And you, fulfill the measure of your fathers. Having proven with the previous words that they were the children of murderers and those who killed the prophets, he now concludes what he wanted and puts forth the final part of the syllogism. And you, fulfill the measure of your fathers. What was lacking for them, you complete. They killed the servants, you crucify the Lord.

Fill up then the measure of your fathers. This is not imperative, but declarative: fill up, i.e., you will fill up, as though a man were speaking, i.e., you will kill me; John 13:27: that which you do, do quickly. Or it can be permissive, i.e., you will not be prevented by me; i.e., at some time you wished to but I did not permit; hereafter I will not prevent you.

Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How shall you escape from the sentence of hell?

It is also in your power to cast off the image of the serpent as well. Indeed, Scripture calls the evil man a serpent and a brood of vipers. But if you seek confirmation that we are able to change and to cease being serpents, swine, or dogs, let us turn to the words of the Apostle, that the transformation depends on us.

The punishment of all the murders committed in the past will fall on the last generation of murderers according to a certain pattern, although God speaking through the prophet does say that "the fathers will not die for the sins of the children" … and indeed, "each will die for his own sin." What then should we think about this?

Then he adds concerning the punishment: you serpents, generation of vipers, etc. And it seems that he speaks fittingly about the guilt. A serpent is a venomous animal and kills by its venom: so they are called serpents because they killed the prophets.

Because of this, behold, I myself send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and will crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will persecute from town to town,

Or the Scribes who are sent by Christ, are Scribes according to the Gospel, whom the spirit quickens and the letter does not kill, as did the letter of the Law, which whoso followed ran into vain superstitions. The simple words of the Gospel are sufficient for salvation.

Or, as the Apostle writes to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12.) that there are various gifts among Christ's disciples; some Prophets, who foretel things to come; some wise men, who know when they ought to speak; others Scribes taught in the Law; of whom Stephen was stoned, Paul killed, Peter crucified, and the disciples of the Apostles beaten, in the Acts; and they persecuted them fr…

Behold I. In this part he sets forth their cruelty and adds the temporal punishment. And first he does the first; secondly, he adds the punishment. And first he sets forth the benefit; secondly, the guilt; thirdly, the magnitude of the punishment. Hence he says, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, etc.

so that upon you may come all the righteous blood being poured out upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous until the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

A tradition has come down to us, that there was one place in the temple in which virgins were allowed to worship God, married women being forbidden to stand there. And Mary, after the Saviour's birth, going into the temple, stood to pray in this place of the virgins.

That is, all the vengeance due for the shedding of the blood of the righteous.

Then the punishment is set forth, which, because it seemed severe, he therefore confirms: amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. He says, that upon you may come all the just blood, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias. Who this Abel is, is well known, because he was killed by his brother Cain.

Amen I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who are killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather together your children, in the way a hen gathers together her chicks under the wings, and you were not willing!

Admonition, then, is the censure of loving care and produces understanding. Such is Christ the Educator in his admonitions, as when he says in the Gospel, "How often would I have gathered your children, as a bird gathers her young ones under her wings, and you would not!" And again, the Scripture admonishes, saying, "And they committed adultery with wood and stone and burned in…

(Quaest. Ev. i. 36.) This species has the greatest affection for its brood, insomuch that when they are sick the mother sickens also; and what you will hardly find in any other animal, it will fight against the kite, protecting its young with its wings.

And since he intends to speak of the destruction of the city, he turns to address the city, saying, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. And first he sets forth the offense; secondly, he recalls the benefits; thirdly, he announces the punishment. The second is at how often would I have gathered together your children (...) and you would not?

Behold, your house is left to you desolate!

For I say to you, you shall certainly not see Me from now until you may say, ‘Blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord.’”

"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." And this is the language of one that loves earnestly, earnestly drawing them unto Him by the things to come, not merely warning them by the past; for of the future day of His second coming doth He here speak. What then?

That which has been spoken possesses an interpretation that comes through the vision of faith. For when "the fullness of the nations come in" and they believe in Christ, then the Jews who believe after these things see the beauty of the divine nature of Christ.

But is this true, that none of the Jews saw him, since many were converted to him? Therefore he says, till you say: blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, because when you confess, then you will see through faith.

Matthew23

Woes to Scribes and Pharisees

Lament over Jerusalem