JESUS' JUDGMENT ON THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, AND ON JERUSALEM

1.  Jesus' Condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:1-39)

Spiritual Interpreters of the Torah and Spiritual Fathers.
Jesus began this significant judgment by acknowledging the Scribes and Pharisees as teachers of the torah, but warned the disciples not to imitate their actions.  The problem was that the Scribes and Pharisees made their interpretation of keeping the Torah a matter so strict that no one could bear the burden of their interpretation.  Furthermore, the Pharisees made a show of their position and righteousness in contrast to drawing people's attention to the Torah and God.

We should note that the titles addressed by Jesus are spiritual titles intended to place the Pharisees above the people, and in the place of God.  Rather than seeking such religious titles and positions, the disciples should rather seek to be servants.  This was in keeping with several occasions in which Jesus had taught his disciples that the greatest in the kingdom is the humble servant.  (See Matt 18:1-4; 20:20-28.)

The point Jesus is stressing in this paragraph is that the disciples have only one true interpreter and teacher of the Torah, namely, Jesus himself.  Jesus is the rightful interpreter of the Torah, not the Scribes and Pharisees.  Likewise, the disciples have only one spiritual father and that is God himself.  The Scribes and Pharisees are not to be seen as the spiritual fathers of the disciples.

Seven Woes Pronounced on the Scribes and Pharisees.
The fact that Matthew clusters the judgments of Jesus against the Scribes and Pharisees in Seven Woes is both significant and vital to this final Apocalyptic Discourse.
Matthew's intention is to demonstrate that Jesus condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees has eschatological implications.
The unique structure around seven woes sets the apocalyptic and eschatological tone for the following two chapters, namely, Matt 24 and 25.

Scholars are divided as to whether one should consider Matt 23 separately from Matt 24 and 25, but to separate them destroys the careful literary structure of this final discourse.  That there is no formula following Matt 23, and that what formula exists follows Matt 25 indicates that these three chapters should be seen as one discourse set in an apocalyptic and eschatological framework.

The fact that there are seven woes is intentional on the part of Matthew's scheme of setting the final discourse in an apocalyptic framework, seven and the term woe being significant apocalyptic terms.  (We should note that although the King James Version has eight woes in this pericope, the textual support of eight woes is week.  Careful consideration of textual variants in this text indicate that the best manuscripts contain only seven woes.  The NIV, RSV, and NRSV omit verse 14, the ASV [1901] places verse 14 in italics, the NASV [1955] places verse 14 in parentheses, the Nestle Aland 26 th. edition Greek text omits verse 14 and places it among the variants at the foot of the page, the United Bible Society Greek text omits verse 14 and places it among the variants at the foot of the page.  The opinion of text critics is that verse 14 is a later insertion and not original to Matthew.

There is a sense of parallelism in the content and structure of these seven woes.

The Woes may be outlined as follows:

Jesus' rebuke of the Scribes and Pharisees is absolute in its condemnation.
He refers to the Scribes and Pharisees as:

The final condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees as murderers summarizes the depth of their rejection of God and his Prophets and Messengers and predicts the coming persecution of the Christian Apostles, Prophets, and Evangelists.

In a sense of corporate responsibility the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day typify and incorporate the blood (deaths) of all the righteous persons and prophets of God since the murder of righteous Abel (Gen 4) down till the most recent murder of the prophet Zechariah.  Scholars with some justification debate who this Zechariah might be.  Some cite the prophet Zechariah of 2 Chron 24:20ff since 2 Chronicles was the last book of the Jewish canon, but this Zechariah is identified as 'the son of Jehoida, the priest."  the Zechariah mentioned by Jesus was "the son of Barachiah"!  We might not be able to identify this Zechariah, but he must have been a recognizable person of historical significance for Jesus to have mentioned him.  (See the discussion of this problem in Hagner, Matthew 13-28, pp. 676, 677.)

Jesus' closing condemnation adds to the seriousness and gravity of the woes.  "Truly, I say to you..." is a formula type statement intended to emphasize the depth of Jesus attitude toward the Scribes and Pharisees.  However, his inclusion of "this generation"
(a term which will be picked up in Matt 24:34) brings the Jewish populace into the condemnation, for as will shortly be seen, they side with the Scribes and Pharisees in the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.  An additional warning is also included for Jesus' disciples in the mention of the persecution that is shortly to follow.

2.  The Lament over Jerusalem (Matt 23:37-39)
This pericope is one of the saddest exclamations that could be made, and ranks with the one made by John in John 1:11 "He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."  
Here, Jesus cries "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!  Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’"

The personification of Jerusalem adds to the tragedy of Jesus denunciation of Jerusalem who in both the past and the present, as well as the imminent future had rejected God's servants and stoned and killed them.  

The expression "your house is forsaken and desolate" draws on Old Testament language and situations when Jerusalem had been judged by God and destroyed (see Jer 22:5; 12:7; et al.)

However, no matter how drastic and complete was Jesus' condemnation of the Scribes, the Pharisees, and Jerusalem, Jesus does not give up hope, but pronounces redemption for those who will believe in him surrender their lives to him, his statement ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ offers hope in the midst of tragedy.  

However, his statement "For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’" has decided eschatological implications.

This brief pericope sets the scene for the next two chapters (Matt 23, 24) and Jesus' prediction of the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, and the disciples question regarding the end of the age. 

Click here to go to Matt 24