MATTHEW 23

Survey of the chapter
Almost the whole chapter is taken up with an exposure of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. They had asked the Lord which was the great commandment of the law, and He had answered with the words that commanded love to God and love to one’s neighbour. They prided themselves on love to God, but their falseness is exposed in this chapter, for their lives did not match that profession, and they loved themselves rather than their fellow-Israelites.

Having detailed the way the scribes and Pharisees behaved, the Lord then utters eight woes against them, which stand in sharp contrast to the seven blessings He pronounced on His disciples at the beginning of His ministry.

He then foretells how they will respond to the ministry of New Testament prophets that He will send to them after His ascension to heaven.

Finally, He laments the lack of response to His ministry among Israel, and deliberately leaves the temple in a symbolic action of condemnation of the nation.

Structure of the chapter

(a)	Verses 1-7	Description of the Pharisees
(b)	Verses 8-12	Directions for the believers
(c)	Verses 13-33	Denunciation of the Pharisees
(d)	Verses 34-36	Description of future actions
(e)	Verses 37-39	Departure from temple and its desolation

(a) Verse 1-7
Description of the Pharisees

23:1
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples- it is very likely that the Pharisees and scribes are still present, for the Lord will say, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees”, not “Woe to the scribes and Pharisees”, as if they were not present. So in effect the Lord is addressing the whole nation for the last time before His death. For the Pharisees it will be an address of denunciation. For the disciples it will be for direction. For the multitude, for decision. Remember they are a multitude because it is passover time, and they have gathered from around the world for the feast. This means that the Lord is very likely speaking to men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They will have to make up their mind whose teaching and character they will follow and imitate.

23:2
Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat- this is a reference to the seat in the synagogue in which the rabbis sat to teach the people. Since they professed to be continuing the setting forth of the law begun by Moses, it was reckoned as if he was still sitting in it.

23:3
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do- contrary to what the Pharisees claimed, the Lord Jesus never spoke a word against the law. Nor did He act against it either. He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil”, Matthew 5:17. To the scribes, to fulfil the law was firstly, to carry it out in one’s life, and then to teach others the meaning of the law so that they could do the same.

But do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not- they failed to combine in their lives both aspects of the fulfilling of the law. They were ready to teach it, (albeit without insight into its true meaning; see Matthew 5:21-22 for example), but they were not ready to practice it in its completeness.

23:4
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders- the scribes and Pharisees were notorious for insisting that the people observe the many traditions they had added to the law. No wonder the Lord invited those to come to Him who were “weary and heavy laden”, for He alone was willing to give them rest, Matthew 11:28.

But they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers- the contrast is between binding heavy burdens on people to carry, but they themselves not making even the smallest attempt to carry a burden themselves.

23:5
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

But all their works they do for to be seen of men- their religious observances were for the eye of men, not God. Their works were the mask they wore, which made them hypocrites, (“those who act out a part on stage with a mask on”). The apostle Paul wrote, “not with eye-service, as men-pleasers”, Ephesians 6:6.

They make broad their phylacteries- in supposed obedience to the command to keep the law as “frontlets between their eyes”, Deuteronomy 6:8, the Pharisees made an outward ritual of this, by having a box with a small part of the law within it, bound to their foreheads. Not content with making an outward show of what was supposed to be an inward reality, they made their boxes broad, so that they were unmistakeable, and the common people could be impressed.

And enlarge the borders of their garments- after the incident of the man gathering sticks on the sabbath day, the Lord required Israelites to wear a riband of blue on the hem of their garment., Numbers 15:32-36. Not content with simply following this instruction, the Pharisees made their border of blue very conspicuous, to try to impress the common people that they were heavenly minded.

23:6
And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts- the Lord exhorted His followers to seek out the lowest and least prominent seats at a feast, so that, if found worthy, they might be asked to “go up higher”, Luke 14:10. These men do the reverse, and by His woes later in the chapter the Lord will put them in their true place.

And the chief seats in the synagogues- they not only sought prominence socially, but religously as well. We know from James’ epistle that there were good places and less good, James 2:1-4. The apostle Paul, a converted Pharisee wrote, “that in all things he might have the preeminence”, meaning Christ, Colossians 1:18.

23:7
And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

And greetings in the markets- we are out in the open street now, and the scribes and Pharisees loved elaborate greetings between themselves, to show off their supposed piety, and to draw attention to themselves. All this is in contrast to the one who “made himself of no reputation”.

And to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi- this title means “my Master”, or “my Teacher”, so they wanted to be revered as teachers of the law, as if they had superior knowledge. They said contemptuously of the common people, “this people who knoweth not the law are cursed”, John 7:49.

(b) Verses 8-12
Directions for the believers

23:8
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

But be not ye called Rabbi- believers, even those with the gift of teaching, are not to aspire after grand titles and public recognition.

For one is your Master, even Christ- this is the reason for the foregoing command. Christ’s place as supreme Teacher must be preserved. The notion that the Church teaches has no foundation in scripture; she is taught.

And all ye are brethren- those who are brethren share eternal life, and that life consists of knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. It is from Him that we all learn in the initial sense. Those who teach amongst the believers are simply passing on what they have learnt from Him; they are not the source of the knowledge.

23:9
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

And call no man your father upon the earth- sections of Christendom flagrantly disregard this command, so that many men take the name of “father”. This is an insult to God the Father.

For one is your Father, which is in heaven- so anyone on earth who expects to be called father is usurping the rights of God as Father. To be the father of someone is to have given them life; no man can do this in the spiritual sense.

23:10
Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ- the official title of “Leader” is not to be adopted by any, so that the uniqueness of our one Leader, Christ, is not compromised. The whole section is warning against the development of a hierarchy amongst those who profess the name of Christ. Sadly, this warning has not been heeded, and believers have suffered from the domination of carnal men, who have sought position and prestige. This is a spirit that is alien to Christianity.

23:11
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant- in verses 8-10 we have set out the opposite attitude to that expressed in verses 4-7. Those who aspire to be teachers and leaders amongst the people of God should realise that the position they hold obligates them to serve believers, not dominate them. Only the Lord Jesus could successfully combine being a Teacher and a Leader, and thus serving His people, with being Lord. He has never relinquished His Lordship, even though He has become a servant. For a believer to seek mastery and domination is to usurp Christ’s rights.

23:12
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased- here is a warning to those who resist the teaching of verses 8-11. As scripture says, “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble”, 1 Peter 5:5. Pride is the condemnation of the devil, 1 Timothy 3:6, and he sought to exhalt himself but was abased. Believers should beware of adopting his attitude.

And he that shall humble himself shall be exalted- this shows the authority of the Lord Jesus, predicting the response with Divine authority.

(c) Verses 13-33
Denunciation of the Pharisees

We find the following faults of the Pharisees condemned by Christ in these verses:

Verse 13	Their heartlessness
Verse 14	Their covetousness
Verse 15	Their destructiveness
Verses 16-22	Their foolishness
Verses 23-24	Their blindness
Verses 25-26	Their sham righteousness
Verses 27-28	Their uncleanness
Verses 29-33	Their viciousness

23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Heartlessness

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! The King had begun His ministry with nine blessings on those who were fit for the kingdom. He now pronounces eight woes on those who, whilst professing to be prominent in the kingdom, were showing themselves to be unfit for it, for they were destined to “be abased” by being refused entry to the kingdom of Christ when it is manifest..

For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in- their false and hypocritical attitudes had the effect of shutting up the kingdom when God had opened the door wide. They did this in two ways. First, they refused to enter in themselves, and so gave a bad example for the people to follow. After all, they did claim to be leaders and shepherds of the people. By their example they gave the false impression that to be fit for the kingdom men must be like themselves. Second, they taught the people that it was only by keeping the law of Moses, and by being a circumcised son of Abraham, that a man would enter the kingdom. As long as men believed this , the Pharisees were not allowing them to enter the kingdom of heaven.

23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Covetousness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses- the second woe also concerns two aspects of their behaviour. First there was their covetousness, expressed in the most despicable and callous way by taking advantage of vulnerable widows. So obsessed were they with their own importance, they acted as if others, even the weak and defenceless, were of no account, and it did not matter if they took advantage of them. Whether the houses were taken away when the widows were alive, or after they had died, the attitude was the same. He who is equal with God, and who is therefore the one who “relieveth the fatherless and the widow”, Psalm 146:9, is outraged by this behaviour, and pronounces judgement upon it.

And for a pretence make long prayer- they were using prayer to God as a vehicle for attacting attention to themselves. It may be that, given the position of this statement, the long prayer was said for money, the widow having been persuaded that their prayer would help them in their poverty.

This is the height of impiety, for true prayer is the expression of dependence upon God, but they were using it as a means of making the people dependant upon them. It is noticeable that the longer prayers in the Bible, such as those of Solomon, Ezra, and Daniel, can be read in a few minutes.

Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation- the one who, as the Son of man, has had all judgement committed unto Him, John 5:22, here gives these men an insight into what His verdict will be upon their lives. Unrepentant sinners shall all receive damnation, but unrepentant hypocrites shall receive a greater one, for their guilt is greater. They sinned themselves, and induced others to sin also.

23:15
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Destructiveness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves- convinced that as Jews they held the truth about God, (Romans 2:17-20), they make great efforts to convert Gentiles to their religion. But as a sinner he is a child of wrath and destined for hell already, but by leading him astray they make him doubly guilty, for he has become a religious hypocrite like themselves, and, like themselves, shall receive greater damnation than if he simply remained as a Gentile sinner..

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!

Foolishness

Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing- these men had devious ways in which they could avoid the consequences of their undertakings. They claimed that to swear by the temple, whilst sounding pious, was of no consequence, and was not binding.

But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! On the other hand, to refine one’s oath by swearing by the gold that Herod had encrusted the temple stones with, was to be bound by oath. But how many would define their oath in such a precise way? So it was that their oaths were of little value.

23:17
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? The only reason anyone even contemplated swearing by the gold on the temple was because that was where it was. They would not swear by gold in their purse. So if the only reason the gold had meaning was because it was encrusting the temple stonework, then to swear by the gold but not by the temple was illogical, because it was the temple that made the gold special.

23:18
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty- so these hypocrites are now devising a way to avoid the consequences of their oath by making a fine distinction between the altar and the sacrifices. They are saying that a man who breaks an oath made using the altar as a sacred symbol is not guilty, but a man who swears by the sacrifice on the altar is guilty if he breaks his word.

23:19
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? As with the temple and the gold, the altar gives value to the sacrifice. To offer anywhere else was forbidden. By being put upon the altar, as man’s sacrifice was set apart for God, but only because of its association with His altar.

23:20
Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon- the Lord now summarises what he has just taught. The altar cannot be divorced from the sacrifice put upon it, so to swear by the altar was just as binding as to swear by the sacrifices.

23:21
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.

And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein- instead of merely comparing the temple and the gold, the Lord develops the theme, and by so doing exposes the shallowness of the Pharisees’ thinking. Instead of concentrating on the external coating of gold, they should take account of who it was they believed dwelt in the temple. Hypocrisy cannot survive in His presence. So when they swore by the temple, their oaths were binding because of who dwelt in the temple they used in their oath. The temple had no value without His presence.

23:22
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon- if an oath is to have any force then it must be grounded on something morally meaningful. The stars of heaven are not morally meaningful, so if the oath is to have validity it must be grounded on the one who sits on His throne in the uncreated heavens. The thought of that should make anyone very cautious about swearing in this way.

23:23
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Blindness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith- the Pharisees had reduced the service of God to the level of the trivial. This is easily done, with more attention paid to minor and irrelevant details than to the most important issues. Tithes of herbs were seen of men, and done to give the impression of attention to detail in religious matters. More important things, however, were sidelined, for they were not so showy. In God’s eyes, however, (as expressed here by His Son), these were of great importance, having to do with love for His truth, (right judgement), love for one’s neighbour, (mercy), and faith, telling of dependance on Him, not self.

These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone- in no way was the Lord seeking to prevent the giving of tithes, for the law of Moses commanded that they be paid. But to profess to love God by paying the tithes, and yet to indicate a lack of love for one’s neighbour by neglecting acts of mercy regulated by a right assessment of things, and with a lack of faith in the goodness of God, was inexcusable.

23:24
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel- they were very particular about a very small thing such as tithing herbs, (“a gnat”), not noticing that they were in danger of calamity over a large thing like judgment, or mercy, or faith, (“a camel”). As they were in positions of leadership in Israel, they were looked up to as guides as to proper conduct, but in fact they were spiritually blind, and as such unable to guide others.

23:25
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Sham righteousness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess- this is the sham righteousness of those who were only concerned about what others thought about them, forgetting that God looks on “the within”, even the heart. Their apparent righteousness was designed to draw attention away from their evil doings, whether extortion in relation to others, or excess in their personal behaviour.

23:26
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also- the Lord does not condemn the cleansing of the outside, for the believer’s life must be without fault before men, but the heart must be right first. Once the inner heart is purified it will be consistent with the expected outward behaviour, and both will be clean.

23:27
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Uncleanness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness- this is a development of the idea of the inside and outside of the cup, and defines what the uncleanness consists of. These men are spiritually dead, for all their pretence, and as such are as corrupt as a tomb full of rotting carcases and old bones. Whitewashing the exterior would not remedy this. As the Lord said to Nicodemus the Pharisee, “Ye must be born again”, John 3:7.

23:28
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity- this confirms that whiteness is a metaphor for righteousness. To God, hypocrisy and iniquity are as abhorrent in the moral sphere, as decaying bodies are in the natural sphere.

23:29
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

Viciousness

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous- the illustration changes from being about the Pharisees as whited supulchres, to what they did to the tombs of the prophets and the other righteous men of old time. They built tombs for prophets to impress people with their respect for them, and decorated the sepulchres of the righteous at feast times, to make a show of piety.

23:30
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets- not content with hypocritical actions, they speak hypocritical words. These words will be used against them in the next verses, hence the Lord quotes them directly.

23:31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets- by referring to “the days of our fathers”, these men admitted that they had connections with those who killed the prophets. As the Lord will show, this is not simply physical descent, but moral, too, for they shared the attitudes of their fathers.

23:32
Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers- their fathers had persecuted the prophets in full measure; now their children would use that same measure to persecute, first Christ Himself, and then those He sent unto them. Thus there would be a double measure of persecution.

23:33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers- the King now pinpoints the origin of this persecution and murder, even Satan himself. He is a murderer from the beginning, John 8:44, which means that from the beginning of time he has instigated revolt against those who fear God, not stopping short of slaying them in many cases.

How can ye escape the damnation of hell? This is another way of saying that if they persist in this behaviour they will by no means escape the damnation that those in the lake of fire receive. The word hell here is Gehenna, another name for the lake of fire.

(d) Verses 34-36
Description of future actions

23:34
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes- despite the wickedness of these men, and the fact that they will soon have Him crucified, in grace He will give them another opportunity. The parable of the fig tree in the vineyard teaches that despite the nation’s lack of resonse to Christ’s ministry, they would be given a further opportunity to repent. See Luke 13:6-9.

In Old Testament times God sent these three classes of men, and it will be the same again. Prophets would have a word direct from God for the people; wise men would listen to those prophets and pass on their message to thers, and scribes would copy the inspired writings. It is interesting to notice that we read of many priests being obedient to the faith, Acts 6:7, and then that the word of God was multiplied. Could it not be that some of those priests, being of the tribe of Levi from which the copiers of the law were drawn, transcribed the writings of the New Testament prophets, so that they could be widely distributed?

Note that it is the Lord Jesus who sends these three classes of men, showing that He anticipated rising from the dead and ascending back to His Father. From there He would give gifts unto men in the form of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, as Ephesians 4:8-11 describes.

And some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city- despite the grace shown them in the giving of men who could help them come to know God correctly, these men would give the men Christ would send the same treatment as their fathers gave to the Old Testament prophets. For an illustration of the last statement in the verse, see Acts 17:13.

23:35
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth- such will be the wickedness of killing and persecuting men sent by a risen and glorified Christ, (for His resurrection and ascension are signs that the approval of God is His), that it will be as serious as the accumulated guilt of the murder of all the martyrs during the four thousand years of Old Testament history.

From the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar- the Old Testament scriptures were arranged differently to today, and they began with Genesis and ended with the second book of Chronicles. The examples Christ gives here are from those two books.

Abel was slain by his brother because he was righteous, 1 John 3:12, and so was Zacharias, slain for the same reason, for we read, “And the Spirit of God came upon Zachariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, ‘Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? Because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath forsaken you’. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoida his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, ‘The Lord look upon it, and require it'”, 2 Chronicles 24:20-22. The reason Zacharias is called the son of Berachias is that his father, Jehoiada, was so revered that after his death he was named Jehoiada the Blessed, and that is the meaning of the word Barachias.

There is a similarity of attitude on the part of these two men in their death. Abel’s blood cried to God for vengeance upon Cain, Genesis 4:10,11, and as he died Zacharias called for his death to be requited. The first Christian martyr, however, called for forgiveness for his murderers, Acts 7:60, for he had learnt from Christ how to die, for He had said, “Father forgive them”, Luke 23:34.

23:36
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation- the Lord reiterates the solemn truth that to kill New Testament prophets and wise men and scribes is a crime as great as the accumulated crime of the martyrdom of Old Testament prophets. There is added guilt, because the murder of a New Testament pophet is done in the light of the murder of the Son of God, and is a repeat of it.

“This generation” refers in the first instance to the “generation of vipers” of verse 33, the Pharisees and their allies. But if the nation as a whole followed their lead, they would be implicated in their sin, and thus share their guilt.

(e) Verses 37-39
Departure from temple and its desolation

We come now to a critical point in the ministry of the King. He has answered His critics, and by so doing defeated His enemies as David did. He has also showed His wisdom in His answers to the various groups that came to Him, as Solomon did. He knows He is rejected as King, and so deliberately leaves the centre of the kingdom, the temple. In so doing, He leaves it desolate, for He is the glory of God, and the glory is departing.

23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem- we may easily detect the emotion filling the heart of Christ as He pronounces this judgement upon the city that should have been “the place of the Name”, where God was honoured and recognised. Sadly, God manifest in flesh had been rejected.

Thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee- He describes them at their worst, and yet for all that He would have blessed them, such is His grace. To murder the prophets was evil, but to execute judicially by stoning those who came to them from God, was more evil still, for they were claiming to act for God by stoning those whom He had sent unto them!

How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! This is testimony to the fact that He was behind the scenes in the Old Testament, seeking to bring the “children” of Jerusalem back from their evil ways. He was willing, but they were not. They pitted their will against the will of God, which always means disaster.

A mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings when they are in danger, and also to assure them of her care. This double function was exercised by Christ in connection with the nation, but they would not run to shelter, but left themselves exposed to the enemy.

23:38
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate- this is a sad moment, for God in Christ is about to leave the temple courts, with the result that they will become desolate. Desolation comes when God leaves. Note that “My Father’s house” is now called “your house”, for man has taken over, and instead of being for the glory of God, the temple has become for the glory of man.

There is a sad day coming when the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem shall have within it an abomination, or idol, that will make it desolate, Matthew 24:15. Not only will God have been evicted from His house, but Satan will have taken up residence.

23:39
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.

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth- that is, not in His capacity as frequenter of the courts of the temple, making Himself available to men, and teaching them the truth of God will He be seen. In Ezekiel’s day the glory of the Lord went from the threshold of the temple to the Mount of Olives, and then departed back to heaven, and the same is about to happen again, but this time the glory is expressed in a Man. See Ezekiel 10:4; 11:23. Thankfully, Ezekiel saw the glory return from the east of the city, to the Millenial temple that will be built, 41:1-5, and “the glory filled the house”, and it will no longer be desolate. This will be fulfilled when Christ descends to the Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11,12, enters the city as Psalm 24 records, and takes His place in the temple, sitting there as a King-Priest, Zechariah 6:13.

Till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord- this was the cry of some as He entered into Jerusalem, Mark 11:9, but their cry was overruled, and the majority called for His crucifixion. The nation will be pleased to welcome Him when He comes again with the marks of Calvary still upon Him, and they shall look on Him whom they pierced.

The fact that He comes in the name of the Lord shows His authority, but also the fact that even in His reign He will a dependent man, and will act in accord with His Father’s will.