Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 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.
39. For explains “desolate” of Mat 23:38. The Temple is desolate, for Christ, who is the Lord of the Temple, leaves it for ever.
till ye shall say ] Till, like the children in these Temple-courts, ye recognise Me as the Messiah. See ch. Mat 21:15. The words of Jesus, and the place, and the anger of the Scribes, may have recalled to some the scene in which Jeremiah, on the same spot, denounced the sin of Israel, called them to repentance, and foretold the destruction of the Temple: “then will I make this house like Shiloh” “and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die,” Jer 26:1-8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye shall not see me … – The day of your mercy is gone by. I have offered you protection and salvation, and you have rejected it. You are about to crucify me, and your temple to be destroyed, and you, as a nation, to be given up to long and dreadful suffering. You will not see me as a merciful Saviour, offering you redemption any more, until you have borne these heavy judgments. They must come upon you, and be borne, until you would be glad to hail a deliverer, and say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be he that comes as the Messiah, to bring deliverance. This has not been yet accomplished, but the days will come when the Jews, long cast out and rejected, will hail Jesus as the Messiah, and receive him whom their fathers killed as the merciful Saviour, Rom 11:25-32.
Remarks On Matthew 23
1. Proper respect should always be shown to teachers and rulers, Mat 23:3.
2. We are not to copy the example of wicked people, though they are our teachers or rulers, Mat 23:3. We are to frame our conduct by the law of God, and not by the example of people.
3. People are often very rigid in exacting of others what they fail altogether of performing themselves, Mat 23:4.
4. We are not to seek human honors Mat 23:8, nor to give flattering titles to others, nor to allow others to give them to us Mat 23:9. Our highest honor is in humility, and he is most exalted who is most lowly, Mat 23:11-12.
5. In the descriptions of the scribes and Pharisees in this chapter, we have a full-length portrait of a hypocrite.
(1) They shut up the kingdom of heaven against others, Mat 23:13. They made great pretensions to knowledge, but they neither entered in themselves, nor suffered others.
(2) They committed the grossest iniquity under a cloak of religion, Mat 23:14. They cheated widows out of their property, and made long prayers to hide their villainy.
(3) They showed great zeal in making proselytes, yet did it only for gain, and made them more wicked, Mat 23:15.
(4) They taught false doctrine, and they resorted to artful contrivances to destroy the force of oaths, and to shut out the Creator from their view, Mat 23:16-22.
(5) They were superstitious, Mat 23:23. Small matters they were exact in; matters of real importance they cared little about.
(6) They took great pains to appear well, while they themselves knew that it was all deceit and falsehood, Mat 23:25-28.
(7) They professed great veneration for the memory of the pious dead, while at the same time they were conscious that they really approved the conduct of those that killed them, Mat 23:29-31.
Never, perhaps, was there a combination of more wicked feelings and hypocritical actions than among them; and never was there more profound knowledge of the human heart, and more faithfulness, than in him who tore off the mask, and showed them what they were.
6. It is amazing with what power and authority our blessed Lord reproves this wicked people. It is wonderful that they ever waited for a mock trial, and did not kill him at once. But his time was not come, and they were restrained, and not buffered to act out the fury of their mad passions.
7. Jesus pities dying sinners, Mat 23:37. He seeks their salvation. He pleads with them to be saved. He would gather them to him, if they would come. The most hardened, even like the sinners of Jerusalem, he would save if they would come to him. But they will not. They turn from him, and tread the road to death.
8. The reason why the wicked are not saved is their own obstinacy. They choose not to be saved, and they die. If they will not come to Christ, it is right that they should die. If they do not come, they must die.
9. The sinner will be destroyed, Mat 23:38. The day will come when the mercy of God will be clean gone forever, and the forbearance of God exhausted, and then the sinner must perish. When once God has given him over, he must die. No man, no parent, no minister, no friend, no angel, no archangel, can then save. Salvation is lost, forever lost. Oh how amazing is the folly of the wicked, that they weary out the forbearance of God, and perish in their sins!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 39. Ye shall not see me] I will remove my Gospel from you, and withdraw my protection.
Till ye shall say, Blessed] Till after the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, when the word of life shall again be sent unto you; then will ye rejoice, and bless, and praise him that cometh in the name of the Lord, with full and final salvation for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. See Ro 11:26-27.
Our Lord plainly foresaw that, in process of time, a spiritual domination would arise in his Church; and, to prevent its evil influence, he leaves the strong warnings against it which are contained in the former part of this chapter. As the religion of Christ is completely spiritual, and the influence by which it is produced and maintained must come from heaven; therefore, there could be no master or head but himself: for as the Church (the assemblage of true believers) is his body, all its intelligence, light, and life, must proceed from him alone. Our forefathers noted this well; and this was one of the grand arguments by which they overturned the papal pretensions to supremacy in this country. In a note on Mt 23:9, in a Bible published by Edmund Becke in 1549, the 2nd of Edward VI., we find the following words: – Call no man your father upon the earth. Here is the Bishoppe of Rome declared a plaine Antichrist, in that he woulde be called the most holye father; and that all Christen men shoulde acknowledge hym for no lesse then their spyritual father, notwithstandinge these playne wordes of Christe. It is true, nothing can be plainer; and yet, in the face of these commands, the pope has claimed the honour; and millions of men have been so stupid as to concede it. May those days of darkness, tyranny, and disgrace, never return!
From the 13th to the 39th verse, our Lord pronounces eight woes, or rather pathetic declarations, against the scribes and Pharisees.
1. For their unwillingness to let the common people enjoy the pure word of God, or its right explanation: Ye shut up the kingdom, c., Mt 23:13.
2. For their rapacity, and pretended sanctity in order to secure their secular ends: Ye devour widows houses, c., Mt 23:14.
3. For their pretended zeal to spread the kingdom of God by making proselytes, when they had no other end in view than forming instruments for the purposes of their oppression and cruelty: Ye compass sea and land, &c., Mt 23:15.
4. For their bad doctrine and false interpretations of the Scriptures, and their dispensing with the most solemn oaths and vows at pleasure: Ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing, &c., Mt 23:16-22.
5. For their superstition in scrupulously attending to little things, and things not commanded, and omitting matters of great importance, the practice of which God had especially enjoined: Ye pay tithe of mint and cummin, &c., Mt 23:23-24.
6. For their hypocrisy, pretended saintship, and endeavouring to maintain decency in their outward conduct, while they had no other object in view than to deceive the people, and make them acquiesce in their oppressive measures: Ye make clean the outside of the cup, Mt 23:25-26.
7. For the depth of their inward depravity and abomination, having nothing good, fair, or supportable, but the mere outside. – Most hypocrites and wicked men have some good: but these were radically and totally evil: Ye are like unto whited sepulchres – within full – of all uncleanness, Mt 23:27-28.
8. For their pretended concern for the holiness of the people, which proceeded no farther than to keep them free from such pollutions as they might accidentally and innocently contract, by casually stepping on the place where a person had been buried: and for their affected regret that their fathers had killed the prophets, while themselves possessed and cultivated the same murderous inclinations: Ye – garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been, c., Mt 23:29-30.
It is amazing with what power and authority our blessed Lord reproves this bad people. This was the last discourse they ever heard from him and it is surprising, considering their wickedness, that they waited even for a mock trial, and did not rise up at once and destroy him. But the time was not yet come in which he was to lay down his life, for no man could take it from him.
While he appears in this last discourse with all the authority of a lawgiver and judge, he at the same time shows the tenderness and compassion of a friend and a father: he beholds their awful state – his eye affects his heart, and he weeps over them! Were not the present hardness and final perdition of these ungodly men entirely of themselves? Could Jesus, as the Supreme God, have fixed their reprobation from all eternity by any necessitating decree; and yet weep over the unavoidable consequences of his own sovereign determinations? How absurd as well as shocking is the thought! This is Jewish exclusion: Credat Judaeus Apella-non ego.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
39. For I say unto youandthese were His last words to the impenitent nation, see on Mr13:1, opening remarks.
Ye shall not see mehenceforthWhat? Does Jesus mean that He was Himself the Lordof the temple, and that it became “deserted” when HEfinally left it? It is even so. Now is thy fate sealed, O Jerusalem,for the glory is departed from thee! That glory, once visible in theholy of holies, over the mercy seat, when on the day of atonement theblood of typical expiation was sprinkled on it and in front ofitcalled by the Jews the Shekinah, or the Dwelling,as being the visible pavilion of Jehovahthat glory, which Isaiah(Isa 6:1-13) saw invision, the beloved disciple says was the glory of Christ (Joh12:41). Though it was never visible in the second temple, Haggaiforetold that “the glory of that latter house should begreater than of the former” (Hag2:9) because “the Lord whom they sought was suddenly to cometo His temple” (Mal 3:1),not in a mere bright cloud, but enshrined in living humanity! Yetbrief as well as “sudden” was the manifestation to be: forthe words He was now uttering were to be HISVERY LAST within its precincts.
till ye shall say, Blessed ishe that cometh in the name of the Lordthat is, till those”Hosannas to the Son of David” with which the multitude hadwelcomed Him into the cityinstead of “sore displeasing thechief priests and scribes” (Mt21:15) should break forth from the whole nation, as their gladacclaim to their once pierced, but now acknowledged, Messiah. Thatsuch a time will come is clear from Zec 12:10;Rom 11:26; 2Co 3:15;2Co 3:16, c. In what sense theyshall then “see Him” may be gathered from Zec 2:10-13Eze 37:23-28; Eze 39:28;Eze 39:29, &c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth,…. Meaning in a very little time after the passover, from the time of his crucifixion and death; otherwise they saw him many times after this, as in the palace of the high priest, in Pilate’s judgment hall, and on the cross; but not after his resurrection. This shows the reason of their house being desolate, and in what sense it should be so, and immediately became so; namely, by being then directly, and ever after, destitute of his presence: and though they might afterwards seek for, and expect the Messiah in it, yet they would never be able to see him, nor throughout their long captivity: till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; that is, until the time comes, that the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all Israel shall be saved, the Jews shall be converted, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; when they shall readily and cheerfully say these words to Christ, who will then appear in his glory; which they were now displeased at in the multitude that followed him, and the children in the temple. Though some think this is said by way of threatening, since the rest that is spoken to them by Christ is of that sort, and regards the men of that generation; and is given as a reason of their house being left desolate: and the sense is, that they should never see him with joy and pleasure; since, though they would be obliged to confess that he was Lord and Christ, they would never say the above words to him in faith, and holy reverence of him. The Cambridge exemplar of Beza’s, and the Persic versions, read, “in the name of God.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
39. For I tell you. He confirms what he had said about the approaching vengeance of God, by saying that the only method of avoiding destruction will be taken from them. For that was the accepted time, the day of salvation, (Isa 49:8; 2Co 6:2,) so long as that very person who had come to be their Redeemer, attested and proclaimed the redemption which he had brought. But at his departure, as at the setting of the sun, the light of life vanished; and therefore this dreadful calamity, which he threatens, must of necessity fall upon them.
Until you say. We come now to inquire what period is denoted by this phrase. Some restrict it to the last day of judgment. Others think that it is a prediction, which was soon afterwards fulfilled, when some of the Jews humbly adored Christ. But I do not approve of either of these interpretations. And I am certainly astonished that learned men should have stumbled at so small an obstacle, by taking great pains to inquire how unbelievers can say concerning Christ, Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord; for he does not declare what they will be, but what he himself will do. And even the adverb until extends no farther than to the time which goes before. Joseph did not know his wife until she brought forth Christ, (Mat 1:25.) By these words Scripture does not mean, that after Christ had been born they lived together as husband and wife, but only shows that Mary, before the birth of her son, was a virgin that had not known man.
So then the true meaning of the present passage, in nay opinion, is this: “Hitherto I have lived among you in humility and kindness, and have discharged the office of a teacher; and no having finished the course of my calling, I shall depart, and it will not be possible for you any longer to enjoy my presence, but him whom you now despise as a Redeemer and a minister of salvation, you will find to be your Judge.” In this manner the passage agrees with the words of Zechariah, They shall look on him whom they pierced, (Zec 12:10; Joh 19:37.) But Christ appears also to make an indirect allusion to their vain hypocrisy, because, as if they ardently longed for the promised salvation, they sung daily the words of the psalm,
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, (Psa 118:26😉
while they treated with scorn the Redeemer that was offered to them. In short, he declares that he will not come to them until, trembling at the sight of his dreadful majesty, they shall exclaim—when it is too late—that truly he is the Son of God. And this threatening is addressed to all despisers of the Gospel, more especially to those who falsely profess his name, while they reject his doctrine; for they will one day acknowledge that they cannot escape the hands of him whom they now mock by their hypocritical pretensions. For the same song is now sung by the Papists, who, after all, care nothing about Christ, until, armed with vengeance, he ascends his tribunal. We are also reminded, that so long as Christ exhibits himself to us in the name of the Father as the herald of salvation and Mediator, we ought not only to honor him with our lips, but sincerely to wish that he would make us and the whole world subject to himself.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) Till ye shall say.There is obviously a reference to the fact that the words quoted from Psa. 118:26, had been uttered by the crowd but a few days before on His solemn entry into Jerusalem. Not till those words should be uttered once againnot in a momentary burst of excitement, not with feigned Hosannas, but in spirit and in truthwould they look on Him as they looked now. There can be little doubt that our Lord points to the second Advent, and to the welcome that will then be given Him by all the true Israel of God. For that generation, and for the outward Israel as such, the abandonment was final.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. Ye shall not see me In the word ye Jesus still considers Jerusalem as being the same historical and national person through all ages. Till ye In your posterity in a future age. Blessed is he The language by which the children in the temple recognized him as the Messiah. Psa 118:6.
The meaning of the whole is, that the Jews shall be converted to Christ as a race, and doubtless Jerusalem as a city be restored, before the second coming of Christ.
Thus does this most terrible of all discourses first soften to the language of tender pity, and at last close with a valid promise. He could now bid Jerusalem farewell; to that generation a final farewell. Yet not final to Jerusalem, for she shall see his face again. But before that time one condition was foreseen as to be fulfilled. She should have acknowledged him as her true Messiah. How long the interval between that conversion and that advent, he does not say. In the prospective of the vast distance, the two events seem not now far apart. Yet long ages may intervene between the two. Jesus only declares that the latter shall not take place until after the former. See note on Mat 24:14.
Our Lord’s public ministry has now closed. He departs from the temple, in whose court he had delivered this last discourse of terror and tenderness. Henceforth he retires to the bosom of his own disciples to prepare himself for the sacrifice.
There is a locality outside the wall which now encloses the grounds of the ancient temple, called, “The wailing place of the Jews.” By paying for the privilege, the Jews of Jerusalem resort to this spot every Friday, and bewail the fall of their nation and temple. This scene of sorrow, mournfully illustrates how truly their house is left unto them desolate. Yet it suggests the hope that Israel is preserved for purposes yet unfulfilled.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“For I say to you, You shall not see me from now on, until you shall say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”
And the people would never see Him again until their hearts were open to receive Him, until they were ready to welcome Him as the pilgrims had welcomed Him into Jerusalem (Mat 21:9), and as had been promised in the Psalms (Psa 118:26). In other words until they would acknowledge His Messiahship and more. But it should be noted that in the Greek ‘until’ reflects not certainty of fulfilment, but doubt whether it will be fulfilled. It is an offer that is open. There is no guarantee that it will be fulfilled.
For some it would happen within the next few years as His first assault was made on Jerusalem (Acts 1-11) and thousands welcomed Him. They would not only bless Him Who came in the Name of the Lord, but they would also be baptised into His Name (Mat 28:19). For the ‘henceforth’ (from now on – ap arti) compare Mat 26:29; Mat 26:64. In Mat 26:64 the Jewish leaders are promised that His reception of enthronement would shortly be manifested to them in what would happen after they had sentenced Him to death. Then they would see with their own eyes the manifestation of His power, and the fact that He had been made both Lord and Christ. In Mat 26:69 the manifestation of His presence was so near that He would not again drink of the fruit of the vine until His Kingly Rule had come, when once again He would drink it with them under His Father’s Kingly Rule. (Luke has ‘until the Kingly Rule of God comes’, and in Luke the ‘coming of the Kingly Rule of God’ regularly indicates its present manifestation rather than its future eternal existence – see Luk 10:9; Luk 10:11; Luk 11:20; Luk 17:20). So ‘from now on’ indicates the crisis of the moment and then points to the continuing nature of what will follow.
For others it would possibly await the end times, for the general impression of the Old Testament is of a turning to God after their times of suffering. We cannot, however, be sure that that will be so because those promises could be referring to ‘the last days’ which began at the resurrection (Act 2:17; 1Co 10:11; Heb 1:2; Heb 9:26-28; 1Pe 1:20; 1Pe 4:7). We may distinguish now from then but in Scripture it is all one. However, if Israel is to turn to God it can only be by their repenting and turning to their Messiah. There is no other way. And in the end, however recalcitrant old Israel is, the assurance is that He will triumph. For He is founding a new Israel, which will spring from the old (Mat 16:18; Mat 21:43; Gal 6:16; Eph 2:11-22; Jas 1:1 ; 1Pe 1:1; 1Pe 2:9). That is what this message is promising. It is the future of old, cast off Israel (Mat 21:43; Rom 11:15) that is in doubt, not His. For one day all His true people will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 23:39. Henceforth , hereafter. “Because you have killed the prophets, and endeavoured to stone me, whom the Father hath sent unto you; because your great men are at this moment plotting against me, who am the Lord of the temple; and because you will assist them in putting me to death; your temple shall be desolate: it shall never be favoured with my presence any more. Nay, your nation shall be deserted by me; For you shall not see me henceforth, &c.” In the capacity of a teacher, Jesus had often filled the temple with the gloryof his doctrine and miracles; and, as a kind friend, had tried with unwearied application to gather the nation under his wings, that he might protect them from the impending judgments of God. Therefore, by their not seeing him from that time forth, we are to understand their not enjoying his presence and care as a teacher, guardian, and friend. This was the last discourse that Jesus pronounced in public; with it his ministry ended.
From that moment he abandoned the Jewish nation, gavethem over to walk in their own counsels, and devoted them to destruction; nor were they ever after, as a nation, to be the objects of his care, till the period of their conversion to Christianity should come, which he now foretold: ye shall not see me, till ye shall say, Blessed, &c. that is, tillyour nation is converted; for the state of the nation, and not of a few individuals, is here spoken of, as it is also in the parables of the vineyard and the marriage-supper. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord was the cry of the believing multitude, when Jesus made his public entry into Jerusalem a few days before this. Hence, in predicting their future conversion, he alludes in a very striking manner to that exclamation, by which they had expressed their faith in him as the Messiah. This is by far the most spirited of all ourLord’s discourses, and being pronounced no doubt with an elevation of voice, and vehemence of gesture, suitable to the sentiments which it expressed, it could not but astonish the people, who had always looked upon their teachers as the holiest of men. Even the persons themselves, against whom it was levelled, were confounded; their consciences witnessing the truth of what was laid to their charge. They knew not what course to take; and so, in the midst of their hesitation, they let Jesus go away quietly, without attempting to lay hands on him, or stone him, as they had sometimes done before upon less provocation. See Grotius, Macknight, and Olearius. Thus did our Lord pull the mask of hypocrisy from off the teachers of his own times, condemning it in all its forms. He treated hypocrisy with severity, because it is a most enormous sin, rendering men criminal before God, by things which in their own nature are calculated to please him; such as prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and other religious duties. The sharpness with which our Lord spoke now, and on other occasions, against hypocrites, plainly and strongly intimates to us, that we should strive more to be good, than to appear so. But on this subject, I will speak more, when I come to Luke 11.
Inferences.With what humility, integrity, and contempt of this world, should the ministers of Christ behave! and how should they live the doctrines they preach; and not lord it over their hearers! but if any of his servants act unsuitable to their character, their doctrine is nevertheless to be regarded, as far as it agrees with the word of God; though their disorderly lives are not to be imitated. And woe unto them, who either pervert the sacred oracles, or, under a pretence of piety, are guilty of the vilest abominations; who aim at dominion over men’s faith and consciences, and neither embrace the Gospel themselves, nor cease from hindering others, that seem to be well affected towards it; who are fond of specious appearances of external sanctity, but whose hearts are full of all impurity; who are superstitiously scrupulous about trifles, and neglect the most important things of Christianity; and who make light of oaths, and manage all their religion with secular views. How can such as these escape the damnation of hell? Christ will find out every hypocrite, and take vengeance upon them another day. In the mean while, with what faithfulness and compassion, condescension and grace, does he deal with all sorts of sinners in the gospel! but what a deplorable condition are they in, who nevertheless go on in their trespasses, and reject him by unbelief; and especially who indulge a persecuting spirit, which will one time or other bring down the heaviest vengeance upon their own heads! let them that condemn this or any iniquity in others, take heed of practically approving it, by doing the same themselves: for a time is coming, when the iniquity of impenitent sinners will be full, and God will heap upon them the measures of wrath, which they have been treasuring up to themselves against the day of wrath, and revelation of his righteous judgment. Oh that we might all know the things that belong to our peace, before they be hid from our eyes! and that when Christ appears again, we may be glad with exceeding joy!
REFLECTIONS.1st, Among all the Jewish sects the Pharisees maintained the most distinguished rank for their reputed wisdom and piety. Yet none ever fell under more censures from Christ than these reputed patterns of sanctity, because indeed they were the most inveterate enemies of him and his gospel: as those of a like stamp ever have been and will be. Their religion was all show, their hearts enmity against God, filled with pride, self-righteousness, love of esteem, worldly-mindedness, and hatred to the power of internal vital godliness. Whom the world therefore admired as the best sort of people in it, God abhorred as the worst, as the farthest from his kingdom and righteousness. And the case is the same to this very day. Against these whited sepulchres Christ therefore cautions his disciples.
1. He honours the office which they bore as expositors of the law, who sat in Moses’ seat, and read and interpreted in the synagogues the sacred oracles to the people. And so far as they spake agreeably to the Scriptures, they were to be attended to, and their word to be observed and done. Note; (1.) The most sacred and honourable offices in the church have often been filled by the worst of men. Yet ought not this to bring any dishonour upon the ministry itself, or prejudice us against the orderthat many, who are a scandal to the name they bear, have thrust themselves into it. (2.) When wicked men preach sound truth, their word is to be received, while their works are abhorred; though example is most forcible to persuade, and it can hardly be expected that they should convince others, who do not themselves appear to believe the very doctrines they preach.
2. He brands the men who lived so unsuitably to the word they taught, and cautions the people to beware of imitating them. Do not after their works: for they say, and do not. They boasted indeed of the purity of their morals, as well as the orthodoxy of their sentiments; but the one was as corrupt as the other was culpable. Several things our Lord charges upon them.
[1.] Their hypocrisy. They were very strict preachers of the law, and rigid also in enforcing their vain traditions, laying upon men’s consciences burdens intolerable, while they themselves dispensed with their own observance of them, and their practice gave the lie to their preaching. Note; Many preachers pretend the greatest zeal for morality, whose lives shew the laxest morals; and who must therefore be damned upon their own shewing.
[2.] Their formality, and desire of human applause. Their religion was all outside; and to make a fair shew before men was their great ambition. Instead of internal spirituality, and meditation on God’s word, they made broad their phylacteries, which were scrolls of parchment, on which select portions of the law were written, sewed up in the skin of a clean beast, and hung at their arms and over their foreheads; and by their uncommon breadth they meant to insinuate their uncommon zeal for the law. And they enlarge the borders of their garments: not only conforming to the precept, Num 15:38-40 but affecting, by the width of their fringes, to shew their distinguished sanctity, and observance of the command. So true it is even to the present day, that the most zealous contenders for the form of godliness, are sometimes the greatest strangers to the power of it.
[3.] Their pride, and affectation of pre-eminence. They coveted always the most distinguished place at an entertainment; and even in the synagogues, where they assembled for religious worship, the same desire of precedency appeared in their choice of the chief seats, as if their business there was more to make a figure themselves, than to pay their humble adorations. In like manner they affected sounding titles of respect, and, when they appeared in public, they loved to have deep homage paid them, and to be addressed with, Rabbi, Rabbi! that others might hear and observe their importance and dignity. Note; (1.) There is no harm in receiving or giving titles of honour to whom honour is due: but to take a pleasure in hearing the sound, to be puffed up with the title, and to be offended at the omission of it, these mark detestable pride. (2.) Nothing can shew a stronger tincture of Pharisaism than coming to God’s house to seek our own glory, and to be more anxious in what pew we are placed, than with what spirit we worship.
3. He forbids his disciples to challenge for themselves, or ascribe to others, any such pompous names as the scribes assumed. They must not be called Rabbi, affecting human honour, or any title importing dominion over the faith or consciences of their brethren: nor must they be styled Master, as if upon their own authority they sat up for guides and leaders; but must own one Master only, that is Christ, whose word alone must be their rule; while they, as brethren, arrogated no supremacy over each other, alike submissive to their common head. Nor may they give flattering titles to any; calling no man Father upon the earth. Not that this forbids us honouring our natural parents, or those who have begotten us in the Gospel, or paying due reverence to age or dignity; but we must regard no man as the founder of our religion, or as the head of the church, to whom, in matters of conscience, we owe implicit obedience, this being the sole prerogative of our God and Father, whose throne is in the heavens; but if any man among them excelled in gifts or graces, or was esteemed and preferred to a more honourable place in the church than others, far from being puffed up with his eminence, he is required to be the more condescending and laborious, employing himself the more zealously and humbly for the benefit of his fellow-Christians. And our Lord subjoins the most forcible argument to support what he had advanced: whosoever shall exalt himself, grow proud, imperious, and assuming over his brethren, shall be abased; either in penitent humiliation, when brought to a sight of his sin, in this world; or be covered with confusion in the more aweful day of Christ’s appearing: while he that humbleth himself in every work and labour of love, and in a lowly sense of his own deep unworthiness, he shall be exalted in the eyes of God and all good men.
2nd, Like Ezekiel’s bitter roll, we have repeated fearful woes, like so many bolts of thunder, levelled against these proud self-righteous Pharisees. The general charge against them is their being hypocrites, proved in a variety of particulars; and this being the character which God especially abhors, we should be the more jealous over our own souls, that this rank weed of bitterness spring not up under the profession of godliness, and mar the whole.
1. Pretending to be teachers of the law, and possessed of the key of knowledge, instead of explaining the spiritual meaning of all the typical rites, as pointing to Christ; or the purport of the prophesies which related to him; they studiously sought to pervert both; commenting upon them in such a way as most intirely to overturn the true nature of the Messiah’s office and kingdom, and leading the people to rest on the shadows instead of the substance. Invenomed enemies to the Gospel, they turned a deaf ear to all that Christ advanced in proof of his own divine character and mission, and not only rejected him themselves, but used their utmost efforts, employing all their influence, their examples, and their cunning, to prejudice the people against him and his Gospel; reviling his person, doctrine, and miracles, and thundering out their anathemas against those who should profess to receive him as the Messiah.
2. They made the cloak of religion subservient to the basest purposes of gain and avarice, insinuating themselves into the confidence of helpless widows, on whom, by their long prayers and affected shew of devotion, they imposed; and who, supposing their piety as great as the appearances of it, entrusted them with the management of their affairs, and were directed by their advice; by which means, taking advantage of their superstition and credulity, they fleeced them of their substance, and enriched themselves with the spoil of the most cruel inhumanity, as well as basest injustice; for which, though they might escape the censures of men, God, the all-seeing Judge, would surely give them greater damnation in the day of recompense. Note; (1.) The vilest wickedness may sometimes be so shaded by craft, as to elude the eye of human observation. (2.) The appearance of godliness put on to cover worldly designs, is in God’s account the most atrocious of crimes. (3.) Long prayers are not always culpable; it is only when they are for a pretence, that they become an abomination. (4.) There are degrees of misery in hell: some shall receive greater damnation than others; and the most dreadful vengeance of all shall light on the hypocrite’s head.
3. They exerted the greatest zeal to make proselytes from the Gentiles, in order to heighten their own reputation, and strengthen their party; and omitted no pains to succeed in their attempts; and then abused the ascendancy which they obtained over the consciences of their converts, to instil the most virulent prejudices into them against Christ and his Gospel; making them more bigotted than themselves to the vain traditions of the elders, and more bitter persecutors of the disciples of Jesus even than their masters. See Act 13:45; Act 14:2-19; Act 17:5; Act 18:6. Thus their pretended conversion served to render them but two-fold more the children of hell than themselves. Note; (1.) Every impenitent sinner and hypocrite is a child of hell, of his father the devil, and doomed to dwell with him eternally. (2.) The industry which these Pharisees used to gain proselytes in so bad a cause, should condemn our negligence and want of zeal, who take so little pains to make converts to Christ and his Gospel.
4. They were blind guides, erring through greediness after gain, and deceiving others, misleading them into the most dangerous errors respecting the obligation of oaths; distinguishing between the temple and the gold, the altar and the gift; as if they might swear by the former, and break the oath with impunity; but an oath by the latter was conscientiously obligatory: and the reason was clear, because these blind guides made gain of the gold vowed to the temple-service, and of the gifts offered on the altar. But how absurd and foolish this distinction? the temple which sanctified the gold, and the altar which sanctified the gift, must needs be more holy than the gold and gift, which received all their sanctity from being offered there. Indeed these kinds of oaths were in themselves evil and profane; but if a man once made them, he was bound to fulfil them. An oath by the altar included all the gifts thereon; as also to swear by the temple, or by heaven, implied an appeal to him who dwelleth there, manifesting his presence between the cherubim, or sitting on his throne most high; and therefore every breach of such oath was direct perjury. Note;
(1.) It is a dreadful thing for the poor people, when they who undertake to shew them the way to heaven are blind and ignorant; and it is still more terrible for the blind guides themselves, who will perish under the guilt of those souls which they have misled and ruined. (2.) Oaths are sacred; they are an appeal to the heart-searching God: by him alone we may swear; but if any profanely swear by other things, their profaneness will be no plea for their perjury; they are still in conscience bound to fulfil their oath as to the Lord.
5. They were scrupulous about trifles, and negligent of the essential duties of religion. They were most exact in the payment of their tythes, even to the small herbs of their garden, to the mint, and anise, and cummin; but they omitted the weightier matters of the law, such as judgement, the due administration of justice, and protecting the weak and helpless against their oppressors; mercy, the kind relief which they should have shewn to the distressed; and faith, a dependance upon God’s care and love, and the grateful return due in consequence thereof. These they should have practised, as the most important and momentous; while matters comparatively trivial deserved but a subordinate regard: but they were such blind guides, corrupt in practice as well as doctrine, they strained at a gnat, or strained out a gnat from their liquors, as if it would choak them; pretended such a scrupulous attention to avoid the least sin, and practise the nicest morality; while they could swallow a camel, making no conscience in secret of the most enormous crimes, to gratify their pride, their covetousness, and their malice. See Mat 23:14 chap. Mat 27:6. Joh 18:28. Note; (1.) The practice of one duty can never be pleaded as a compensation for the neglect of another; and much less can observances merely ceremonial excuse the neglect of those weightier moral precepts, judgement, mercy, and faith. (2.) Many pretend a scrupulous conscience in trifles, who, when any thing important to them is at stake, hesitate not at committing the most flagrant immoralities.
6. Their religion consisted in mere externals, while their hearts continued utterly corrupt and defiled. They were very curious about washing their cups and platters, and placed much purity in this; while they cared little by what oppression they obtained the provision that they ate out of them: at least, their inward parts were very wickedness, whatever specious cloak they threw over their ways. Justly therefore does the Lord Jesus upbraid them, Thou blind Pharisee! dark to the pollution of thy soul; cleanse first thy inmost thoughts, principles, and designs; begin within; be pure in heart, and then you may, with consistency, contend for an exact conformity to the external rites and ceremonies enjoined by the law. But in their present state they were the very reverse of real purity; like whited sepulchres, garnished and glittering without, but within full of pollution and putrefaction; the lively emblem of their hypocrisy and iniquity, lurking under the splendid guise of uncommon piety. Note; (1.) Our hearts are our grand concern; all our services in religion will be acceptable or abominable, as they are truly purified by the blood of Jesus, or left polluted with native guilt and corruption. (2.) They who have never seen, felt, and lamented the plague of their own hearts, must necessarily be blind to all spiritual concerns, since here all vital godliness begins. (3.) The world abounds with whited sepulchres; we need be warned of them, lest, mistaking shew for reality, we esteem those patterns of piety, who are in fact but sinks of pollution, full of pride, worldly-mindedness, and enmity to the power of experimental religion.
7. They pretended a high veneration for the prophets of old, and, in honour of their memories, built sumptuous monuments for them, and kept them with the nicest care. They made great professions of the respect they would have paid them, had they been so happy as to have lived in their days; and condemned bitterly the wickedness of their forefathers in persecuting and murdering them; protesting against such violence, and that they would have never joined in shedding such innocent blood. Thus by their own confession they acknowledged themselves the descendants of those who had murdered the prophets; and how much of their spirit they had imbibed, their behaviour towards John the Baptist, and their past and present malicious designs against Jesus, plainly evinced. Therefore he justly abandons them to the ruin that they have deserved, leaving them to fill up the measure of their iniquities, by crucifying him, the Lord of life and glory, and persecuting, even to death, his Apostles and ministers, till wrath should come upon them to the uttermost. Ye serpents, subtle and poisonous; ye generation of vipers, fierce and malignant; how can ye escape the damnation of hell? In their present temper and conduct, it was impossible but that the eternal wrath of God must abide upon them. Note; (1.) Many pretend respect for past reformers and good men, who persecute with the greatest virulence those who tread in their steps. (2.) The deceitfulness of the heart is great: we are strangely apt to flatter ourselves, how well we should have done and acted, if we had been in other persons’ circumstances. Many think that the hard-hearted Jews, who heard the doctrines of the Son of God, and saw his miracles, and yet crucified him, were sinners of a peculiar dye; and had they lived then, they should have welcomed him with rapture to their houses and their hearts; who yet treat his word, his ministers, his people, with the same contempt and enmity. (3.) God’s patience waits long with offenders; but their measure of sin will be full, and then shall wrath come upon them to the uttermost. (4.) The damnation of hell is to be freely denounced against the impenitent and hypocrites, how unwilling soever they may be to hear it, or ready to mock at these terrors of the Lord.
3rdly, Their fathers, they allowed, had persecuted and slain the prophets of the Lord, and they would soon prove themselves genuine descendants from them.
1. Christ foretels what would be their behaviour towards his Apostles and Evangelists. Once more he would give them a trial, by sending to them his ministers, invested with divine authority from him their God and king, who in gifts and graces should be no ways inferior to the prophets, wise men, and scribes who went before them. But instead of obedience to their word, or respect for their persons, they would just do as their fathers before them had done, or worse; persecuting them from city to city, scourging them in their synagogues, and putting them to the most ignominious and cruel deaths. See Act 7:59; Act 12:2; Act 26:11.
2. The measure of all their fathers’ sins, which thus they imitated, approved, and exceeded, being full, God would not fail to require at their hands all the blood which had been shed for righteousness’ sake, from the blood of righteous Abel, the first martyr, to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, or Jehoiada, see 2Ch 24:20-21 whom they slew between the porch and the altar, and who was the last martyr for the truth recorded in the Old Testament. On this generation Christ assures them shall all these things come; all the heavy wrath threatened for their forefathers’ guilt and their own. Note; (1.) Every insult and injury shewn to God’s righteous ones, shall sooner or later, be severely avenged. (2.) The nearer judgements approach, the louder they call for repentance. 3. Christ pathetically laments over the wickedness of Jerusalem, and denounces her doom. [1.] He laments over her wickedness, upbraiding her with ingratitude and impenitence under all the means and mercies that she had enjoyed: Thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, as blasphemers. Such had been, and would be again her practice; and the great truths of God have been often thus loaded with the severest censures, and the most faithful and zealous advocates for them persecuted under the specious pretence of vindicating God’s honour, and punishing those whom these pretended zealots are pleased to brand as enthusiasts. Yet, says Christ, How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? As a man, and a minister of the circumcision, Christ peculiarly regarded Israel for their fathers’ sake; he wished therefore to engage them to attend his ministry, that by acknowledging him as the Messiah, they might prevent the doom with which their rejecting him would be attended. But ye, the Scribes and Pharisees, who prejudiced the people against him, would not; effectually preventing the people from receiving Christ as the Messiah, to do which they in general seem to have been disposed; and thus these false guides brought ruin upon themselves and their deluded followers. Note; (1.) They who have fled to Christ for refuge, will find a sure covert from the storm of divine wrath; whilst all who refuse his salvation will be left exposed to deserved vengeance. (2.) Christ will visit for all the means and mercies that men have abused; and a despised and rejected Gospel will bring down the heaviest condemnation.
[2.] He reads her doom. Your house is left unto you desolate. God was now about to abandon them as incorrigible; to leave his temple; and his presence withdrawn, the gold became dim, the fine gold was changed. Nothing but desolation remained within those once sacred walls, when the divine inhabitant was fled; nor would it be long ere one stone should not be left upon another. When God departed, their glory and defence forsook them: their city and nation with their temple were now devoted to utter destruction.
4. He takes his sad farewel of that temple which he never more would enter; nor would they ever see him after his departure to heaven, till that great day of his appearing and glory, when too late they would be convinced of his being the Messiah. Many suppose this refers to the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, when they shall welcome that Redeemer, whom their fathers crucified, with hosannas, blessing, and praise. See the critical notes. Note; (1.) The day is near, when every eye shall behold the once crucified Jesus on a throne of judgment; and then woe to those who pierced him and repented not. (2.) Those who will not see, are justly given up to the blindness of their hearts; and since they would not bow to the sceptre of a Redeemer’s grace, they must perish under the rod of his judgment. (3.) If we welcome Jesus now to our hearts, and he is pleased to make them his temple, and by his spirit to take up his constant residence therein, then shall the day of his appearing and glory be our exceeding great joy, and we shall rise up to welcome and call him blessed that cometh in the name of the Lord, to be glorified in his saints and admired of all that believe.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
Pause Reader! pause my soul, over the contents of this Chapter. Surely nothing can be more solemn, nothing more affecting. Behold the Son of God, who came to seek and save that which was lost; pronouncing sure and certain destruction upon a class of men, whom every age have stood up with pretensions for greater holiness than others, and like one of them in the Parable, all of them more or less ready to exclaim: God ! I thank thee that I am not as other men are! Hear the Lord calling them serpents; a generation of vipers, which cannot escape the damnation of hell. And what were they considered in their department among men? How were they distinguished then? How are they known now?
The Lord calls them Pharisees. Men unhumbled in their minds. Who never felt the plague of their own heart. Uncircumcised in heart and ears. They never tasted the wormwood and the gall of a fallen state. They never were pricked to the heart under the deep conviction of a fallen state. And not feeling the want of Christ; they utterly despised him.
Lord Jesus! keep my soul humble at the foot of thy cross. Every day, and all the day, may I learn the infinitely precious consolations of salvation as alone in thee, and more and more from a deep sense of the want of thee, be led to see and enjoy my complete interest in thee. And oh for grace like Paul, to count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: and to count all things but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ; the righteousness which is of God but faith. Oh! the blessedness that Christ is made of God to all his redeemed; wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that he shall glorieth may glory in the Lord!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Ver. 39. Till ye shall say, Blessed, &c. ] That is, ye shall never see me, or not till the general judgment; when as you that would not obey that sweet voice of mine, “Come unto me, ye that are weary,” &c., shall have no other command of mine to obey, but that dreadful Discedite, ” Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,” &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 23:39 . , from this moment, Christ’s prophetic work done now: it remains only to die. : a future contingency on which it depends whether they shall ever see Him again (Weiss in Meyer). He will not trouble them any more till their mood change and they be ready to receive Him with a Messianic salutation.
The exquisite finish of this discourse, in the case of ordinary orators, would suggest premeditation and even writing. We have no means of knowing to what extent Jesus had considered beforehand what He was to say on this momentous occasion. The references to the whited sepulchres and the tombs of the prophets show that the speech was in part at least an extempore utterance.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
not = by no means, in no wise. Greek. ou me, App-105.
see = behold. App-133.
till. With an, implying uncertainty. The not seeing was certain: their saying it at that time was uncertain. Compare the four “untils” with ou me: Mat 10:23; Mat 16:28; Mat 23:39; Mat 24:34.
Blessed, &c. Quoted from Psa 118:26; compare Mat 21:9. See App-117.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 23:39. , I say) See Gnomon on Luk 13:35.-, ye shall see) sc. you, inhabitants of Jerusalem. Cf. Luk 13:35.- , from the present time[1024]) The short interval preceding our Lords death (and that spent without the Temple[1025]) is included in the present time [the of the text].-, until) sc. after a long interval.-, …, ye shall say, etc.) They would say so when reciting the Hallel[1026] at the Passover, but without applying the words to Jesus. That which is here foretold will actually come to pass at the appointed time, as in ch. Mat 21:9 was performed that which had been predicted in Luk 13:35. Our Lord, however, does not add again, although the people had shouted those words on the occasion recorded in Mat 21:9. For neither had all joined in this acclamation to Him, nor had they who did so understood what they were saying, as Israel shall understand hereafter: and soon after they, as it were, retracted their acclamation. The first utterance of these words was less complete, the second will be worthy of the name.[1027] Cf. Gnomon on the omission of again, in Act 1:11.-, …, Blessed, etc.) With this verse concludes our Lords public discourse to the Jews: with this verse will begin their repentance.
[1024] E. V. Henceforth.-(I. B.)
[1025] Within which, and in reference to which, these words, Mat 23:38, were spoken.-ED.
[1026] Lastly, says Hartwell Horne, in describing the Jewish Passover, a fourth cup of wine was filled, called the cup of the Hallel: over it they completed, either by singing or recitation, the great Hallel, or hymn of praise, consisting of Psalms 115-118 inclusive, with a prayer, and so concluded.-(I. B.)
[1027] Sc. of an utterance or saying, dictio, referring to the words, Ye shall say. Cf. in 1Co 14:15, I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
till
The three “untils” of Israel’s blessing:
(1) Israel must say, “blessed is He” Mat 23:39; Rom 10:3; Rom 10:4
(2) Gentile world-power must run its course. Luk 21:24; Dan 2:34; Dan 2:35.
(3) The elect number of Gentiles must be brought in. Then “the Deliverer shall come out of Zion.” etc. Rom 11:25-27.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Ye shall not: Hos 3:4, Luk 2:26-30, Luk 10:22, Luk 10:23, Luk 17:22, Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24, Joh 8:56, Joh 14:9, Joh 14:19
Blessed: Mat 21:9, Psa 118:26, Isa 40:9-11, Zec 12:10, Rom 11:25, 2Co 3:14-18
Reciprocal: Zep 1:3 – stumblingblocks Zec 11:9 – I will Mat 24:1 – departed Mar 11:9 – Hosanna Luk 14:24 – General Joh 7:34 – General Joh 12:13 – Hosanna Rom 11:23 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:39
Blessed is he that cometh, etc., was said before (Mat 21:9), so that we may think of the present statement as if it said “till ye shall AGAIN say.” However, the other time it was said to him in person, while the next time it will be said to him spiritually. And that cannot be when he cometh in his kingdom on Pentecost, for it was to be after the “house” was left desolate which did not come till 70 A. D. at the destruction of Jerusalem. Hence all conclusions are eliminated except that it means when the Jews accept Christ (Rom 11:26; 2Co 3:14-16). When that time comes the name Jerusalem will be extended to mean the spiritual starting point of the church and hence its citizens (including the Jews), will recognize Jesus as the Messiah of the Old Testament and will thus say “blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 23:39. Ye shall not see me henceforth. A solemn declaration of His withdrawal from His ministry among them. After this He taught only His own people.
Till ye shall say, etc. This refers to the future conversion of the Jews (comp. Rom 11:25-32.)
Blessed is he that cometh, etc. Our Lord had been thus greeted by His followers as He entered the city (chap. Mat 21:9), but Jerusalem said: Who is this. The heavy judgments would inevitably come, but hope still remains.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Jesus quoted Psa 118:26 (cf. Mat 21:9). He was referring to His return to the temple in power and great glory when He returns at His second coming, not to some return to the temple before His ascension. The negative is very strong in the Greek text (ou me). When He returns, all will acknowledge Him instead of rejecting Him (cf. Zec 12:10). Moreover He will come in judgment (cf. Mat 24:30-31; Php 2:9-11; Rev 1:7).
"It is extremely important for one to note that Christ’s rejection of Israel is not an eternal one. The word ’until’ (eos) of verse thirty-nine together with the following statement affirms the fact that Christ will come again to a repentant nation to establish the promised millennial kingdom." [Note: Ibid., pp. 265-66. Cf. Lowery, "Evidence from . . .," p. 180.]
Having said His good-bye to the temple, Jesus left its courtyard where He had spent a busy Wednesday teaching (Matt 21:18-23:46).
"Surprisingly, Jesus’ teaching occasions less conflict in Matthew’s story than one would expect. The reason is that the religious leaders are the recipients of none of the great discourses of Jesus [chs. 5-7; 10; 13; 18; 24-25], and even Jesus’ speech of woes is not delivered to the scribes and Pharisees but to the disciples and the crowds (chap. 23). It is in certain of the debates Jesus has with the religious leaders that his teaching generates conflict." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 63.]