Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 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.
25. are full ] Observe how swiftly and naturally Eastern speech passes from the figurative to the literal. The outside of the cup and platter is the external behaviour and conduct of the Pharisee, the inside of the cup is his heart and real life.
extortion ] The same Greek word is translated “ravening,” Luk 11:39. Instances of this sin are alluded to Mat 23:14-15. See notes.
excess ] Opposed to sobriety and self-control. Luke in the parallel passage has “wickedness.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The cup and the platter – The drinking-cup and the dish containing food. The Pharisees were diligent in observing all the washings and obligations required by their traditions. See the notes at Mar 7:4.
Full of extortion and excess – The outside appeared well; the inside was filled with the fruit of extortion, oppression, and wickedness. The meaning is, that though they took much pains to appear well, yet they obtained a living by extortion and crime. Their cups, neat as they appeared outward, were filled, not with the fruits of honest industry, but with that which had been extorted from the poor by wicked arts. Instead of excess, many manuscripts and editions of the Greek Testament read wickedness.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 23:25-28
For ye make clean the outside of the cup.
Moral ablution
By this allusion to the cup and platter the Saviour taught that it is necessary to cleanse the heart first, that the external conduct might be pure.
I. Why must we cleanse ourselves from sin?
1. Because it renders us injurious to our fellow-men.
2. Because it hinders prayer.
3. Because it renders us offensive to God.
4. Because it is destructive to ourselves.
II. How may we cleanse ourselves from sin?
1. Not by merely desiring to be cleansed.
2. Not by external reformations.
3. Not by scrupulous attention to religious ordinances.
4. Not by mere repentance.
5. But by faith in the only cleansing element-the precious blood of Jesus.
III. When may we cleanse ourselves from sin? Now!
1. Delay increases the difficulty.
2. The present the only time of which we are sure.
3. Gods commands brook no delay, etc. (A. Tucker.)
Hypocrisy contradictory
Hypocrites are like pictures on canvas, they show fairest at farthest. A hypocrites profession is in folio, but his sincerity is so abridged that it is contained in decimo-sexto, nothing in the world to speak of. A hypocrite is like the Sicilian Etna, flaming at the mouth when it hath snow at the foot. Their mouths talk hotly, but their feet walk coldly. The nightingale hath a sweet voice, but a lean carcase; a voice, and nothing else but a voice: and so have all hypocrites. (Adams.)
Hypocrisy deceptive
As a thick wood that giveth great shadow doth delight the eyes of the beholders greatly with the variety of flourishing trees and pleasant plants, so that it seemeth to be ordained only for pleasures sake, and yet within is full of poisonous serpents, ravening wolves, and other wild beasts; even so a hypocrite, when outwardly he seemeth holy and to be well furnished with all sorts of virtues, doth please well the eyes of his beholders; but within him there lurketh pride, envy, covetousness, and all manner of wickedness, like wild and cruel beasts wandering in the wood of his heart. (Cawdray.)
Whited sepulchres:-Appearances not always to be trusted
Hypocrites seem as glow-worms, to have both light and heat; but touch them and they have neither. The Egyptian temples were beautiful on the outside, when within ye should find nothing but some serpent or crocodile. Apothecaries boxes oft have goodly titles when yet they hold not one dram of any good drug. A certain stranger coming on embassage unto the senators of Rome, and colouring his hoary hair and pale cheeks with vermilion hue, a grave senator espying the deceit stood up and said, What sincerity are we to expect from this mans hands, whose locks, and looks, and lips, do lie? Think the same of-all painted hypocrites. These we may compare(as Lucian doth his Grecians) to a fair gilt bossed book; look within it, and there is the tragedy of Thyestes; or perhaps Arrius Thalya; the name of a muse, the matter heresy; or Conradus Vorstius book-monster that hath De Deo in the front, but atheism and blasphemy in the text. (J. Trapp.)
False appearances
If yon go into a churchyard some snowy day, when the snow has been falling thick enough to cover every monument and tombstone, how beautiful and white does everything appear! But remove the snow, dig down beneath, and you find rottenness and putrefaction-dead mens bones and all uncleanness. How like that churchyard on such a day is the mere professor-fair outside, sinful, unholy within! The grass grows green upon the sides of a mountain that holds a volcano in its bowels. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Emblem of hypocrisy
A very capital painter in London exhibited a piece representing a friar habited in his canonicals. View the painting at a distance, and you would think the friar to be in a praying attitude. His hands are clasped together, and held horizontally to his breast; his eyes meekly demissed like those of the publican in the gospel, and the good man appears to be quite absorbed in humble adoration and devout recollection. But take a nearer survey, and the deception vanishes. The book which seemed to be before him is discovered to be a punch-bowl into which the rascal is all the while, in reality, only squeezing a lemon. How lively a representation of a hypocrite! (G. S. Bowes.)
There is a spice of hypocrisy in us all. (S. Rutherford.)
The hypocrite-the man that stole the livery of heaven to serve the devil in. (R. Pollok.)
The hypocrite takes a partial Christ
The hypocrite maps out the road to Zion, knows it well, has sounded with plummet the depths of the promises, can talk about them. But he has accepted a two-parts Christ; there is perhaps a little pet sin, snugly tucked up in a warm corner of his heart, that he is unwilling to part with. Christ is his Priest, his Prophet, but he will not have Him as his King.
Hypocrisy sometimes difficult to discover
Formality frequently takes its dwelling near the chambers of integrity, and so assumes its name; the soul not suspecting that hell should make so near an approach to heaven. A rotten post, though covered with gold, is more fit to be burned in the fire than for the building of a fabric. The dial of our faces does not infallibly show the time of day in our hearts; the humblest looks may enamel the former, while unbounded pride covers the latter. Unclean spirits may inhabit the chamber when they look not out at the window. (Archbishop Secker.)
Posthumous testimony to the great and good
I. A serious charge.
1. A too late recognition of goodness which, when living, was ignored or persecuted.
2. A pretended veneration of the characters of the pious dead.
3. In truth a signalizing of their own goodness.
II. A false defence.
1. Their character belied their profession-persecutors of Jesus would hardly have been defenders of Isaiah, etc.
2. Betrayed great ignorance of their own character.
III. A solemn verdict.
1. Pronounced guilty of the righteous blood shed by their party.
2. Hypocrites for pretending a veneration for departed worth while they persecuted living goodness.
Tombs
Tombs are the clothes of the dead: a grave is but a plain suit, and a rich monument is one embroidered. Tombs ought, in some sort, to be proportioned, not to the wealth, but deserts of the party interred. Yet may we see some rich man of mean worth loaden under a tomb big enough for a prince to bear. There were officers appointed in the Grecian games who always, by public authority, did pluck down the statues erected to the victors if they exceeded the true symmetry and proportion of their bodies. The shortest, plainest, and truest epitaphs are the best. Mr. Camden, in his Remains, presents us with examples of great men who had little epitaphs. And when once I asked a witty gentleman what epitaph was fitted to be written on Mr. Camdens tomb, Let it be, said he, Camdens Remains. I say also, the plainest; for except the sense lie above ground, few will trouble themselves to dig for it. Lastly, it must be true; not, as in some monuments where the red veins in the marble may seem to blush at the falsehoods written on it. He was a witty man that first taught a stone to speak; but he was a wicked man that taught it first to lie. (N. Rogers.)
God searches the heart
Momus, the heathen god of ridicule, complained that Jupiter had not made a window in the human breast, so that it might be seen what was passing within. To an omniscient God no window is needed, every thought, and wish, and intention being perfectly discerned.
Garnished tombs
The tombs of saints in Egypt are held in great veneration. They are covered with a circular building in the form of a cupola, and are regularly whitewashed, repaired, rebuilt, and decorated, as was the case with the Jews. In the larger tombs lamps are kept constantly burning, as amongst the Romanists, and no Christian is allowed to enter. At Pera the tablets are all upright, and surmounted with turbans, tarbooshes, or flowers. The dignity of the person in the grave is displayed by the kind of turban at the top of the stone. Most were of white marble, and many richly gilt and ornamented. They are about the size of our railway mile-posts, and are as thick on the ground as nine-pins. The flowers denote females. Some are painted green, these were descendants of Mahomet. (Gadsby.)
Whitened sepulchres
In the plains of Sahrai-Sirwan Rawlinson noticed many whitewashed obelisks placed on any elevations which occurred conveniently, some rising to the height of fifteen feet, a modern example of whitened sepulchres. The custom of garnishing the sepulchres prevails more or less throughout Persia.
Outward purification must begin within
I. It is a characteristic of fallen men that they are apt to content themselves with cleansing the outside. They are at greater pains to seem pure than to be pure.
II. Though outward purity is desirable, and even measurably praiseworthy, yet, if it be not the fruit of a purified heart, it is unreliable and comparatively valueless. For the welfare of this life it is better that one should be winning than repulsive, moral than immoral. It is better to have a washed outside than to have both outside and inside filthy. If outside only it is unreliable; has no inherent permanency.
III. A cleansed heart is a sure producer of genuine and permanent purity of life. Learn:
1. That God estimates character by the state of the heart.
2. That man has a corrupt heart, and is therefore loathsome in Gods sight.
3. That to have Gods favour man must be cleansed, and that to be effectual it must begin in his heart.
4. That there is such a thing as being effectually cleansed and rendered acceptable to the Holy One. (T. Williston.)
Deception deceived
So it ever comes to pass that we are punished for deceiving others by being ourselves deceived. Our success secures our delusion. When an act which is properly an indication of some good motive is repeatedly performed in the sight of those who cannot see the heart, they take for granted the motive and give us the credit of it-provided only the act be of the class which it is the fashion of the day and place to applaud as religious. We are assumed to be what, at first, we know we are not. But in time this knowledge fades away; we accept as the independently formed judgment of others that which really rested upon our own successful deception; we come to consider our conduct as in itself sufficient proof of the motive which is universally assumed to be its source. We move in a circle of hypocrisy, and it becomes difficult to decide whether we are the authors or the victims of the delusion. We are, in fact, both. (J. C. Coghlan, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. Ye make clean the outside] The Pharisees were exceedingly exact in observing all the washings and purifications prescribed by the law; but paid no attention to that inward purity which was typified by them. A man may appear clean without, who is unclean within; but outward purity will not avail in the sight of God, where inward holiness is wanting.
Extortion and excess.] ‘ , rapine and intemperance; but instead of , intemperance, many of the very best MSS., CEFGHKS, and more than a hundred others, the Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, Slavonic, with Chrysostorn, Euthym., and Theophylact, have injustice, which Griesbach has admitted into the text instead of . The latter Syriac has both. Several MSS. and versions have , uncleanness; others have , covetousness; some have , wickedness; and two of the ancients have iniquitate, iniquity. Suppose we put them all together, the character of the Pharisee will not be overcharged. They were full of rapine and intemperance, injustice and uncleanness, covetousness, wickedness, and iniquity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Luke hath this, Luk 11:39,40, as occasioned by the Pharisees wondering that he washed not before dinner; instead of extortion and excess, he hath ravening and wickedness, and addeth, Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But the same thing might be spoken at two several times. He speaks there to the Pharisee, with whom he dined, Mat 23:37. Here he speaks to the disciples and the multitude. Our Saviours design here seemeth to me not to be a condemning of their legal or traditional washings of pots and cups, which he elsewhere reflects upon, but, by way of allusion only, to blame them that in their whole conversation they rather studied an external purity, than the inward purity of the heart, whereas if they would first have looked at purity of heart, the other would have followed that. A man may be outwardly pure, and inwardly filthy and impure; but no man can have a pure heart, but he will live a pure and holy life, for the external acts are but the impure acts of the soul: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, and according to the inclinations and affections of the heart the foot moveth, the hand and all the bodily members act. For our Saviours application of this to their traditional washings, I shall speak to it when I come to Luk 11:39.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. within they are full ofextortionIn Luke (Lu 11:39)the same word is rendered “ravening,” that is, “rapacity.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,…. Our Lord cannot be thought to bear too hard upon these men, nor does he continue this character of them, and denunciations of woe against them, without a reason:
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. The allusion is to their traditions about washing their cups and pots, and brazen vessels; see Mr 7:4 which they strictly observed. In their oral law is a whole tract, called “Mikvaot”, which gives rules about the places where they washed, the things to be washed, and the manner of washing them; about which they were very nice, pretending to much outward cleanness, but had no regard to inward purity. Christ’s sense is, that they took much pains, and were very careful, that the cup they drank out of, and the platter, or dish they ate out of, should be very clean; when at the same time, the food and drink that were within them, were got by oppression and rapine; by devouring widows’ houses, by making undue claims upon, and extorting unjust sums from the fatherless, the poor, and the needy; and were abused by them, to luxury and intemperance. In like manner the Jews themselves say of hypocrites w;
“They make show of a pure and clean soul, but under it lies hid a leprosy: they are like to “vessels full of uncleanness”; they are outwardly washed with the water of fraud and craftiness; but whatsoever is within, in the midst or them, is unclean.”
The Vulgate Latin version of the text, instead of “excess”, reads “uncleanness”, and so does Munster’s Hebrew Gospel: many copies read “unrighteousness”. Excess is thought to be a sin the Pharisees were not guilty of, though they were of extortion, injustice, and uncleanness.
w R. Sol Gabirol in Cether Malcuth apud L. Capell in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From extortion and excess ( ). A much more serious accusation. These punctilious observers of the external ceremonies did not hesitate at robbery () and graft (), lack of control. A modern picture of wickedness in high places both civil and ecclesiastical where the moral elements in life are ruthlessly trodden under foot. Of course, the idea is for both the outside and the inside () of the cup and the platter (fine side dish). But the inside is the more important. Note the change to singular in verse 26 as if Jesus in a friendlier tone pleads with a Pharisee to mend his ways.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Platter [] . para, beside, oyon, meat. A side – dish, with the accompanying sense of something dainty; later, as here, the dish itself as distinguished from its contents.
Excess [] . aj, not, kratov, power. Hence conduct which shows a want of power over one’s self : incontinence or intemperance..
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
25. For you cleanse the outer part. Our Lord follows out the same statement, and employs a figure for reproaching the scribes with being eagerly bent on this single object of making a brilliant appearance before men. For by the outer part of the dish he metaphorically expresses the outward appearance; as if he had said, “You give yourselves no concern about any cleanness but what appears outwardly, which is quite as if one were carefully to wash off the filth of the dish without, but to leave it filthy within.” That the expression is metaphorical is evident from the second clause, in which the uncleanness within is condemned, because within they are full of intemperance and extortion. He therefore reproves their hypocrisy, in not endeavoring to regulate their life, except before the eyes of men, in order to procure for themselves an empty reputation for holiness. Thus he recalls them to the pure and sincere desire of a holy life. Cleanse first, he says, that which is within; for it would be ridiculous to feast your eyes with outward splendor, and yet to drink out of a cup full of dregs, or in other respects filthy. (103)
(103) “ Plene de lie et de bourbe, ou autrement orde et sale;”—full of dregs and of mud, or otherwise nasty and filthy.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
TEXT: 23:2528
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
a.
Is Jesus merely displeased with the way Pharisees washed their dishes? What are the cups and platters which are full of extortion and excess? Are the dishes to be understood literally or figuratively? If literally, how can they be full from extortion and excess? If figuratively, what do they represent here? Is it likely that the Pharisees would ever wash merely the outside of a dish and not also the inside with the same scrupulousness?
b.
In washing dishes one must work at cleansing both the inside and the outside. In the moral realm, however, Jesus thinks that cleansing the inside will actually cleanse the outside too. How does this work?
c.
How did it happen that such good men, as the Pharisees outwardly appeared to be, could actually involve themselves in the vicious sins of extortion and excess, hypocrisy and iniquity of which Jesus accuses them here?
d.
Are you a member of the true church of Christ whose members adhere to the strictest rule of piety and profess loyalty to God and faithfulness to His law? If so, what is there to keep any member of your congregation from committing any one of the great sins Jesus exposes here? What practical steps are you taking to keep this from happening? Is your plan working?
e.
What are the things that truly contaminate or defile the modern Christian?
f.
Does it really matter to you if your life is corrupted by the uncleanness around you? Does purity of heart really matter to you? What, specifically, are you doing to purify your heart?
PARAPHRASE
How terrible for you, doctors of the Law and Pharisees, you fakes! You polish the outside of the cup and plate, but fill them with the plunder from your greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First polish the inside of the cup and plate, and the outside will be clean too. How terrible for you theologians and Pharisees, hypocrites! You resemble sepulchers covered with whitewash: on the outside they look fine, but on the inside they are full of dead mens bones and rotten stuff! You are just like that: from the outside you seem to others to be saintly people, but you have hearts brimful of pretense and lawlessness.
SUMMARY
Behavior modification that does not involve the transformation of mans hearthis intellect, conscience, desires and willmust be declared a miserable failure. Mere external change leaves the greed and the self-indulgence that lies at the root of all moral anarchy.
NOTES
Cleansing the Outside
Mat. 23:25 Woe unto you . . . for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. (Cf. Luk. 11:39.) Jesus language sparkles with brilliant satire as He sketches a line of Pharisees busily washing dishes with great ceremony and seriousness. Inexplicably, however, they are scrubbing only the outside of the cup and platter. In Scene II we see these same sectarians loading their plates and cups with food obtained by their exploitation of others. From these they eat to excess.
Here again Jesus caricature of Pharisean piety concerns obedience to a command of God that all Israel maintain ceremonial purity even to the extent of washing contaminated objects such as cups and platters (Lev. 11:32), a law rigorously respected and expanded by this party (Mar. 7:4). From the standpoint of Pharisean theology, this section neatly connects with the preceding, because, along with punctilious tithing, scrupulous Levitical purity was one of the characteristic trademarks of the orthodox Pharisee. (Cf. Edersheim, Life, I, 312.) Remember the water-pots at the Cana wedding feast, intended for purification (Joh. 2:6). But that the Lord does not mean to criticize the way Pharisees washed their dishes is evident, because a PHARISEE, careful enough to scrub the outside, would surely be scrupulous to cleanse the inside too. But, by a surprising switch expressed by the contrast, the outside . . . but within, He draws attention to a stark contradiction in what the Pharisees themselves are doing. Although earnestly scrupulous with the meticulous cleaning of their dinner plates, they show no concern that these same dishes are re-polluted by the ill-gotten food and drink with which they are filled. Note His wording: within they are full FROM extortion and excess (ex harpags ka akrasas). He speaks, not merely of the contents of the plates, but also of the source of their content.
1.
Extortion (harpags) is the act of plundering, but, used of superpious hypocrites like the Pharisees, Jesus may refer to the unfair use of their legal rights to extract wealth from others. For example, appearing to labor honestly, they used their inside knowledge of the Law and their contrived definitions to rob people. With cruel finesse they could deprive a widow of her living or property, and, by Jesus account, often did (Mar. 12:40 = Luk. 20:47; cf. Isa. 10:1 f.). Not unlikely the Pharisee could fully justify this rapaciousness to himself, arguing that foreclosure on a widows mortgage was his just due. But, because of the heartlessness it involved, the Lord rules it extortion! (Cf. Exo. 22:22-27; Deu. 24:17 f; Deu. 15:7-11; Deu. 10:14-22; Pro. 15:25; Pro. 23:10 f.; Jer. 7:6; Jer. 22:3.) It is not because they did not have the right, but because their sinful, unquenchable thirst for more (pleonexia, greed) betrayed itself in a ruthless, at least formally legal, exploitation of the weak. (Cf. Luk. 16:14 f.) It is a fraudulent use of Gods Law to utilize it to impoverish His people (1Ti. 1:8; cf. Lev. 25:25 ff.; Deu. 15:1-11; Deu. 23:19 f; Deu. 24:6; Deu. 24:10-13)!
2.
Excess (akrasas, literally, lacking self-control, intemperate, incontinent). However, in what way does Jesus intend this accusation?
a.
In the TAKING of what fills his bowls? If so, this Pharisee, normally a strait-laced bigot that holds everyone else to the letter of the law, indulges himself, taking liberties by bending the rules for his own convenience. He does not hold himself to the law.
b.
Or in the USING of what fills his bowls? Undoubtedly, the self-indulgent Pharisee could rationalize any intemperance in meat or drink by asking, Am I not to enjoy Gods lavish reward for my righteousness? Should I not eat and drink to the full so as to do justice to His bounty?!
Thus, it could be both, since in this case excess in taking unbridled liberties with the law and the property of others furnished the hypocrite with opportunity for further self-indulgence.
So, by their excessive attention to ritual purity (cleansing the outside of the cup and platter) these pretenders purchased a reputation for being saintly men with whom everyone could trust the safe-keeping of their soul and earthly property. But from behind this smoke-screen of apparent rigorousness, they struck their unsuspecting victims with the viciousness and venom of a rattlesnake. Whether or not the Pharisees intended this facade as a hunters blind to conceal their true intentions and movements, this was virtually its function.
Mat. 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee: see notes on Mat. 23:13. Blind to the iniquity in their own lives, they neither discerned it nor hated it. So, to unmask it to their face is to make possible their salvation. (Cf. Rev. 3:17 ff.; Jer. 4:14; Psa. 51:2; Psa. 51:7; Psa. 51:10.) They were blind to Old Testament religion that taught heart purity as the only definitive condition whereby external cleansing had any validity. They were blind not to perceive that to fill their cup and platter with the loot from their extortion and intemperance rendered them UNCLEAN because SIN POLLUTES everything it touches more so than any Levitical contamination ever could! So, Jesus opens their eyes to the obvious solution: Get to the source of your problem: clean up the inside first and the rest will be easy!
Now, if the inside of the cup and the platter are rendered impure by what filled them, i.e. by the tainted contents obtained by oppressing others, then the command, cleanse first the inside, must mean: (1) earn your food honestly, (2) eliminate those crooked methods, i.e. the plunder and license, that formerly furnished your food and drink. The only ethical way to remove the fruits of plunder is to return everything extorted to the victims. Zacchaeus understood this and applied Jesus teaching correctly, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold (Luk. 19:8; cf. Exo. 22:1-15).
The foregoing interpretation takes Jesus words more or less literally as referring to the spiritually proper approach to decontamination of literal eating vessels. But is Jesus merely interested in teaching Pharisees the truly godly way to wash their dishes, so they will be Levitcally pure with the cleanness God intended in the Mosaic Law? If so, His point and its immediate application ends here.
On the other hand we may ask whether Jesus carries in His mind here the same concept He expressed earlier (Luk. 11:39-41), where He discussed t xthen and t sthen, the outside and inside of the Pharisees lives. There He referred to their hidden motives and their observable, external conduct, a point, incidentally, which He will underscore in His next illustrations (Mat. 23:27 ff.). So it is not uncontextual to think of this meaning as underlying His thought even here (v. 26). There He said, The inside of you is full of extortion and wickedness (Luk. 11:39 : t d sthen humn gmei harpags ka ponras). They had not seen that He who made the outside made the inside too and were ordered to give for alms those things which are within with the result that everything is clean for you. Thus, if Jesus is speaking in metaphors, the vessels stand for the human soul. the external cleansing, then, is the Pharisean attempt to change external behavior without getting at the true cause of all defilement, the sin deep in mans heart, whereby he corrupts everything he touches.
Cleanse first the inside . . . that the outside thereof may become clean also, means: Deal with a mans heart and those sins of the spirit that make him act the way he does! When his heart belongs to God by sanctification, whatever that man does or says will reflect his inner cleansing. (Eze. 36:25-27; Jas. 4:7 f. pictures people of polluted hands [deeds] and impure hearts [mixed motives] as double-minded. Such hypocrites have a public image and a private life that are in conflict. Cf. Tit. 1:15 f. Thus, total cleansing and unconditional submission to God is the only route back to sanity and freedom, to joy and true exaltation.) Get rid of your extortion and excess by a truly godly repentance and holiness in your private life, and the external ceremonies of your religion will be properly observed as a matter of course. Jesus solution (Luk. 11:40 f.) prescribed turning the greed that filled them into practical generosity to the poor, and to the surprise (ka ido) of the new regenerated hearts, they would find everything truly pure for them, because a clean heart produces a clean life and pure actions. (See notes introductory to the Sermon on the Mount.
Concealing the Inside
Again Jesus illustrates the concept taught in the preceding charge: the fallacy of scrupulous concern for externals that neglects a revolving inner character. Because He explained His own meaning, let Him be our Teacher:
Mat. 23:27
Mat. 23:28
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye are like unto whited sepulchers which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Men whited sepulchers for two reasons:
1.
So they could be identified as tombs lest passersby defile themselves through unconscious contact with the dead (cf. Num. 19:11-16). In Luk. 11:44 Jesus taught that men were defiled by touching an unmarked tomb, since there was nothing to warn people of its presence. Consequently, white-washing remedied this defect. Here (Mat. 23:27 f.), however, His point is different, because Pharisees, as whited sepulchers, would presumably warn others that the defilement of death and corruption is near. Further, no Pharisee would have believed that others contact with his superior holiness could do anything but bless. Hence, he certainly would not have warned others to avoid him by whitening the sepulcher.
2.
So they would appear outwardly beautiful is the reason given here by the Lord for their white-washing (cf. Mat. 23:29). A beautified funerary monument can be a masterpiece. But this work of art, although it reflect the taste and skill of its builder, is inwardly full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness. The eye-pleasing exterior beguiles the beholder into supposing the tombs contents to be innocuous, rather, as lovely as it facade. Unhappily, this mistake leads as surely to his contamination as if the grave had never been marked and he stumbled onto it by accident,
Outwardly . . . inwardly: it is precisely this difference between a persons real character and his public reputation that distinguishes the hypocrite. This is true whether or not the hypocrite is fully aware of the dissimilarity. (See on Mat. 23:13, blind guides.) Nevertheless, what a man is inwardly, what he does secretly, when he supposes himself most alone, this is what he is. Any distinction between this and what he wants others to know about him gauges the depth of his dissimulation. Barclay (Matthew, II, 328) graphically sketched this fake:
A man may walk with bowed head, and reverent steps, and folded hands in the posture of humility, but all the time he may be looking down with cold contempt on those whom he regards as sinners; his very humility may be the pose of pride; and as he walks so humbly, he may be thinking with relish of the picture of piety which he presents to those who are watching him.
Ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Even Josephus (Ant. XVII, 2, 4) documents their fraudulent faith: they valued themselves highly upon the exact skill they had in the law of their fathers, and made men believe they were highly favoured by God. Then he described how the Pharisees led some noble women on with deception, enticing them to do what was against their best interests. Undoubtedly, the Pharisean ideal was, as indeed our own must be, the beauty of holiness. (Cf. Psa. 29:2; Psa. 96:9.) But their legalism, as also Christian legalism, produces this unvarying result: outwardly, the convert is cleaned up and freed from the crasser forms of paganism. By focusing his attention on trying to conform to a set of commonly accepted rules without the soul-transforming power of a new birth (Joh. 3:10), he produces an impressive show of religiousness. By fulfilling the role expected of him by his ecclesiastical community, he appears righteous to his peers, notwithstanding the contradiction between his private reasons for keeping the rules and the public impression he makes on others. Luke (Luk. 16:15) suggests that their external white-washing was not mere moral cosmetics, but immoral pride that justifies itself to convince others of its goodness. God, however, always discerns the not-always-obvious difference. (Cf. 1Sa. 16:7.) To appear righteous before men had been their goal so as to enjoy human approval, rather than that of God who sees and judges the darkest secrets of mens hearts. And it will then be small comfort to . . . hypocrites, to remember how creditably and plausibly they went to hell, applauded by all their neighbors (Matthew Henry, V, 339). So, despite the Pharisees best intentions, their hypocritical character was itself a necessary, natural product of their system of social reform. By laying great stress on patient, punctilious performance of lesser precepts while (perhaps unconsciously) neglecting the love, justice, mercy and faith that really count with God, they created a dichotomy that corrupted their own hearts and others by real iniquity.
In strident contrast with Pharisean pretentions to be honored by others (Mat. 23:6 f.), Jesus explains why they should be avoided! Anyone in the company of a Pharisean rabbi, whose unimpeachable external conduct exuded an intensely religious atmosphere of earnest piety, would probably consider himself twice blessed, not realizing how defiling or how morally compromising such company really is. Although not every Pharisee deliberately concealed his true character from others, he nonetheless spread the moral contagion Jesus describes in this chapter, and no one suspected anything. No wonder Jesus alerted others to this danger!
The Fundamental Principle Is Moral Purity
Other texts of Scripture, that speak of Christian purity and its defilement, point clearly to SIN IN THE HEART as the source of true contamination. (Cf. Mat. 5:8; Mat. 5:21 f., Mat. 5:28 f., Mat. 5:37; Mat. 5:44 f.; Mat. 6:1; Mat. 6:3; Mat. 6:6; Mat. 6:18; Mat. 6:24; Mat. 6:33 f.; Mat. 15:19.) Other texts underline the motive for everything we do. (Cf. 1Ti. 1:5; Eph. 6:24; 1Pe. 1:22.) Others warn that desire for social approval can corrupt good morals. (1Co. 15:33 f.; Jas. 4:4; Joh. 5:44.) Other texts furnish incentive to remove all corruption, by describing the respective destiny of the corrupt and of the pure. (Cf. Rev. 21:7 f., Rev. 21:27; Rev. 22:11-15.) So, the contradiction between inner and outer self-expression can be overcome, when the inner good character is the only true motive for our outward actions and attitudes, even if we are repeatedly anguished to see how often our practice falls short of our ideals. Moral consistency is obtainable, paradoxically, by confessing that we do not possess it, because in the confession we strip aside the veil that hides our inner self (Jas. 5:16). Moral purity can be had by being constantly aware that God, whose praise or blame counts with us, sees every discrepancy between motives and conduct, and by our living so as to have only one motive behind all that we do: to please Him (2Co. 5:9-11; 2Co. 5:14 f.).
FACT QUESTIONS
1.
What are the cups and plates which the Pharisees washed?
2.
To what Mosaic law is reference made in the allusion to dishwashing?
3.
Explain how the cups and plates could be full from extortion and rapacity.
4.
Explain what is meant by cleansing the inside of such vessels so that the outside would also be clean.
5.
Explain the allusion to whitewashed tombs and tell why they furnished so apt an illustration of Pharisean character.
6.
Explain how Pharisees own hypocrisy is the necessary, natural product of their own system of social reform.
7.
What other Biblical passages speak to the subject of uncleanness and purity in the life of Christians?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(25) The outside of the cup and of the platter.The latter word in the Greek indicates what we should call a side-dish, as distinct from the charger of Mat. 14:11. The outside includes the inner surface. (Comp., as regards the practice, Mar. 7:4.)
Are full of extortion and excess.The two words point (1) to the source from which the viands and the wine camethe cup and the platter were filled with, or out of the proceeds of, extortion; (2) that to which they tendedthey overflowed with unrestrained self-indulgence.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Extortion and excess The SIXTH WOE is pronounced upon moral hypocrisy, in which men will show a fair exterior of conduct, while they are in secret practising the most abundant wickedness. The two forms of profligacy which our Lord selects are secret commercial dishonesty and secret licentiousness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the bowl, but within they are full from extortion and excess.”
Note that this parallels those who lay great weight on their own gifts and offerings, which have a derived holiness, rather than on what is intrinsically holy (Mat 23:16-22). That prevented them from genuinely approaching the living God. Here their fault lies in cleansing externals while not being concerned about what lies beneath, and thus failing to please God. In both cases it is to miss what is essential for the sake of the inessential. They laid great stress on the ritual cleansing of pottery, and of their own outer bodies, but they ignored what lay within themselves and were thus full of ‘extortion’ (obtaining things by false means) and ‘excess’ (lack of self-control, self indulgence). It is not, of course, that the Scribes and Pharisees were particularly evil men. They simply indulged in the same corrupt practises as many others. The difference lies in the fact that they set themselves up as the standard by which others should be judged, and as the custodians of the people’s morals, and should thus have been a glowing example to others. But they were not. Their light should have been shining before men (Mat 5:16), but instead it was dimmed and distorted. When we call ourselves Christians we too have to beware that our lives are consistent with what we believe, or we too will come under the same condemnation.
The picture of the Pharisee carefully cleaning the outside of a vessel while at the same time it was full of filthiness, without bothering about the inside, is probably intended to be amusing as well as telling. Jesus constantly uses caricature to get over His point. But in the application the vessel is themselves, keeping their outsides clean with constant washings, and yet not worrying about the inner heart. It was certainly typical of much of what they did, and much of what many of us do.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Two Examples Of The Way In Which They Put On A Show But Do Not Deal With What Is Unacceptable Underneath (23:25-28).
Having demonstrated that justice, mercy and compassion, and faithfulness was to enjoy the major focus of their thinking Jesus now demonstrates by illustration where they are falling short. They are concentrating on externals rather than what comes from the inner heart. Fulfilling ritual correctly has become more important than dealing justly with people, revealing compassion and being faithful to His will.
Analysis.
a
b “You blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the bowl” (Mat 23:26 a).
c “That the outside of it may become clean also” (Mat 23:26 b).
b “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Mat 23:27).
a “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Mat 23:28).
Note that in ‘a’ they cleanse the outside and not the inside, and in the parallel they appear righteous on the outside but are not on the inside. In ‘b’ they are told to cleanse the inside, and in the parallel we have the reason why the inside need to be cleaned. Centrally in ‘c’ we have the main purpose, which is that both inside and outside might be clean.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The sixth woe:
v. 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.
v. 26. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. A picture taken from the well-known strictness of the Pharisees in the matter of washings and purifications prescribed by law. In all such outward forms, also in the precepts concerning eating and drinking, they took care to maintain an unblemished appearance before men. But incidentally the results of robbery and incontinence filled their pockets. In true purity it is essential that the inside of the platter and cup be clean first; the purity of the exterior will follow as a matter of course. There can be no real piety, no true righteousness of life, unless the inward man is first renewed. Conversion must precede sanctification. A person may train himself to observe the outward semblance of proper form and even of Christian virtues, but without a change of heart all this avails nothing. “He says: Externally everything is so clean that it could not be better. But how is it in your heart? He does not speak of the cup or of the platter, but of the heart that it is full of uncleanness. He does not reject their purity altogether. For they should clean first of all what was inside. This purity which ye not only observe, but also teach, when ye think if the garment of purple is brushed, and everything, bed and dress, is clean, that is your righteousness, and do not hinder this purity, but even teach it, and are still inside full of robbery, devouring, uncleanness, and even defend this doctrine and life. It cannot be sin that ye rob and steal everything they have from the poor people!”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 23:25-26. Ye make clean the outside, &c. 6. The sixth woe is denounced for their hypocrisy: they were at great pains to appear virtuous, and to have a decent external conduct, while they neglected to beautify their inward man with goodness, which, in the sight of God, is an ornament of great price, and renders men dear and valuable to all who know them. Within, theymeans the cup and platter;are full of extortion and excess; which you swallow down without the least scruple: instead of extortion and excess, some would read, rapine and intemperance, , . The last word takes in not only all kinds of outward intemperance, particularlyin eating and drinking, but all intemperate or immoderate desires, whether of honour, gain, or sensual pleasures. Dr. Heylin observes well, that the censure here isdoubled,takingintemperanceinthecommonsense.Thesemiserablemen,procured unjustly what they used intemperately: no wonder tables so furnished prove a snare, as many find by sad experience. Luxury punishes fraud, and feeds disease with the fruits of injustice. Thou blind Pharisee, continues our Lord, Mat 23:26. Cleanse first, &c. that is, “Take care that what is within the cup, and not so much exposed to view, be clean; and then thou mayest with propriety bestow pains in cleansing the outside of the cup.” But though in this clause our Lord still makes use of the metaphor, he reasons according to the thing intended by it, thus, “Cleanse first thy mind, thy inward man from evil dispositions and affections, and of course thy outward behaviour will be virtuous and good.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 23:25 . But inwardly they (the cup and the plate) are filled from extortion and excess ( , see critical notes). That with which they are filled, viz. the wine and the meat, has been obtained through extortion and excess. Plunder (Heb 10:34 , common in classical writers) and exorbitance have contributed to fill them. On , see on Joh 7:3 . The simple genitive (Mat 23:27 ) would only be equivalent to: they are full of plunder , etc.
] a later form of . See on 1Co 7:5 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 25. Ye make clean the outside ] True Ephraimites, or rather Canaanites, so they are called,Hos 12:7-8Hos 12:7-8 , that is, mere natural men, Eze 16:4 ; the balances of deceit were in their hands, they loved to oppress, yet so long as thereby they grew rich, they flattered themselves, and said, “In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me, that were sin.” Hypocrites if they can but make fair to the worldward it is enough. But as the fish sepia is exposed by the black colour which she casteth out to cover her; so the hypocrite is convinced by the very show of godliness under which he hoped to have lurked. God so discovers his deceitful courses, as that his wickedness is shown before the whole congregation, Pro 26:26 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25 28. ] This woe is founded not on a literally, but a typically denoted practice of the Pharisees. Our Lord, in the ever-deepening denunciation of His discourse, has now arrived at the delineation of their whole character and practices by a parabolic similitude.
] not, ‘ are filled by ’ (Dr. Burton), but, are full of: in Hebrew. The straining out of the gnat is a cleansing pertaining to the , as compared with the inner composition of the wine itself , of which the cup is full: see Rev 18:3 .
. The exterior is not in reality pure when the interior is foul: it is not ‘a clean cup,’ unless both exterior and interior be clean: ‘alias enim illa mundities externa non est mundities.’ Bengel.
Observe, the emphasis is on : “that its exterior also may not appear to be, but really become , pure.”
. . ] The Jews used once a year (on the fifteenth of the month Adar) to whitewash the spots where graves were , that persons might not be liable to uncleanness by passing over them (see Num 19:16 ).
This goes to the root of the mischief at once: ‘your heart is not a temple of the living God, but a grave of pestilent corruption: not a heaven, but a hell. And your religion is but the whitewash hardly skin-deep.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 23:25-26 . Fifth woe , directed against externalism (Luk 11:39-41 ). , the dish, on which viands were served. In classics it meant the meat, not the dish ( , Phryn., p. 176). Rutherford (New Phryn., p. 265) remarks that our word “dish” has the same ambiguity. : within both cup and plate are full of, or from. is either redundant or it points to the fulness as resulting from the things following: filled with wine and meat purchased by the wages of unrighteousness: luxuries acquired by plunder and licence. The verb occurs again in Mat 23:27 without , and this is in favour of the second view. But on the other hand in Mat 23:26 the vessels are conceived of as defiled by and , therefore presumably as filled with them. Here as in Mat 6:22-23 , the physical and ethical are mixed in the figure.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 23:25-28
25″Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like the whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Mat 23:25 “hypocrites” See Special Topic at Mat 6:2.
“you clean the outside of the cup” They were very concerned with ceremonial cleanliness, but their attitudes and motives were far from God (cf. Isa 29:13). They were defiled from within (i.e., the heart, cf. Mar 7:15; Mar 7:20). The new standard of righteousness (i.e., the new covenant, cf. Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:22-38) was not human performance, but faith in Christ’s righteousness to be purchased on Calvary and confirmed on Easter Sunday!
Mat 23:27 “whitewashed tombs” The citizens of Jerusalem would paint the graves white before feast days lest a pilgrim accidentally touch them and become ceremonially unclean for seven days, and hence unable to participate in the feast even after traveling a long distance (cf. Num 19:16; Num 31:19). These freshly painted tombs were analogous to the outward religiosity of the Jewish leaders.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Woe, &c. Compare Mat 5:8, and see App-126.
make clean = cleanse ceremonially.
platter = dish: i.e. a side dish. Greek. paropsis. Occurs only in these verses.
extortion = plunder.
excess = incontinence.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25-28.] This woe is founded not on a literally, but a typically denoted practice of the Pharisees. Our Lord, in the ever-deepening denunciation of His discourse, has now arrived at the delineation of their whole character and practices by a parabolic similitude.
] not, are filled by (Dr. Burton), but, are full of: in Hebrew. The straining out of the gnat is a cleansing pertaining to the , as compared with the inner composition of the wine itself, of which the cup is full: see Rev 18:3.
. The exterior is not in reality pure when the interior is foul: it is not a clean cup, unless both exterior and interior be clean: alias enim illa mundities externa non est mundities. Bengel.
Observe, the emphasis is on : that its exterior also may not appear to be, but really become, pure.
. .] The Jews used once a year (on the fifteenth of the month Adar) to whitewash the spots where graves were, that persons might not be liable to uncleanness by passing over them (see Num 19:16).
This goes to the root of the mischief at once: your heart is not a temple of the living God, but a grave of pestilent corruption: not a heaven, but a hell. And your religion is but the whitewash-hardly skin-deep.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 23:25. , that which is without) sc. the external surface.- , but within) where the meat and drink are.-, they are full) sc. the cup and dish.-, of rapacity, extortion) see Mat 23:14.- , and excess) Excess,, is opposed to abstinence, not only in meat and drink, but also in money and gain. With this idea, Aristotle (Eth. Nicom. vii. 6) says that the particular thing should be mentioned in regard to which any one is remarkable for excess or the opposite; as gain, honour, anger, etc. And this is evident in the present passage, from the use of the synonymous term, . Gregory Nazianzen says, , everything which is superfluous and more than necessary, is, in my opinion, .
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
for: Mat 15:19, Mat 15:20, Mar 7:4-13, Luk 11:39, Luk 11:40
full: Isa 28:7, Isa 28:8
Reciprocal: Lev 1:9 – inwards Num 8:7 – wash their 1Sa 4:3 – it may save Pro 28:13 – that Isa 55:7 – his thoughts Eze 22:12 – greedily Mat 5:8 – are Mat 25:3 – foolish Mar 7:21 – out Luk 16:15 – Ye Joh 8:7 – He that Act 13:10 – O full Rom 2:29 – which 1Co 5:11 – or an extortioner 2Co 7:1 – let Eph 5:18 – excess Phi 3:6 – touching Jam 4:8 – purify 1Pe 4:4 – excess
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:25
This verse is intended to teach the same lesson as the preceding one by using the figure of a cup kept for drinking purposes. The inside is where the material is placed that is to be consumed, not the outside. By cleansing the outside instead of the inner part, they showed that their pretended care in the cleansing performance was for the appearance only.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 23:25. Ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish. The cup and dish refer to drink and meat, the enjoyment of life. They would give a formal legal purity to sinful gratification. On the Pharisaical washings of pots and cups, see Mar 7:8.
But within they are full from extortion and excess. From, i.e., in consequence of, by means of, more fully explained, the means for their gratification came from rapacity; the mode despite its outward legality was excess. Men often fancy themselves religious, because they conform to some standard of outward morality; while they really gain their wealth by wrong-doing, and spend it in self-gratification.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our Saviour doth not here condemn their legal, or traditional washing of pots of cups, or any external decency and cleanliness in conversation; but his design is to shew them the vanity of outward purity, without inward sancity, and to convince them of the necessity of cleansing the heart, in order to the purifying and reforming the life: plainly intimating,
1. That men’s lives could no be so bad, if their hearts were not worse, all the obliquity fo their lives proceeding from the impurity of their hearts and natures.
2. That an holy heart will be accompanied with an holy life. A man may be outwardly pure, and yet inwardly filthy; but he that has a pure heart will live a pure and holy life. Cleanse that which is within the cup, that the outside may be clean also.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 23:25-26. Wo unto you, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup, &c. This is the sixth wo. They were at great pains to appear virtuous, and to have a decent external conduct, while they neglected to beautify their inward man with true holiness, and a conformity to the divine goodness, or with the graces of Gods Holy Spirit, which in the sight of God are ornaments of great price, and render men dear and valuable to all who know what true religion and virtue are. But within they Namely, the cup and platter; are full of extortion and excess Which ye swallow down without the least scruple. Gr. , rapine and intemperance. The censure is double, (taking intemperance in the vulgar sense.) These miserable men procured unjustly what they used intemperately. No wonder tables so furnished prove a snare, as many find by sad experience. Thus luxury punishes fraud, while it feeds disease with the fruits of injustice. But intemperance, in the full sense, takes in not only all kinds of outward intemperance, particularly in eating and drinking, but all intemperate or immoderate desires, whether of honour, gain, or sensual pleasure. It must be observed, however that instead of , intemperance, very many manuscripts and ancient versions have the word , which, says Dr. Campbell, suits much better with all the accounts we have in other places of the character of the Pharisees, who are never accused of intemperance, though often of injustice. The former vice is rarely found with those who, like the Pharisees, make great pretensions to religion. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup, &c. And is not so much exposed to view. Cleanse first thy mind, thy inward man, from evil dispositions and affections, and of course thy outward behaviour will be righteous and good.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
23:25 {8} 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.
(8) Hypocrites pay too much attention to outward things, and the inward things they utterly condemn.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The fifth woe 23:25-26
Jesus condemned characteristic Pharisaic superficiality with this metaphor. The vessels represent the Pharisees and those they taught. The Jews were to be clean vessels that God could use to bring spiritual nourishment and refreshment to others. The Pharisees taught the importance of being ritually clean by observing the dietary and cleansing ordinances of the Law. Nevertheless they neglected internal purity. The Pharisees were erring in their emphases. They put too much importance on minor matters, especially ritual and external matters, and not enough on major matters, especially those involving spiritual reality. The singular "Pharisee" is probably a generic reference to all Pharisees (Mat 23:26).