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                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

                          Chapter Twenty-Three

With the religious leaders silenced by their inability to entangle Jesus
with their questions, Jesus proceeded to decry the hypocrisy of the
scribes and Pharisees in a series of scorching rebukes (1-36).   Despite
His strong condemnation, His love for them was manifested by His lament
for the people of Jerusalem (37-39).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees

   *  Jesus’ grief over the apostasy and fall of Jerusalem

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Jesus denounces the religious leaders - Mt 23:1-36
   - Jesus laments over Jerusalem - Mt 23:37-39

2) What does Jesus tell people to do in regards to the scribes and
   Pharisees? (3)
   - Do what they say, even though they do not practice what they preach

3) List some things for which Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees
   (3-7)
   - They say, and do not
   - They bind burdens on others they themselves would not bear
   - Their works they do to be seen of men
   - They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the borders of their
     garments
   - They love the best places at feasts, best seats in the synagogues
   - They love greetings in the marketplaces, to be called "Rabbi"

4) What did Jesus tell His disciples not to do?  Why? (8-11)
   - Not to use religious titles like "Rabbi", "Father", "Teacher"
   - Rather then be esteemed by such titles, they were to be humble
     servants

5) List the reasons for the eight woes expressed by Jesus (13,14,15,16,
   23,25,27,29)
   - Preventing others from entering the kingdom of heaven
   - Devouring widows’ houses and making long, pretentious prayers
   - Making proselytes twice the sons of hell as themselves
   - Making inconsistent distinctions between the swearing of oaths
   - Paying tithes of minute things while neglecting justice, mercy,
     faith
   - Cleaning the outside while neglecting the inside
   - Outwardly appearing righteous while inwardly full of hypocrisy and
     lawlessness
   - Building the tombs of the prophets while persecuting prophets

6) What did Jesus say was the condition of Jerusalem? (38)
   - "See! Your house is left to you desolate"

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