Matthew 23:28
In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
In the same way
This phrase connects the current statement to the preceding verses, where Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. The Greek word used here, "houtōs," implies a direct comparison, emphasizing that just as the Pharisees' outward actions are deceptive, so too is their inner condition. This connection serves as a warning to the audience about the dangers of external religiosity without internal transformation.

on the outside
The Greek term "exōthen" refers to the external appearance or surface. In the context of first-century Judaism, there was a strong emphasis on ritual purity and outward observance of the law. Archaeological findings, such as ritual baths (mikvahs), highlight the importance placed on external cleanliness. However, Jesus challenges this focus by pointing out that true purity must begin within.

you appear
The verb "phainesthe" suggests a deliberate presentation or display. The Pharisees were known for their public demonstrations of piety, such as praying on street corners or wearing distinctive garments. This word underscores the intentional nature of their actions, aimed at gaining approval from others rather than seeking genuine righteousness.

to be righteous
The Greek word "dikaioi" means just or righteous, often used in the context of living in accordance with God's laws. Historically, the Pharisees were respected for their strict adherence to the law, yet Jesus exposes the superficiality of their righteousness. True righteousness, as taught by Jesus, involves a heart aligned with God's will, not merely external compliance.

but on the inside
The phrase "esōthen" contrasts with "exōthen," shifting the focus from external appearances to internal reality. Jesus emphasizes that God looks at the heart, as seen in 1 Samuel 16:7, where God tells Samuel that He looks at the heart rather than outward appearance. This internal focus is a recurring theme in Jesus' teachings.

you are full
The Greek word "mestoi" indicates being filled or saturated. This suggests that the inner life of the Pharisees is not just tainted but completely dominated by negative qualities. The imagery of being "full" conveys the idea of an overwhelming presence of these traits, leaving no room for true righteousness.

of hypocrisy
"Hypocrisy" comes from the Greek "hypokrisis," originally meaning an actor's role or pretense. In the biblical context, it refers to the disconnect between one's public persona and private reality. Jesus frequently condemns hypocrisy, as it represents a fundamental dishonesty in one's relationship with God and others.

and wickedness
The term "anomia" is often translated as lawlessness or iniquity, indicating a willful disregard for God's commands. This word choice highlights the severity of the Pharisees' condition, as their inner corruption stands in stark contrast to their outward show of piety. Jesus' use of "wickedness" underscores the moral and spiritual decay that results from prioritizing appearance over substance.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this verse, addressing the scribes and Pharisees, highlighting their hypocrisy.

2. Scribes and Pharisees
Jewish religious leaders known for their strict adherence to the law and traditions, yet criticized by Jesus for their hypocrisy.

3. Jerusalem
The city where Jesus delivered this discourse, a central place for Jewish worship and teaching.

4. The Temple
While not directly mentioned in this verse, it is the backdrop for many of Jesus' teachings in Matthew 23.

5. The Disciples and the Crowd
The audience listening to Jesus' rebuke of the religious leaders, learning from His teachings.
Teaching Points
The Danger of Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is a grave sin that Jesus condemns. It involves pretending to be something we are not, especially in matters of faith.

True Righteousness is Internal
God values the condition of our hearts over our external actions. We must cultivate a sincere and genuine faith.

Self-Examination
Regularly examine your own life for areas of hypocrisy. Are there ways in which you present yourself as more righteous than you are?

Authentic Faith in Action
Our actions should reflect our internal beliefs. Strive to align your behavior with your faith in Christ.

Seek God's Transformation
Pray for the Holy Spirit to transform your heart, leading to genuine righteousness and integrity.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:28 challenge your understanding of righteousness?

2. In what ways can you identify with the Pharisees' struggle with hypocrisy, and how can you address these areas in your life?

3. How do the additional scriptures connected to Matthew 23:28 deepen your understanding of internal versus external righteousness?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your faith is genuine and not just for show?

5. How can you encourage others in your community to pursue authentic faith and avoid the pitfalls of hypocrisy?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 15:8-9
Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for honoring God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him, emphasizing the theme of external versus internal righteousness.

1 Samuel 16:7
God looks at the heart rather than outward appearances, reinforcing the idea that true righteousness is internal.

Isaiah 29:13
The prophet Isaiah speaks of people who honor God with their lips but have removed their hearts far from Him, a theme echoed in Jesus' rebuke.

James 1:22-25
Encourages believers to be doers of the word and not hearers only, highlighting the importance of genuine faith and action.

Romans 2:28-29
Paul speaks about true circumcision being of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code, aligning with Jesus' teaching on internal righteousness.
Appearance and RealityR. Tuck Matthew 23:28
Pharisees and SadduceesMarcus Dods Matthew 23:2-33
Deception DeceivedJ. C. Coghlan, D. D.Matthew 23:25-28
Emblem of HypocrisyG. S. Bowes., S. Rutherford., R. Pollok.Matthew 23:25-28
False AppearancesT. Guthrie, D. D.Matthew 23:25-28
Fatal BlindnessJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 23:25-28
Garnished TombsGadsby.Matthew 23:25-28
God Searches the HeartMatthew 23:25-28
Hypocrisy ContradictoryAdams.Matthew 23:25-28
Hypocrisy DeceptiveCawdray.Matthew 23:25-28
Hypocrisy Sometimes Difficult to DiscoverArchbishop Secker.Matthew 23:25-28
Moral AblutionA. Tucker.Matthew 23:25-28
Outward Purification Must Begin WithinT. Williston.Matthew 23:25-28
Posthumous Testimony to the Great and GoodMatthew 23:25-28
The Hypocrite Takes a Partial ChristMatthew 23:25-28
TombsN. Rogers.Matthew 23:25-28
Whited SepulchresJ. Trapp.Matthew 23:25-28
Whitened SepulchresMatthew 23:25-28
People
Abel, Barachias, Berechiah, Hen, Jesus, Zachariah, Zacharias, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Appear, TRUE, Disregard, Eye, Full, God's, Honest, Human, Hypocrisy, Indeed, Iniquity, Inside, Insincerity, Inwardly, Law, Lawlessness, Outwardly, Righteous, Righteousness, Seem, Thus, Wickedness, Within, Wrongdoing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 23:28

     8157   righteousness, as faith
     8767   hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-32

     8767   hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-33

     5381   law, letter and spirit
     8749   false teachers

Matthew 23:1-36

     5379   law, Christ's attitude
     7552   Pharisees, attitudes to Christ

Matthew 23:2-33

     7464   teachers of the law

Matthew 23:13-33

     9250   woe

Matthew 23:13-39

     2318   Christ, as prophet

Matthew 23:23-28

     8761   fools, in teaching of Christ

Matthew 23:23-33

     2009   Christ, anger of
     5943   self-deception

Matthew 23:25-28

     5173   outward appearance
     7340   clean and unclean
     8720   double-mindedness
     8774   legalism

Matthew 23:27-28

     1025   God, anger of
     5132   biting
     5514   scribes

Library
The Morality of the Gospel.
Is stating the morality of the Gospel as an argument of its truth, I am willing to admit two points; first, that the teaching of morality was not the primary design of the mission; secondly, that morality, neither in the Gospel, nor in any other book, can be a subject, properly speaking, of discovery. If I were to describe in a very few words the scope of Christianity as a revelation, [49] I should say that it was to influence the conduct of human life, by establishing the proof of a future state
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Christianity Misunderstood by Believers.
Meaning of Christian Doctrine, Understood by a Minority, has Become Completely Incomprehensible for the Majority of Men-- Reason of this to be Found in Misinterpretation of Christianity and Mistaken Conviction of Believers and Unbelievers Alike that they Understand it--The Meaning of Christianity Obscured for Believers by the Church--The First Appearance of Christ's Teaching--Its Essence and Difference from Heathen Religions-- Christianity not Fully Comprehended at the Beginning, Became More and
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

First Attempts on Jerusalem.
Jesus, almost every year, went to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover. The details of these journeys are little known, for the synoptics do not speak of them,[1] and the notes of the fourth Gospel are very confused on this point.[2] It was, it appears, in the year 31, and certainly after the death of John, that the most important of the visits of Jesus to Jerusalem took place. Many of the disciples followed him. Although Jesus attached from that time little value to the pilgrimage, he conformed
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

For which Cause Our Lord Himself Also with his Own Mouth Saith...
4. For which cause our Lord Himself also with His own mouth saith, "Cleanse what are within, and what are without will be clean." [1813] And, also, in another place, when He was refuting the foolish speeches of the Jews, in that they spake evil against His disciples, eating with unwashen hands; "Not what entereth into the mouth," said He, "defileth the man: but what cometh forth out of the mouth, that defileth the man." [1814] Which sentence, if the whole of it be taken of the mouth of the body,
St. Augustine—On Continence

Relation of the Pharisees to the Sadducees and Essenes, and to the Gospel of Christ
On taking a retrospective view of Pharisaism, as we have described it, there is a saying of our Lord which at first sight seems almost unaccountable. Yet it is clear and emphatic. "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do" (Matt 23:3). But if the early disciples were not to break at once and for ever with the Jewish community, such a direction was absolutely needful. For, though the Pharisees were only "an order," Pharisaism, like modern Ultramontanism, had not only become
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The General Service to a Prophet.
At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 4. Similar to: Called from above... Thou that hast in the purity of thy mind received the reflex of the God-emitted light and wast the herald of the divine words and seer and divine prophet, thou appearedst as the God-moved mouth of the Spirit, conveying that which was shewn by Him unto thee, O all-honoured (mentioned by name), and declaring unto all the peoples the salvation that was being granted and the Kingdom of Christ; do entreat
Anonymous—The General Menaion

Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Hints to Teachers and Questions for Pupils
Teacher's Apparatus.--English theology has no juster cause for pride than the books it has produced on the Life of Paul. Perhaps there is no other subject in which it has so outdistanced all rivals. Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St. Paul will probably always keep the foremost place; in many respects it is nearly perfect; and a teacher who has mastered it will be sufficiently equipped for his work and require no other help. The works of Lewin and Farrar are written on the same lines;
James Stalker et al—The Life of St. Paul

On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Machinations of the Enemies of Jesus.
Jesus passed the autumn and a part of the winter at Jerusalem. This season is there rather cold. The portico of Solomon, with its covered aisles, was the place where he habitually walked.[1] This portico consisted of two galleries, formed by three rows of columns, and covered by a ceiling of carved wood.[2] It commanded the valley of Kedron, which was doubtless less covered with debris than it is at the present time. The depth of the ravine could not be measured, from the height of the portico; and
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Early Ministry in Judea
113. We owe to the fourth gospel our knowledge of the fact that Jesus began his general ministry in Jerusalem. The silence of the other records concerning this beginning cannot discredit the testimony of John. For these other records themselves indicate in various ways that Jesus had repeatedly sought to win Jerusalem before his final visit at the end of his life (compare Luke xiii. 34; Matt. xxiii. 37). Moreover, the fourth gospel is confirmed by the probability, rising almost to necessity, that
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

The Crossing of the Jordan
THE CROSSING OF THE JORDAN Just how did you feel at the time you were sanctified? I have heard some tell of how the holy fire of the Spirit seemed to go all through them. Others have told of a deeper, more complete peace. Some have shouted for joy. Others have wept for joy. And I am wondering how one ought to feel. Can you tell me? And how can I know that I am consecrated? Every teacher of entire sanctification that I ever heard says that the consecration must be complete; but how am I to know when
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Letter Xliv Concerning the Maccabees but to whom Written is Unknown.
Concerning the Maccabees But to Whom Written is Unknown. [69] He relies to the question why the Church has decreed a festival to the Maccabees alone of all the righteous under the ancient law. 1. Fulk, Abbot of Epernay, had already written to ask me the same question as your charity has addressed to your humble servant by Brother Hescelin. I have put off replying to him, being desirous to find, if possible, some statement in the Fathers about this which was asked, which I might send to him, rather
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Number and Order of the Separate Books.
The number of the books was variously estimated. Josephus gives twenty-two, which was the usual number among Christian writers in the second, third, and fourth centuries, having been derived perhaps from the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Origen, Jerome, and others have it. It continued longest among the teachers of the Greek Church, and is even in Nicephorus's stichometry.(83) The enumeration in question has Ruth with Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremiah. In Epiphanius(84) the number twenty-seven
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Elucidations.
I. (Who first propounded these heresies, p. 11.) Hippolytus seems to me to have felt the perils to the pure Gospel of many admissions made by Clement and other Alexandrian doctors as to the merits of some of the philosophers of the Gentiles. Very gently, but with prescient genius, he adopts this plan of tracing the origin and all the force of heresies to "philosophy falsely so called." The existence of this "cloud of locusts" is (1) evidence of the antagonism of Satan; (2) of the prophetic spirit
Hippolytus.—The Refutation of All Heresies

"The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

We are not Binding Heavy Burdens and Laying them Upon Your Shoulders...
37. We are not binding heavy burdens and laying them upon your shoulders, while we with a finger will not touch them. Seek out, and acknowledge the labor of our occupations, and in some of us the infirmities of our bodies also, and in the Churches which we serve, that custom now grown up, that they do not suffer us to have time ourselves for those works to which we exhort you. For though we might say, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Repentance and Impenitence.
In the discussion of this subject I shall show,-- I. What repentance is not. 1. The Bible everywhere represents repentance as a virtue, and as constituting a change of moral character; consequently, it cannot be a phenomenon of the intelligence: that is, it cannot consist in conviction of sin, nor in any intellectual apprehension of our guilt or ill-desert. All the states or phenomena of the intelligence are purely passive states of mind, and of course moral character, strictly speaking, cannot be
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Second Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Brotherly Love.
Text: 1 John 3, 13-18. 13 Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

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