Matthew 23:1-39

Denunciation of the Pharisees

1-36. Final denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees. The other synoptists insert in this place a brief utterance directed against the scribes (Mark 12:38; Luke 20:45), but the discourse as it stands is peculiar to St. Matthew. A portion of it, however, is inserted by St. Luke at an earlier period, on the occasion of a dinner at a Pharisee's house (Luke 11:37) and this suggests that we have here a collection of sayings against the scribes and Pharisees really spoken on various occasions. The scene is the Temple. In the foreground are Jesus and His disciples; a little farther off the multitudes; in the background are the discomfited Pharisees, who, instead of attacking, are now attacked. Christ addresses first the multitudes (Matthew 23:1), then the disciples (Matthew 23:8), finally the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:13).