Matthew 23:15 Komentář

Then spake Jesus to the multitude,.... To the common people that were about him in the temple; the high priests and elders, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, having left him, being all nonplussed and silenced by him: and now, lest on the one hand, the people seeing the ignorance and errors of these men detected by Christ, should be tempted to conclude there was nothing in religion, and to neglect the word and worship of God, on account of the concern these men had in it; and on the other hand, because of their great authority and influence, being in Moses's chair, lest the people should be led into bad principles and practices by them, he directs them in what they should observe them, and in what not: that they were not altogether to be rejected, nor in everything to be attended to; and warns them against their ostentation, pride, hypocrisy, covetousness, and cruelty; and, at the same time, removes an objection against himself, proving that he was no enemy to Moses, and the law, rightly explained and practised: and to his disciples; not only the twelve, but to all that believed in him, and were followers of him.

Woe unto you, you blind guides,.... Meaning the same persons, the Scribes and Pharisees, as before, though not named, who pretended to be "guides of the blind", Rom 2:19 but were them selves blind, and so very unfit to be guides of others; they were as they were born, ignorant of divine things, of God in Christ, of the true Messiah, of the true meaning of the Scriptures, of the spirituality of the law, and of the Gospel of Christ; and the way of salvation by him; and their minds were blinded by the God of this world, and with a greedy, and insatiable covetousness after the things of it, of which Christ here gives an instance: which say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; meaning either that it was no sin to use such an oath, or it was not binding upon a man: he might choose whether he would abide by what he swore by the temple he would do; and thus they ignorantly, and wickedly encouraged vain swearing and perjury. It was usual with them to swear by the temple: take an instance or two. "Says R. Jochanan (p), "by the temple", it is in our hands; but what shall I do?'' The gloss upon it is; "it is an oath by the temple of God, that it is in our power to reveal the illegitimacy of the families of the land of Israel.'' "Says R. Zechariah ben Hakatzab (q), , "by this habitation" (meaning the temple), her hand was not removed from my hand from the time the Gentiles entered into Jerusalem, to the time they went out.'' Jarchi and Bartenora's note on it is, this is an oath. Again, "says R. Simeon ben Gamaliel (r), , "by this habitation"; I will not rest this night until they (doves) are sold for pence apiece.'' The gloss on it is, "he swore by the sanctuary." But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is guilty; or is bound, or is a debtor, to make good his oath; he cannot be excused, but must be obliged to fulfil it; or if he does not, he is guilty of perjury. This is to be understood not of the gold that covered any part of the temple; nor of the golden vessels in it; but of the gold, or money, or gifts which were offered for the service of the temple: and the sense is, that whosoever swore by "Korban", and that this, or that should be as "Korban", he should not go back from it; he was obliged to give it. This showed the covetous disposition of these men, who made nothing of oaths that were swore by the temple; but those that were made by the "Korban", or the gifts of it, were binding, because their interest was in it; it was for their gain. (p) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 71. 1. (q) Misn. Cetubot, c. 2. sect. 9. Juchasin, fol. 56. 1. (r) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol 166. 1. Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 7. Vid. c. 6. sect. 3.

From this place we learn that there will be a difference of torment in hell, seeing one is here said to be singly a child of hell, another twofold. And we ought to consider here whether it is possible that a man should be generally a child of hell, as a Jew, suppose, or a Gentile, or whether specially so in consequence of some particular sins; that as a righteous man is increased in glory by the abundance of his righteousnesses, so a sinner's punishment is increased manifold by the number of his sins.

That they compass sea and land signifies that throughout the whole world they shall be enemies of Christ's Gospel, and shall bring men under the yoke of the Law against the justification of faith. There were proselytes made into the Synagogue from among the Gentiles, the small number of whom is here denoted by what is said one proselyte. For after the preaching of Christ there was no faith left in their doctrine, but whoever was gained to the faith of the Jews became a child of hell. And he becomes the child of a twofold punishment, because he has not obtained remission of his Gentile sins, and because he has joined the society of those who persecuted Christ.

After this, again another charge: "Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves;" that is, not even the fact that hardly ye have taken him, and with endless toils, induces you to be sparing towards him, although of the things we have hardly acquired, we are more sparing, but you not even this renders more gentle. Here He lays to their charge two things; one, that they are unprofitable for the salvation of the many, and need much toil in order to win over even one; another, that they were remiss in the preservation of him whom they had gained, or rather that they were not only careless, but even traitors, by their wickedness in their life corrupting him, and making him worse. For when the disciple sees his teachers to be such as these, he becomes worse than they. For he stops not at his teacher's wickedness; but as when his teacher is virtuous, he imitates him, so when he is bad, he even goes beyond him, by reason of our proneness to what is evil. And He calls him "a child of hell," that is, a very hell. And He said "twofold more than you," that He might both alarm those, and make these feel the more severely, because they are teachers of wickedness. And not this only, but because they labor to instill into their disciples a greater wickedness, hardening them to a much greater depravity than they have, and this is above all a mark of a depraved soul.

Or otherwise; The Scribes and Pharisees compassed the whole world to make proselytes of the Gentiles, that is, to mix the uncircumcised stranger with the people of God. Or, because before while he was a Gentile he erred in ignorance, and was only a child of hell; but seeing the vices of his masters, and understanding that they destroyed in their actions what they taught in words, he returns to his vomit, and becoming a Gentile, he is worthy of greater punishment as one that has deserted his cause. He is called a child of hell in the same way as one is said to be a child of perdition, and a child of this world; every man is called the son of him whose works he does.

The scribes and the Pharisees were reviewing the whole world on account of the business and diverse profits taken by their disciples. These profits were taken under the pretense of sanctity.

(Verse 15.) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. We do not serve with the same zeal with which we seek. Scribes and Pharisees, while traversing the whole world for the sake of gains or different profits to be sought both by attracting disciples and by the image of holiness, they had the intention to make a proselyte, that is, a stranger and uncircumcised, mix with the people of God. But he, who before, while he was an ethnick, simply wandered, and was once the son of Gehenna, seeing the vices of the masters, and understanding to destroy them by works, what they were teaching by words, returns to his vomit: and becoming a gentile, as if a transgressor, he will be worthy of a greater punishment. But he is called the son of Gehenna, just as the son of perdition, and the son of this age. For each one is called the son of him whose works he does.

(cont. Faust. xvi. 29. et cf. cont. Adimant. 16.) This He said not because proselytes were circumcised, but because they imitated the lives of those from following whom He had prohibited His disciples, saying, Do ye not after their works. Two things are observable in this command; first, the honour shown to Moses' teaching, (Matt. 23:3.) that even wicked men when sitting in his seat are compelled to teach good things; and that the proselyte is made a child of hell, not by hearing the words of the Law, but by following their doings. And twofold more than they for this reason, that he neglects to fulfil what he had undertaken of his own choice, having been not born a Jew, but of free will become a Jew.

And that not of compassion from desire to save him whom they taught, but either from covetousness, that the greater number of worshippers might increase the number of offerings made in sacrifice, or out of vain glory. For he who sinks himself in a slough of sins, how should he be desirous to rescue another out of them? Will a man be more merciful to another than to himself? By a man's actions therefore it may be known whether he seeks another's conversion for God's sake, or out of vain glory. Or, because while he was a worshipper of idols, he observed righteousness even because of men; but when he became a Jew, prompted by the example of evil teachers, he became worse than his teachers.

(Mor. xxxi. 9.) But forasmuch as hypocrites though they do ever crooked things, yet cease not to speak right things, and thus by their good instructions beget sons, but are not able to bring them up by good life, but the more they give themselves up to worldly works, the more willingly do they suffer those whom they have begotten to work the same. And because their hearts are hardened, these very sons whom they have begotten they do not own by any sign of the affection due. Wherefore it is here said of the hypocrites, And when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Not only, He says, do you corrupt the Jews, but also those who come to the Jewish religion from idolatry. These were called "proselytes." You are eager to convert someone to the Jewish way of life and to circumcision; but when they Judaize, they perish, corrupted by your wickedness. A "son of gehenna" means he who deserves gehenna and stands so close to it by disposition that he is kindled by its flames.

(interlin. Luke 12:47.) Or, because the servant that knew his Lord's will and did it not, shall he beaten with many stripes.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte. And this is explained in two ways, as referring to the time after Christ, and to the time before Christ. If to the time after, then he speaks of things future and present. For he foresaw that the Jews would be scattered throughout the whole world, and that they would convert some to their law, and pervert from Christ whomever they could. And therefore it says, you go round about the sea and the land, etc. Proselytes are those who convert from the gentiles to their faith, or from Christians; and because he foresaw that they would convert some to their faith from among the Christians, therefore he says this. And he says one, because very few were converted. Therefore they entered into that curse found in Hosea 9:10: I found Israel like grapes in the desert. And when he is made, namely a Jew, you make him a child of hell twofold more than yourselves: because he is first a gentile and then a Jew, and then he has double sins, namely of gentilism and of the Jews, because as a Jew he becomes a partaker of the slaying of Christ; but if he was a Christian and afterward becomes a Jew, he becomes doubly worse, because he defiles the gift of the Holy Spirit which he had received in the sacraments. Likewise, he becomes a partaker of the sins of the Jews; John 8:44: you are of your father the devil. It can also be referred to the time before Christ, because before Christ they converted some to their faith. And this is clear, because everyone loves himself more than another; therefore if they were converting others for the salvation of souls, they ought to have cared more for their own salvation, but they did not care. But they did all this for profit, because they wanted the offerings to be increased; hence their doctrine was futile. And when he is made, you make him a child of hell twofold more than yourselves; because first he was converted to Judaism and was scandalized, and so afterward he converted again. Hence 2 Peter 2:21: it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after knowing it, to turn back. Also in another way. Before he was a Jew, he abstained from evils, at least for the praise of men, but afterward, he did not; hence Romans 2:14: for when the gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law, these, having not the law, are a law to themselves. Hence they took example from the wicked.

DENUNCIATION OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES--LAMENTATION OVER JERUSALEM, AND FAREWELL TO THE TEMPLE. ( = Mar 12:38-40; Luk 20:45-47). (Mat. 23:1-39) Then spake Jesus to the multitude--to the multitudes, "and to his disciples."

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte--from heathenism. We have evidence of this in JOSEPHUS. and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves--condemned, for the hypocrisy he would learn to practice, both by the religion he left and that he embraced.