Matthew 23:28
So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus highlights a dangerous spiritual disconnect: the Pharisees meticulously maintained an outward appearance of righteousness, yet their inner lives were hollow, brimming with dishonesty and a disregard for God's true commands. This emphasizes that true godliness isn't about seeming right to others, but about a deep, internal transformation that guides our actions.
Jesus is in the midst of condemning the scribes and Pharisees, exposing their hypocrisy by comparing them to whitened tombs that look beautiful on the outside but are filled with death inside. He's challenging their outward show of piety, highlighting how they meticulously follow minor rules while ignoring the core principles of God's law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. This verse serves as the conclusion to that stark comparison, directly accusing them of presenting a righteous facade to the world while harboring inner corruption.
Imagine a beautiful tomb, gleaming white, drawing admiration. But step closer, and it's full of death and decay. This is the stark image Jesus uses for the religious leaders of his day.
Jesus uses powerful imagery to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He compares them to 'whitened sepulchers' (Matthew 23:27).
Outward Gleam, Inward Rot
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The Pharisees were experts in the Law, yet Jesus accuses them of 'lawlessness.' How can someone be both a strict interpreter of the Law and lawless at the same time?
Jesus’ accusation of 'lawlessness' against the Pharisees cuts to the core of their spiritual failure. It wasn't that they didn't know the Law; it was that they fundamentally misunderstood and misused it.
The Weightier Matters
Understand the original words
dikaios · Greek Adjective
The quality of being morally upright and compliant with God’s standard of justice; living in a right relationship with God and others.
anomia · Greek Noun
Contempt for or violation of the law; a state of being unrestrained by divine standards, leading to rebellion against God’s moral authority.
Jesus' words in Matthew 23:28 were spoken directly to the Pharisees and scribes in Jerusalem during his final days. He was confronting a religious establishment that, while publicly performing meticulous acts of piety and legal observance, inwardly harbored pride, greed, and a disregard for the Law's deeper commands of mercy and justice.
c. 150 BC - c. AD 30
Rise of the Pharisees
During this period, the Pharisee sect emerged as a prominent religious movement within Judaism. They emphasized strict adherence to both the written Law and oral traditions, often focusing on meticulous observance of ritual purity and religious duties.
c. 40 BC - c. 30 BC
Pharisees Gain Influence
Following the Hasmonean dynasty's struggles and Roman intervention, the Pharisees gradually increased their influence in Jewish society and the Sanhedrin, becoming respected interpreters of the Law.
c. AD 27-30— this verse
Jesus' Public Ministry
Jesus engages in his public ministry, delivering teachings and performing miracles. A significant portion of his ministry involves challenging the religious authorities, particularly the Pharisees and scribes, on their interpretation and practice of the Law.
c. AD 30
Jesus' Confrontations in Jerusalem
During his final week in Jerusalem, Jesus delivers strong condemnations against the scribes and Pharisees in the Temple courts, as recorded in Matthew 23, exposing their hypocrisy and outward show of righteousness.
This passage describes the Pharisees as 'tombs that are not apparent; people walk over them without knowing it,' which directly parallels Matthew 23:27-28's imagery of outward beauty hiding inner corruption.
Matthew 23:27This verse immediately precedes Matthew 23:28, describing the Pharisees as 'whitewashed tombs' and reinforcing the idea that their outward appearance of righteousness conceals inner impurity.
Luke 16:15Jesus tells the Pharisees, 'What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God,' directly addressing the theme of their outward show being detestable to God.
Romans 2:28-29Paul speaks of true circumcision being 'of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter,' highlighting that outward religious observance without inner reality is meaningless, a key point in understanding the Pharisees' hypocrisy.
Psalm 5:9This psalm describes the wicked man's throat as an 'open sepulchre,' a powerful image that resonates with the description of the Pharisees as inwardly corrupt despite outward appearances, as noted by commentators.
calvinMatthew 23:23-28: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
- Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cumin and have omitted the more important points of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith. The latter you ought to have done, and not to have omi…
ellicottMatthew 23:28: "Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
(28) Even so ye also . . . —A like image meets us in the words in which one of the Maccabean princes, Alexander Jannæus, warned his wife on his death-bed to beware of “men who were painted Pharisees, expecting the reward of Phinehas, while their works were the works of Zimri.” Iniquity.—Better, lawlessness—a reckless disregard of the very Law of which they professed to be the…
Jesus highlights a dangerous spiritual disconnect: the Pharisees meticulously maintained an outward appearance of righteousness, yet their inner lives were hollow, brimming with dishonesty and a disregard for God's true commands. This emphasizes that true godliness isn't about seeming right to others, but about a deep, internal transformation that guides our actions.
Jesus is in the midst of condemning the scribes and Pharisees, exposing their hypocrisy by comparing them to whitened tombs that look beautiful on the outside but are filled with death inside. He's challenging their outward show of piety, highlighting how they meticulously follow minor rules while ignoring the core principles of God's law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. This verse serves as the conclusion to that stark comparison, directly accusing them of presenting a righteous facade to the world while harboring inner corruption.
Jesus is in the midst of condemning the scribes and Pharisees, exposing their hypocrisy by comparing them to whitened tombs that look beautiful on the outside but are filled with death inside. He's challenging their outward show of piety, highlighting how they meticulously follow minor rules while ignoring the core principles of God's law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. This verse serves as the conclusion to that stark comparison, directly accusing them of presenting a righteous facade to the world while harboring inner corruption.
"So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." — Jesus highlights a dangerous spiritual disconnect: the Pharisees meticulously maintained an outward appearance of righteousness, yet their inner lives were hollow, brimming with dishonesty and a disr…
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