Verse 16 says, “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.” Their blindness is exposed here. In verse 17 the Lord continues, “Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold or the temple which sanctifies the gold?” To sanctify the gold is to make the gold holy positionally by changing its position from a common place to a holy one. The temple is greater than the gold because it sanctifies the gold. Sanctification has two aspects, the positional aspect and the dispositional aspect. Here we see that the gold is sanctified by the temple. This is positional sanctification, not dispositional sanctification. Perhaps the gold was once in the market place. When it was there, it was common, not holy, not separated to God. But when the gold was taken from the market place and put into the temple, it was positionally sanctified by being in the temple. Formerly it was the common gold in the market place; now it is the sanctified gold in the temple of God. Although the position of the gold has been changed, its nature remains the same. This is positional sanctification.
The principle is the same with respect to the altar and the gift in verses 18 and 19. The sanctification of the gift by the altar is also a kind of positional sanctification. The sanctification of the gift comes about by changing the gift’s location from a common place to a holy one. Because the altar was greater than the gift, the altar sanctified the gift. For example, when a lamb was with the flock, it was common, not separated to God or sanctified. But once it was offered upon the altar, the altar sanctified the lamb to God. However, as in the case with the gold, the nature of the lamb remained the same. Only its outward position was changed. Formerly it was with the flock; now it is on the altar for God. This type of sanctification, positional sanctification, does not affect our nature. The sanctification spoken of in Romans 6, however, is dispositional sanctification; it touches our being, our inward nature.
In verses 20 through 22 the Lord says that he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things upon it; that he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it; and that he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
Verses 23 and 24 contain the fifth woe. The scribes and Pharisees tithed mint, anise, and cummin, but left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith. The Lord said they were blind guides, who strained out a gnat, but swallowed a camel.
Verses 25 and 26 say, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but within they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and the dish, so that their outside may become clean also.” The scribes and Pharisees cared only for the outside. The situation was the same in chapter fifteen. Although they washed their hands, they were inwardly full of robbery and self-indulgence. Robbery is related to the love of money, and indulgence is related to lust. Thus, although the scribes and Pharisees cleansed themselves outwardly, inwardly they were full of the love of money and lust.
Verses 27 and 28 say, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you resemble white-washed graves, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So also you outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” The Pharisees were like tombs. Have you ever thought that fallen people are like tombs? Outwardly they may be beautiful and appear righteous to men, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness, full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
In verses 29 through 36 we have the eighth woe. Verse 29 says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the graves of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous.” Monuments here refer to the tombs of the righteous. Outside of Jerusalem there are a number of monuments. The Pharisees remodeled the graves of the prophets and adorned them in order to make a show. The Lord said that by doing this they were proving that they were the sons of those who murdered the prophets (v. 31). Thus, the Lord called them “serpents” and the “brood of vipers” (v. 33). As verse 34 indicates, the scribes and Pharisees later scourged and killed the New Testament apostles sent out by the Lord.
The Lord’s rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees affords us an accurate picture of today’s religion. Everything found in 23:1-36 resembles the situation today. Remember, this rebuke is found in the book of the kingdom. Matthew’s intention is certainly to present the negative in order to reveal the positive. The kingdom life must be the opposite of what is exposed in 23:1-36. It must be an absolute contrast to this black and hellish picture. Only by the mercy and grace of the Lord can we escape the situation portrayed here. Thus, we all need to pray, “O Lord, save me! Rescue me! Take me away from this terrible situation.”