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Why does Jesus admonish the scribes and Pharisees in Matt. 23:29?

Jonathan Bailey

Well-Known Member
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
It reads to me as though he is accusing them of killing prophets and righteous people, but why I couldn't tell you.
 

PruePhillip

Well-Known Member
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?

He wasn't saying that. He was pointing out that the religious leaders of His day
(no different to those today also) gave honor to the prophets. But they were
of the same mindset as those who killed those very prophets.
"If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with
them in shedding the blood of the prophets."
Well, these same men, who built the prophets tombs, killed Jesus, John and
many of the Apostles.
 
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pearl

Well-Known Member
The final woe is the most serious indictment of all. It portrays the scribes and Pharisees as standing in the same line as their ancestors who murdered the prophets and the righteous.
 

wizanda

One Accepts All Religious Texts
Premium Member
Why does Jesus admonish the scribes and Pharisees in Matt. 23:29?
We need to read the whole thing in contexts:

Matthew 23:27-28 is that the Pharisaic oral tradition, "the death of the righteous can atone for the sins of that generation" has been used to deem the prophets as sin sacrifices...

In Mark 7:6-13 Yeshua states they've done away with the Torah because of these oral traditions.

Thus they are like white washed buildings that appear clean, yet it doesn't clean the inside, and instead defiles it, by honouring murder as atonement.

Matthew 23:29-32 states that those who condone the murdering of God's messengers, and endorse it by their declarations, prove they'd murder the prophets as well.

Matthew 23:33-38 shows that due to Judah murdering prophets, and deeming them as an atonement, they shall be cut off; then all the world will be brought into condemnation, when they teach the Gentiles to do the same (Christianity is Pharisaic - John, Paul, Simon the stone (petros)), then Judgement will come on the whole world (wicked generation).

In my opinion. :innocent:
 

sooda

Veteran Member
It reads to me as though he is accusing them of killing prophets and righteous people, but why I couldn't tell you.

They were in charge of the Temple and the moneychangers who were cheating the poor.
 

leov

Well-Known Member
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?
You meant 13-29?
"you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence."
False honoring, because they did not follow prophets themselves and did not allow others to benefit following those prophecies.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?
and the Carpenter said.....Let the dead bury the dead

I get it
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
To me the focus should be on the word "hypocrites" who do outward deeds while their hearts are full of fraud.
 

Thief

Rogue Theologian
That is the focus, on their actions, not on what they teach.
shall we cut that one slice deeper

He criticized the religious leaders quite often

their words and deeds may have appeared proper to eye and ear
but the MOTIVATION was always shallow

Be not like the priest that prays in public.....
he has his reward
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
shall we cut that one slice deeper

He criticized the religious leaders quite often

their words and deeds may have appeared proper to eye and ear
but the MOTIVATION was always shallow

Be not like the priest that prays in public.....
he has his reward
And that is true today.
 

1213

Well-Known Member
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?

It is not good, if one does it with wrong motives.

I have understood it was about hypocrisy (if you read the whole Matt. 23). They “honored” them with those works that may look nice outside, but didn’t really care what the prophets said. I think same problem is with many modern Christians, outside they may appear nice, but inside is not nice. Many of them say they believe Jesus, but don’t really care what he said.
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
their words and deeds may have appeared proper to eye and ear
but the MOTIVATION was always shallow

To keep it in context it is necessary to realize that Jesus was condemning their hypocracy, not their teaching.
 

steveb1

Member
Matthew 23:29 King James Version (KJV)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

Is it wrong to honor the dead?

Jesus is not saying it's wrong to honor the dead. What is wrong is to neglect morality, compassion and caring for the living - at the expense of the living.
 

Desert Snake

Veteran Member
To keep it in context it is necessary to realize that Jesus was condemning their hypocracy, not their teaching.
Teachings of the Pharisees, a bit of leaven and the whole loaf, your argument is obscure

Matthew 16:6
 
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Desert Snake

Veteran Member
That is the focus, on their actions, not on what they teach.
You are getting some context mixed up. When the people would listen to the Torah, or scrolls read, that is what Jesus said to listen to.
"Their teachings" is a different thing, and is interpretation of Scripture, or even literally "their teachings", outside of Scripture, so forth.
 
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pearl

Well-Known Member
Jesus clearly argued against their

Because they laid a heavy burden making it impossible for the average person to comply.

Teachings of the Pharisees, a bit of leaven and the whole loaf, your argument is obscure

Jesus makes it quite clear;
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
3 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.

You are getting some context mixed up. When the people would listen to the Torah, or scrolls read, that is what Jesus said to listen to.
"Their teachings" is a different thing, and is interpretation of Scripture, or even literally "their teachings", outside of Scripture, so forth.

The Pharisees followed the oral tradition of the Torah, as did Jesus.
 
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