Matthew 23:1–25:46

Jesus Characterizes the Pharisees

Mark 12:38–40; Luke 20:45–47

23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: a“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you 1to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for bthey say, and do not do. 4 cFor they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to dbe seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 eThey love the 2best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 fBut you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your 3Teacher, 4the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; gfor One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But hhe who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 iAnd whoever exalts himself will be 5humbled, and he who humbles himself will be 6exalted.

Jesus Condemns the Pharisees

13 “But jwoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 7Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! kFor you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of 8hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, lblind guides, who say, m‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold nor the temple that 9sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift oor the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who 1swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by pHim who 2dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by qthe throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! rFor you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and shave neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! tFor you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and 3self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! uFor you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 v“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and 4adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that wyou are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 xFill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, ybrood 5of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 zTherefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: asome of them you will kill and crucify, and bsome of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 cthat on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, dfrom the blood of righteous Abel to ethe blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem

37 f“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets gand stones those who are sent to her! How often hI wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks iunder her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, j‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

The Temple to Be Destroyed

Mark 13:1, 2; Luke 21:5, 6

24 Then aJesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, bnot one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Disciples’ Two Questions

Mark 13:3, 4; Luke 21:7

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, cthe disciples came to Him privately, saying, d“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Tribulation

Mark 13:5–23; Luke 21:5–24

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: e“Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For fmany will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ gand will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of hwars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for 1all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For ination will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be jfamines, 2pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 k“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then lmany false prophets will rise up and mdeceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow ncold. 13 oBut he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this pgospel of the kingdom qwill be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 r“Therefore when you see the s‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” t(whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But uwoe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For vthen there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; wbut for the 3elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

23 x“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For yfalse christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, zif possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

The Second Coming

Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28

27 aFor as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 bFor wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

29 c“Immediately after the tribulation of those days dthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 eThen the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, fand then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 gAnd He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His 4elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33

32 “Now learn hthis parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know ithat 5it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, jthis generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 kHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Illustration of the Days of Noah

Mark 13:32–37; Luke 21:34–36

36 l“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of 6heaven, mbut My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 nFor as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 oThen two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 pWatch therefore, for you do not know what 7hour your Lord is coming. 43 qBut know this, that if the master of the house had known what 8hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 rTherefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Illustration of the Two Servants

Luke 12:41–48

45 s“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food 9in due season? 46 tBlessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so …