The King's Formal Rejection of Israel (Matthew 23:1–39)

Matthew has recounted Jesus’s final entrance into Jerusalem (20:29–21:17), the unrelenting opposition he faced upon arrival (21:18–22:14), and, now, his rebuke of the faithlessness of the nation’s leadership (23:1–39). To state it another way, the King was formally presented to Israel, formally rejected by Israel, and is now formally rejecting Israel in response. And of all the legitimate reasons the Lord had to condemn that generation of his people, it is their hypocrisy that he highlights. It is their hollow religiosity and resolute sanctimony that Jesus can no longer abide. Why? Because hypocrisy is a poison, as deadly as it is sneaky and as pernicious as it is persistent. But if God’s people can learn to identify its characteristics, its symptoms, and its seriousness, catching exposure early, they can treat it effectively with the antidote of humility.