Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. 28 Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; 32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out!
Jesus continues His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees by returning to the contrast between what can be seen outwardly and what is present within. In the preceding verses, He compared them to cups that had been cleaned on the outside while remaining unclean within. He now intensifies the image by comparing them to “whitewashed tombs” (v. 27).
Under the Law of Moses, contact with a dead body, human bones, or a grave caused ritual impurity for a period of time (Numbers 19:11–22). Tombs could therefore be whitened or otherwise made conspicuous so that people would recognize and avoid them. Outwardly, such a tomb could appear clean and attractive, but its appearance did not change what was inside it.
Jesus applies this image directly to the spiritual condition of the scribes and Pharisees: “on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing” (v. 28). He is not condemning outward acts of religion or obedience to God. The problem is the separation of outward religious appearance from the interior life. Actions that look righteous cannot substitute for a heart that is truly turned toward God.
This is why hypocrisy is spiritually dangerous. A person may become concerned with appearing good before others while failing to recognize what needs conversion within. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus had already taught that evil comes from within the human heart (Matthew 15:18–20). True righteousness therefore cannot remain merely external. What a person does outwardly should express what he sincerely believes and desires inwardly.
Jesus then turns from whitewashed tombs to the tombs of the prophets. The scribes and Pharisees build and decorate memorials to righteous people who had been killed by earlier generations. They insist that, had they lived at that time, they would never have participated in shedding the prophets’ blood (vv. 29–30). Yet Jesus exposes a contradiction. They honor God’s prophets after they are dead while resisting God’s message when it confronts them in the present. Their treatment of Jesus places them within the same tragic pattern found throughout salvation history: God sends His messengers, but His call to repentance is resisted. Their respect for the prophets of the past therefore does not by itself demonstrate fidelity to the God who sent those prophets.
Jesus’ words, “now fill up what your ancestors measured out” (v. 32), are severe. He is not commanding them to commit evil. The image is of wrongdoing accumulating until the full measure is reached. Earlier generations persecuted and killed those whom God sent; the present opposition to Jesus is bringing that pattern toward its culmination. By rejecting the Messiah, they are preparing to repeat what they condemn in their ancestors.
These warnings should not be treated merely as accusations against people who lived long ago. They reveal a danger that remains possible for anyone who professes faith. It is easier to admire those who faithfully served God in the past than to listen when God’s Word challenges our own desires, habits, or conduct in the present. Jesus therefore calls us to an integrity in which the outward and inward life agree. Religious practice should arise from genuine faith, love of God, repentance, justice, and mercy. The question is not simply whether we appear righteous before others, but whether we are allowing God to make us righteous within.
Lord Jesus, cleanse our hearts of hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. Give us the humility to recognize what must change within us, and help our words and actions faithfully reflect our love for You. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Matthew 23:27–32 and notes.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. 48.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. 127–28.
- Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010. 297–98.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. 956.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022. 1221–22.
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