Matthew 23:13 kjv
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Matthew 23:13 nkjv
"But woe 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.
Matthew 23:13 niv
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
Matthew 23:13 esv
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
Matthew 23:13 nlt
"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either.
Matthew 23 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mt 6:2 | "Thus, when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet... as the hypocrites do..." | Jesus frequently calls them "hypocrites" for public displays. |
| Mt 7:21 | "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven..." | Emphasizes genuine obedience over mere profession or outward show. |
| Mt 15:8 | "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me...'" | Quotes Isa 29:13, describing their hypocrisy of outward adherence without true devotion. |
| Mt 23:4 | "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders..." | Describes the burdensome rules and traditions they imposed. |
| Mt 23:23 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness." | Their focus on minor laws while neglecting the core of God's will. |
| Mt 23:25 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." | Outward cleanliness masking inner corruption. |
| Mt 23:36 | "Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." | Collective judgment for their actions. |
| Lk 6:24 | "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation." | Luke also records Jesus' woes, often with similar themes of social justice. |
| Lk 11:44 | "Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them unknowingly." | Hypocrisy likened to unseen defilement. |
| Lk 11:52 | "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." | Direct parallel, using "key of knowledge" instead of "kingdom of heaven". |
| Mk 7:8 | "You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." | Highlights their elevation of human tradition over God's word. |
| Mk 10:15 | "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." | The humble heart needed for kingdom entry, contrary to Pharisaical pride. |
| Jn 3:5 | "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" | Emphasizes spiritual regeneration as the way into the kingdom, which the Pharisees missed. |
| Jn 8:44 | "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires..." | Jesus' strongest denunciation of their spiritual origin and motives. |
| Acts 13:46 | "Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly: 'It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you... since you thrust it aside... we turn to the Gentiles.'" | Shows Israel's leadership rejecting salvation, leading to Gentiles being included. |
| Rom 2:17 | "But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God..." | Paul critiques those who rely on external adherence to the law but do not practice it. |
| 1 Th 2:15-16 | "...who drove out the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles..." | Paul describes a similar pattern of religious opposition hindering others' salvation. |
| Heb 4:6 | "So then, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience..." | Echoes the idea of failing to enter into God's promised rest/salvation due to unbelief. |
| Isa 5:20 | "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil..." | A prophetic woe showing judgment on those who distort truth. |
| Jer 8:9 | "The wise men are put to shame... Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wisdom is in them?" | Prophetic condemnation of those who possessed wisdom/knowledge but failed to apply it. |
| Zec 7:11-12 | "But they refused to pay attention... and they made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law..." | Illustrates a heart condition of willful rejection of God's commands, mirroring the Pharisees. |
Matthew 23 verses
Matthew 23 13 Meaning
Matthew 23:13 is the first of seven woes pronounced by Jesus against the scribes and Pharisees, identifying them as hypocrites. The core meaning is that these religious leaders, instead of guiding people into God's kingdom, actively obstructed entry both for themselves and for others. Their legalistic traditions, rejection of Jesus' teachings, and emphasis on outward piety prevented people from understanding and accepting God's gracious rule and salvation. They perverted their divinely appointed role of revealing truth into one of concealing it, effectively closing the very path to life they were meant to open.
Matthew 23 13 Context
Matthew 23:13 inaugurates a series of seven, or sometimes eight (depending on the manuscripts including v.14) "woes" Jesus pronounces against the scribes and Pharisees. This powerful condemnation occurs during Jesus' final days of public ministry in Jerusalem, immediately after He has repeatedly exposed the hypocrisy and spiritual blindness of the Jewish religious leadership in chapters 21 and 22. These previous chapters feature parables and challenges that highlight their rejection of God's Son and their spiritual bankruptcy.
The setting is the Temple area, just days before His crucifixion. This is Jesus' starkest and most direct denunciation of those who were supposed to be God's spiritual guides for the people. Their opposition to Him reached its peak, leading Him to issue this severe judgment. The woes systematically detail their failures: their self-exaltation, legalism, spiritual blindness, corruption, and the imposition of burdens on others while refusing to bear them themselves. This specific woe (v. 13) charges them with actively obstructing the entry of others into God's Kingdom, identifying their pretense (hypocrisy) as the root cause.
Matthew 23 13 Word analysis
- But: Contrasts the ideal (what leaders should do) with the reality (what these leaders did).
- woe: (Greek: Ouai) – This is a strong interjection signifying profound grief, sorrow, and especially a solemn declaration of divine judgment. It is not mere pity, but a pronouncement of certain condemnation or calamity, much like the prophetic "Woe!" found throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Isa 5:8, Jer 13:27, Amos 5:18, Hab 2:6). It conveys a sense of finality in God's verdict.
- to you: Directed specifically at the religious leaders present, underscoring personal accountability.
- scribes: (Greek: Grammateis) – Professional interpreters and teachers of the Jewish Law, often skilled in writing and acting as legal experts. They were revered as custodians of sacred tradition.
- and Pharisees: (Greek: Pharisaioi) – A powerful and influential Jewish religious group, meaning "separated ones." They emphasized strict adherence to both the written Mosaic Law and their extensive oral traditions, aspiring to a rigorous form of holiness often perceived as superior by the people. They represented the dominant religious force among the Jewish population.
- hypocrites!: (Greek: Hypokritai) – Literally, "actors" or "pretenders." In classical Greek theater, it referred to stage actors who wore masks to play different roles. Jesus uses it to describe those who outwardly appear righteous but inwardly harbor ungodly motives, corrupt intentions, or unregenerate hearts. Their external religiosity was a disguise for inner spiritual barrenness and self-serving ambition.
- For you shut: (Greek: kleiete, present active indicative) – This implies an ongoing, continuous action. They are perpetually in the act of shutting. The verb means to lock, close, or bar entry.
- the kingdom of heaven: (Greek: tēn basileian tōn ouranōn) – Matthew's common phrase for God's sovereign rule and reign, which is spiritual, entered through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, and results in participation in His saving benefits both now and in eternity. It's synonymous with "the kingdom of God" (Mk 10:15). It represents God's active kingly reign and the blessings associated with being part of it.
- against people: (Greek: emprosthen tōn anthrōpōn) – Literally "before men," indicating that their obstructive actions were visible and public, hindering general populace, not just specific individuals.
- For you neither enter yourselves: They did not experience the genuine transformation or surrender to God's reign that Jesus taught. Their focus on legalistic external observance, human tradition, and self-righteousness prevented them from acknowledging their need for repentance and receiving God's grace offered through Jesus, thus failing to enter the kingdom personally.
- nor allow those who would enter to go in: This reveals an even graver offense: they actively hindered others. They did so by:
- Misinterpreting Scripture and God's Law: Adding burdensome traditions that obscured the true path to God (Mk 7:8-13, Mt 23:4).
- Rejecting and opposing Jesus: Labeling Him as a deceiver or demon-possessed (Mt 9:34, 12:24), thus steering others away from the only One who could lead them to the Kingdom.
- Setting unattainable standards: Making people despair rather than pointing them to God's grace.
- Hiding the 'key of knowledge': As seen in Lk 11:52, their teaching corrupted God's Word instead of clarifying it, thus taking away the means by which others could understand and enter the kingdom.
Matthew 23 13 Bonus section
The "Kingdom of Heaven" here is not just a future destination but refers to the present reign of God breaking into the world through Jesus Christ. To "enter" means to submit to God's kingship, to accept Jesus' authority, and to experience the transformative power of the Gospel. The scribes and Pharisees, by rejecting Jesus, were rejecting the very gateway to this kingdom. This first woe sets the tone for the remaining woes, each of which details a specific manifestation of their spiritual blindness and hypocritical behavior. Jesus' words underscore that true spiritual authority is about humble service and leading people to God, not about self-exaltation or imposing unnecessary burdens.
Matthew 23 13 Commentary
Matthew 23:13 delivers a powerful indictment against the religious leaders of Jesus' day, capturing their most damning spiritual failure. The "woe" is a declaration of divine judgment against those who, instead of illuminating the path to God's kingdom, actively barricaded it. As the spiritual guides of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees held the "key of knowledge" (Lk 11:52), tasked with unlocking the truths of God's Word for the people. Yet, Jesus exposes them as "hypocrites" – stage actors whose outward displays of piety masked inward spiritual corruption and an actual rejection of God's rule.
Their "shutting" of the kingdom was dual-faceted: Firstly, they themselves failed to enter. Their legalism, self-righteousness, and unwavering reliance on their traditions blinded them to the humility, repentance, and faith required to accept God's reign as personified in Jesus Christ. They emphasized ritual purity and adherence to external rules, while neglecting the "weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness" (Mt 23:23). Secondly, and perhaps more tragically, they prevented others from entering. Their oppressive legalistic interpretations, their harsh condemnation of those who did not conform to their exacting standards, and their outright rejection of Jesus as Messiah served to confuse and discourage the populace from embracing the true spiritual liberty offered through Him. They put stumbling blocks in the path of salvation, transforming God's gracious invitation into an insurmountable burden, ultimately obstructing genuine spiritual life.