Matthew 23
BolesMatthew 23:1-39
- SCRIBES AND EXPOSED;
SEVEN WOES
1-4 Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples. —This entire chapter is an exposition and denouncement of the sin of the scribes and Pharisees; Jesus speaks with unsparing yet with just severity. It is spoken to the people and his disciples; it is his final admonition to the people against the pernicious teachings of the Pharisees and their corrupt lives. Mark tells us that it was spoken to “the common people,” and adds that they heard him gladly. (Mark 12:37.) Luke tells us that he spoke “in the hearing of all the people,” and that it was spoken “unto his disciples.” (Luke 20:45.) His address was to his disciples in the presence of the multitude and for the benefit of all who heard. It may be that Matthew did not record this in chronological order; he places it in immediate connection with the events and conversations of the two chapters preceding; that is, during the six days of the Passion Week. Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the last time, never to leave it alive; this condemnation and warning of the scribes and Pharisees has its practical value today.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.—They were the transcribers, readers, and teachers of the law of Moses the “seat” was also used by Grecian philosophers in lecturing, who were thence called “cathedrarii.” The synagogue expounders stood while reading the very words of the law, but sat while expounding it. The scribes and the Pharisees were in no way the successors of Moses by ordination or lineal descent they had no more authority from God than did the Sadducees. “All things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe.” “All things” which they teach according to the law of Moses, Jesus commended and instructed the people to obey, because God was the author of the law. However, the teachers of the law did not practice what they taught; “they say, and do not.” They did not practice what they preached. They taught things other than those revealed in the law; their teachings were mingled with the traditions of the rabbis. However, the failure of the scribes and Pharisees to do what the law required, though they preached it, did not excuse the people from obeying the law. This principle holds true today; religious teachers may not practice the word of God as they teach it; it is true that they ought to and are condemned for not doing it; yet that does not excuse anyone else for disobeying the commands of God.
Jesus goes further in exposing the practices of these scribes and Pharisees, and charges them with fastening “heavy burdens” which were “grevious to be borne” upon the people; yet “they themselves will not move them with their finger.” They placed the heavy burdens of traditional interpretations upon the people, but would not do anything to help the people even bear the burden which these traditions imposed. The figure here is taken from the eastern manner of loading the camels; their burdens are packed in bundles, and put upon their backs. The Pharisees imposed the severest ordinances on the people. Peter called the system a burden which none could bear. (Acts 15:10). They were not willing to lighten the burden placed on the people even though they saw them fainting under the heavy load , they had no mercy, no justice, no sympathy for the people.
5-7 But all their works they do to be seen of men.—They were not interested in the people obeying God, neither were they anxious to please God themselves; they were more anxious to appear as righteous before men. They did all their works, not for the good or man nor the glory of God, but for the praise of men. Jesus specifies what they did; “for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.” “Phylacteries” mean “preservatives” or “guards.” The phylactery was a passage of scripture, written on parchment, folded up, and tied on the forehead, so that it should be always in front of their eyes. This was a mechanical observance of Deu 6:8. “Enlarge the borders of their garments” means to put a fringe of blue in the borders of their garments to distinguish themselves from heathens. The scribes and Pharisees made “broad” their phylacteries; that is, instead of having one scripture, they had a number of scriptures inscribed and wore on their forehead, and thus appeared to be obedient to many scriptures; they “enlarged” the border of their garments to make it appear that they were righteous above the heathen; then broad phylacteries and enlarged borders could be easily seen, and this was what they desired. They were more interested in being seen of men to appear righteous than they were in being righteous.
Another mark of their hypocritical life was that they loved to occupy “the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues.” The “chief seats” at the feast were those nearest the master of the feast; they were those prepared for honored guests; they were seats where every one could behold them. “The chief seats in the synagogues” were those seats that were prominent and commanded conspicious attention from others; they occupied these because they loved the applause and admiration of men. Furthermore, they delighted in receiving “the salutations in the marketplaces,” and to be called of men, “Rabbi.” Salutations at the street corners and in the assemblies of men were sought by these scribes and Pharisees; they loved to hear their disciples hail them in a crowd as “rabbi,” “great teacher.” The same inordinate love of human applause is condemned in God’s people today. “Rabbi” was an honorary title of the Jewish doctor of the law; it had three degrees, of which the first was “rab,” the great or master; the second was “rabbi,” my master; the third was “rabboni,” my great master.
8-12 But be not ye called Rabbi.—“Rabbi” was an honorary title which carried with it pride and arrogance; to call one rabbi implied a degree of obedience to him and his teachings, which were inconsistent with right judgments; the Jews were content with what the rabbi said, and did not question his authority or judgment. What is here taught is that the disciples of Jesus should not use such titles which would lead them to yield submission to any man’s will or judgment. This does not forbid anyone calling another by a professional title; it only denies God’s people acknowledging human authority as a guide in following God. “Call no man your father”; this also has the limitations mentioned with respect to “rabbi.” Children honor their father by affectionately calling him “father” or some other endearing name; they must call him by some name. No man in the spiritual sense should be called “father,” for God is our Father. Paul called Timothy his son in the gospel. (1 Timothy 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 1:2.) In this sense Timothy could speak of Paul as his “father” in the gospel, as Paul could speak of him as his “son” in the gospel. Only God is our Father in a spiritual sense and Jesus with the Bible our teacher; faithful disciples of the Lord recognized no other teacher or father. With like import we should not call anyone our “master,” “for one is your master, even the Christ.” “Rabbi,” “Father,” and “Master” should not be used to take the place of God, Christ, or his truth;but such titles of profession as may be used in giving honor to whom honor is due are not forbidden by Jesus here.
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.— The title “rabbi” in the sense forbidden by Jesus meant “my great one” and suggested a review of the principle that Jesus had already taught, namely, that the greatest one among his disciples would be the greatest servant among them;that service is the standard of greatness. This principle occurs ten times in the gospels. Jesus honors and blesses true humility and loving service, but condemns affection and empty pride. God’s people are on a level with each other; they occupy the same relation to God and to Christ and should be on the same level with each other. The idea of popes, archbishops, bishops, and ecclesiastical heads in the religion of our Lord is condemned. The one who exalts himself shall be brought low, but the one who is humble God will exalt. Aesop, when asked what Jupiter was doing, replied, “He is humbling the exalted, and exalting the humble.”
[One who uses religious services for personal promotion rather than the salvation of souls falls under the curse of God. His duty is to present God and his cause and lose sight of self; if he does this, God will care for him, and he whom God cares for will be blessed and exalted in the next world, if not in this. The young preacher that forgets all else and works for the glory of God is the one that succeeds. In forgetfulness of self he goes where he can do greatest good in saving souls and honoring God. His success in this work gives him character and opens the way for worldly success, and this is the point of danger. When a man looks around for a place where he can get the best support or make for himself the greatest name, he is seeking to exalt himself.
If he seeks that which will add to his temporal good, he will not only lose the eternal life, but more often than otherwise he will lose the good of this life. But he who gives up all, forgets his temporal good for the sake of Christ, will save his life, the real good of this life, and all the blessings of the life to come.]
13, 14 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! —Here Jesus begins his pronouncement of “seven woes.” “Woe” is a word of solemn denunciation of punishment; it implies that great calamities of the most awful nature are impending over the guilty from the divine justice; it may also imply a retributive destiny for years and ages of sin. The scribes and Pharisees are here called “hypocrites,” and upon them Jesus pronounced his most scathing denunciations while on earth. The dark clouds begin now to gather around the great central truth of Jesus’ teaching—his crucifixion; he concludes his teaching with these sublime wails over the wickedness of the world as is personified in the scribes and Pharisees. The first woe is pronounced upon them “because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men.” They are represented as not entering themselves, neither permitting others to enter. The kingdom of God was preached in its preparatory stage; it had been presented in promise and prophecy, and now it was presented in its preparatory state, and these scribes and Pharisees, the religious guides of the people, were doing all that they could to contradict the teaching of Jesus and to keep the people from accepting him as the Messiah. They would not accept him themselves, neither would they, by their authority over the people, permit others to accept him.
Frequently, people were cast out of the synagogues because they accepted Jesus as the Messiah. In Luke 11:52 the figure is slightly changed and is stated that they “took away the key of knowledge” and would not enter themselves nor permit others to enter, or hinder others who would enter. They shut the kingdom of God by their example (John 7:48); by their doctrine, caviling at all that Jesus said (Matthew 12:24; John 9:13-41; John 12:42; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16);and by their authority (John 9:22).
Verse fourteen is omitted from the Revised Version. Some authorities insert here or after verse twelve the following “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation.” They used long prayers to deceive and gain the ends of avarice; they are said to have remained three hours in prayer, and pretended that their lengthened devotions represented pious character and were worthy of liberal support. Again these leaders plotted with the children of widowed mothers to gain the estate. The longer they continued their hypocritical prayers, the greater was their condemnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!—This woe is pronounced upon them because they compassed “sea and land to make one proselyte.” They were very zealous to make a proselyte to their cause, but the proselyte was “two-fold more a son of hell” than they themselves. They spared no pains to make a convert to their opinions; this new convert from among the Gentiles was called “a proselyte.” There were great distinctions allowed among them; there were some who embraced the whole Jewish system and sought earnestly for its rewards; the centurion was probably one of this class (Matthew 8:5)and possibly Cornelius (Acts 10). These were called “proselytes of righteousness.” Others received only certain parts of the system, and were not circumcised, while others received only part of the system and were circumcised. They confused their proselytes and corrupted them by their false doctrines. Often converts from one religion to another simply reject their old supersititions, and seize eagerly all the worst parts of their new faith, and end in becoming infidels; such were these proselytes. “Son of hell” means one worthy of eternal punishment. These religious teachers taught their proselytes their opinions and disregarded the word of God; they exalted the doctrines of men above the word of God; and hence caused their proselytes to despise God, which rendered them worthy of such condemnation.
16-22 Woe unto you, ye blind guides.—In pronouncing this woe, Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees “blind guides.” They claimed to be leaders and guides of the people in their service to God. Not only does this condemnation rest upon the blind guides of that age, but upon such guides in religious thought of all. He has now called them “hypocrites,” “blind guides,” “fools and blind”; it would be difficult to find epithets which signify greater contempt and condemnation. In teaching the people these blind guides said, “Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor.” If a man swear at all and invoke the condemnation of God, he is bound to keep his oath. In Matthew 5:33; Matthew 5:37 we have the same principle taught. These “blind guides” said that if one swore by the temple, the oath was not binding; hence they had a loophole to escape from keeping their oath.
However, they said if one swears “by the gold of the temple,” then one must keep that oath. The “gold of the temple” meant any of the gold with which the temple was ornamented. All this shows a trifling with oaths. A man in a vain conversation would take an oath thoughtlessly by some golden article of the temple; he must keep that oath; but if in all seriousness he swore by the temple, then he need not keep his oath. Some think that the gold here mentioned does not refer to the gilding of the temple, but the offering of gold which was in the treasury. In replying to this doctrine Jesus calls them “fools and blind” and asks “which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold?” Which is greater, the gold ornaments of the temple or the temple itself?
Or which is greater, the whole or a part of the whole? This reduces their doctrine to an absurdity.
Again they taught with respect to oaths that if one should swear by the altar, then that one would not have to keep his oath; but “whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor.” This doctrine was as foolish as that of swearing by the gold upon the temple. The great altar of burnt offerings stood before the porch of the temple. (2 Chronicles 5:1; Matthew 5:23.) .The altar was a place of great veneration, since it was the instrument by which the great idea of sacrifice was preserved. It was the place where men met God to seek pardon. “The gift that is upon it” means the gift that was sacrificed unto God by the people. The law required certain sacrifices to be made. These sacrifices were burned upon the altar. The doctrine of these blind guides was that you could swear by the altar, but not have to keep the oath, but if one swore by the gift that was on the altar, then the oath was binding.
This is the same principle involved in the temple and the gold and the temple. Jesus again argues that the altar is greater than the gift, since it is the “altar that sanctifieth the gift.” Jesus then adds that when one swears by the altar he swears “by all things thereon.” The nice dictinctions which they made proved that they were blind guides and foolish leaders. He adds that those who swear by the temple swear “by him that dwelleth therein”; he swears by the temple and all that belongs to it, and there was no way of escaping the performance of the oath. That it was like those who swear “by the heaven,” for one who swears by the heaven swears “by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.” Jesus shows the Pharisaic perversion of the oath and condemns their trivial and foolish way of evading and enjoining oaths upon the people. The law bound every one who made an oath or vow to keep that according to the instructions given in the law.
23, 24 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!— The first three woes are passed and the next four are pronounced upon different forms of hypocrisy. This fourth woe is upon an extreme scrupulousness in regard to the slightest ritual performances, with a slight remorse for the grossest immoralities. They abused the law of Moses by exalting inferior precepts to fill the place of the higher commands of mercy and truth. “Ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith.” The Jews were required to pay a tenth part or tithe of all their property for the support of the system of worship. The tithe usually went to the priests and Levites. (Numbers 18:20-24.) The tithes were paid in kind, an actual tenth of the year’s increase; that is, they paid a tenth of their grain, their vineyards, their cattle, and all that they produced. When a Jew lived at a distance from Jerusalem, he was permitted to change it into money and bring that to the priests. (Deuteronomy 14:24-25; Deuteronomy 14:27; Deuteronomy 14:29.) “Mint and anise and cummin” were small vegetable plants, produced by the Jews for seasoning and flavoring their food. “Mint” was the same plant which we know by that name; the Jews scattered it on the floors of their synagogue. “Anise” was what we now call “dill,” an herb of strong aromatic flavor; and “cummin” was a plant like our fennel. (Isaiah 28:25-27.) They were all garden herbs of the least value, and specimens of the rigidness of the Pharisees. They were commanded to tithe all the increase of their seed. (Deuteronomy 14:22.) Jesus did not condemn the tithing of these, but condemned their scrupulousness in tithing these little things, and leaving undone, or disregarding, the weightier matters of “justice, and mercy, and faith.” While scrupulously tithing the little things, they were practicing injustice; they disregarded the justice which the law required. (Isaiah 1:17-23.) They showed no mercy in exacting these lesser matters, and were unmerciful toward their fellows.
They ignored “faith” which was trust in God. They did not believe their own prophets, for they had testified of Jesus; he was fulfilling the prophecies, but they did not believe him as the Messiah.
Again Jesus calls them “blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!” The gnat was a small insect generated in wine or falling into it; it was considered an unclean animal. (Leviticus 11:4.) For fear of moral contamination they were exceeding careful to strain the liquid which they drank. The camel was a huge and unwieldly beast of burden, larger than an ox. This statement of Jesus seems to have been a proverb. The Arabs had this proverb, “He swallowed an elephant, but was strangled by a flea.” The meaning of Jesus is that by a verbal exaggeration, which is usual in proverbs, to describe a common but foolish custom. The Pharisee, whose conscience had pricked him and made him sad, if he had by chance swallowed a gnat, could yet go quietly and comfortably under the camel load of such sins as injustice, cruelty, and unfaithfulness; he wept at the shocking accident of failing to tithe a small bundle of herbs, but shouted himself hoarse a little later, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25), at the crucifixion of Jesus.
25, 26 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!— The fifth woe is pronounced upon moral hypocrisy, in which men will show a fair exterior of conduct, while they are secretly practicing the most abominable wickedness. Two forms of such hypocrisy are mentioned here by Jesus; they are the secret commercial dishonesties and secret licentiousness. In describing this practice Jesus said, “For ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.” Their vessels for food and drink are used here to enforce the moral lesson; they cleansed their vessels for food and drink, but did not cleanse themselves; they were like those who cleansed the outside of a cup or dish, while they left the part from which they took their food foul and unsightly. They appeared well to their countrymen, and deceived them as to their real character. They are “full from extortion and excess.” The figure is carried out; “they,” the dishes, are full of extortion and excess, which the Pharisees swallowed down without scruple. (Prow. 18:21.) “Extortion” is the unjust wresting away the property or rights of others , “excess” is gluttony or intemperance of all excessive wickedness. They went to the extreme in all of their wicked practices, and at the same time, like cleansed vessels on the outside, were full of wickedness and sin.
Again Jesus calls them, “Thou blind Pharisee,” and demands that they “cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.” If one will first cleanse the heart, then all the life will soon be pure and pious; the heart has in it the issues of life. (Prow. 4:23.) The Lord’s people should not reverse this law, and hope to reform men by cleansing the outside appearance. This is like the proverb, “Make the tree good, and its fruit good.” (Matthew 12:33.) Cleansing the outside of a literal cup would not necessarily cleanse the inside of it; but the cleansing of the heart of man will result in the purifying of the outward conduct.
27, 28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!— The sixth woe is pronounced upon pious hypocrites or religious insincerity. Jesus enforces this condemnation by a most striking figure taken from a class of objects very similar around Jerusalem. He compares these scribes and Pharisees to “whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” It was a custom there to whitewash the sepulchres, which would be noticed by all; it is like our modern custom of keeping flowers or grass on the graves of loved ones. The graves are beautifully kept and adorned with costly monuments, but within they contain the decomposed bodies and foul odors arising from the decomposition. A sepulchre, or a corpse, was considered by the Jews unclean. (Numbers 19:16.) The Pharisees went so far as to mark with lime or chalk the ground under which the sepulchral cave extended. How awful a figure to show the condition of these hypocrites.
Jesus makes his own application of the figure and says, “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” This comparison illustrates in a striking manner the superficial and deceptive character of the religion of the Pharisees. It may find an application in many of our modern religious practices. Jesus is still looking at their hearts and contrasting their hearts with their profession; he is contrasting what they really are with what they claim to be. Jesus teaches here that an effort to appear to men better than we are is hypocrisy and makes hypocrites of those who attempt it.
29-36 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!— This seventh woe pronounced upon these scribes and Pharisees condemns them for building “the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous.” They built domes and columns over the graves of the prophets, and adorned or garnished them. They made it appear that they were honoring the prophets and righteous men of old, yet at the same time they were dishonoring them by rejecting their teachings and examples. The fathers had put to death many of the prophets, and now this generation was honoring these prophets by adorning their graves and saying, “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.” They erected monuments over the prophets who had been slain; they garnished their sepulchres and made them white and beautiful outwardly, that men might believe that they were practicing their virtues. These tombs were in the valley of Jehoshaphat south of Jerusalem. They would like for the present generation to believe that they respected and honored these prophets and would not have consented unto their death, had they lived in the days of the prophets. Jesus brings to their attention that they, in doing this, confessed that they were “sons of them that slew the prophets.” They condemned the cruelty of their ancestors; they honored their tombs; but they cherished the hatred that their fathers had toward the prophets and were seeking to do the same violence against Jesus; in this they condemned themselves. It was easier for them to build and garnish the tombs of the dead prophets than to obey their instruction and accept Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus tells them to do what he knew they had determined to do; that is, fill to the full measure the iniquity of their fathers. This time he denounces them by saying, “Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?” They were called serpents, because they had the subtlety and venom of serpents; as the serpent killed the body, so they destroyed the souls of men their malice was to destroy even the Savior of the world. It seems that Jesus’ denunciation here rises to an appalling climax of woe. They were called “offspring of vipers,” which means that they had accumulated so much of the hatred of their fathers that they are fitly called the “offspring of vipers.” Jesus asked the question, “How shall ye escape the judgment of hell?” He did not expect an answer to this question; it was another way of saying to them that there was no escape for them. The condemnation of everlasting punishment belongs to such characters. Only by repentance can anyone escape from just condemnation.
Some of these may have repented, but the condemnation pronounced by Jesus belongs to such characters as he here described. It is the condemnation of the lost. The question is frequently the strongest mode of affirmation and Jesus here uses it.
In pronouncing this woe Jesus predicts what will be done to other servants of God. Their fathers had killed the prophets, but they were preparing to kill the Messiah who was Prophet, Priest, and King. Jesus said, “I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:some of them shall ye kill and crucify.” The apostles and inspired teachers were sent by Jesus into all the world. These apostles were to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and would warn the people of their sins and dangers. (Exodus 7:1; John 4:19; 1 Corinthians 14:1; 1 Corinthians 14:34.) These were cruelly treated; the Jews stoned Stephen (Acts 7:59), cut off James’ head, or rather caused a cruel king to do it, to please them (Acts 12:2). They scourged Peter and other apostles (Acts 5:40), persecuted Paul and Barnabas from city to city, and doubtless many others whose names are written only in the martyrology of the Lamb’s book of life. All the apostles, save one, according to tradition, were put to death for the cause of Christ.
Frequently they scourged the servants of God. (Acts 22:19-24 2 Corinthians 11:24-25.) To persecute means to oppress wrongfully with a rage. Jesus said that they would do all these things to his faithful servants and would do them and bring upon themselves “all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.” There is a measure of guilt which no one can pass by and not condemn without bringing down upon oneself all the accumulated woes of divine vengeance. “Righteous blood” means the blood of innocent persons; righteous Abel was the first martyr for God. (Genesis 4:8.) “Zachariah son of Barachiah” was slain between the “sanctuary and the altar.” We have no divine record of this crime.
Some think that he was the prophet “Zechariah,” but we have no way of knowing. He was slain on holy ground where they ought to have been worshiping God. What a crime to slay a prophet of God on the very spot where they should be worshiping God. Jesus warns the people by saying that “all these things shall come upon this generation.” If this generation had repented and accepted Christ as the Savior, they might have been redeemed;but they rejected him and brought upon themselves the fearful and awful condemnation. These things came upon that generation in the sense that the consummation of earthly punishment for such deeds befell that generation.
37-39 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets.— Here Jesus identifies Jerusalem with the people who inhabited it, those who committed the crime. This is the solemn farewell of the Savior over the city after his last public address. He mourns over the nation and city where Jehovah had shown so much love and mercy for generations. How touching, how pitiful! Jesus sees the dark fate brooding over the city, and his final words are of tenderness, mournfulness, and mercy. He recites the wickedness of the nation and the city.
They had killed the prophets and stoned those who had been sent to them; in spite of this Jesus would have gathered them together as a hen “gathereth her chickens under her wings,” but they would not let him. This was a simple and dutiful image of tender protection; his wings would have protected them when the storm hovered or the enemy approached. The fearful calamity that should befall Jerusalem and the Jews was brought upon them by themselves; they had opportunity to escape it, but “ye would not.”
Your house is left unto you desolate.—It is no longer God’s house; it is “your house.” God has left it and has no more claim in it; it is “desolate”; that is, God has deserted it. It matters not how much it might be thronged by men or adorned with gifts and sacrifices; after Christ was crucified, all of these availed nothing; the day of its doom began when they crucified the Lord of glory. Jesus then pathetically said to them, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Those of you who were angry at the words of the little children, welcoming the Messiah into the temple, shall see me no more, until my coming in terrific majesty, to avenge these wrongs. Happy will ye be then if ye can echo that chant of welcome to the Son of God. The public ministry of Jesus was finished with these words. The plot thickened against him, and he kept aloft from the rulers till Judas betrayed him into their hands. Henceforth, Jesus retires to the bosom of his own disciples to prepare himself for the great sacrifice for the sins of the world.