New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 23:15

Woe to the Hypocrites

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Matthew 23:15 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 23:15, in plain English

Jesus says these leaders will travel anywhere to win a single convert, but when they do, that person ends up even more lost than the leaders themselves. Their religion is making people worse, not better.

Why it's here

The problem isn't their enthusiasm for sharing faith. It's that what they're sharing is a distorted version of true religion that leads people further from God.

Who's speaking

Jesus pronounces another solemn warning, this time about the damage bad religion does to new believers.

Where it sits in the story

It's one of the saddest things Jesus says. These leaders are spreading a version of faith that actually pushes people further from God. Zeal without truth is dangerous.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The second woe condemns the Pharisees' aggressive proselytizing that produces converts (proselytos) who become 'twice as much a son of Gehenna' (gehennes) as their teachers. Their legalistic system corrupts rather than redeems those it draws in.

Language and setting

Pharisaic missionary activity in the Diaspora is well-documented. The problem is not evangelism itself but the distorted form of religion they transmitted to converts.

Voice

Jesus pronounces the second prophetic woe, addressing the destructive effect of the Pharisees' proselytizing.

Significance

Jesus reveals the tragic irony: the Pharisees work tirelessly to make converts, but the religion they pass on makes people worse, not better.

In context

Matthew 23:13–17

13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

16Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’

17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?

Read all of Matthew 23 — Seven devastating woes crash down on the religious establishment. Jesus doesn't whisper his critique — he thunders it.

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