23:13 woe unto you. Jesus pronounces eight “woes” on the scribes (or lawyers) and Pharisees in this chapter (Matthew 23:13,14,15,16,23,25,27,29). Seven times He calls them “hypocrites” and five times He says they are “blind.” He calls each a “child of hell” (Matthew 23:15), and says they are like “whited sepulchres…full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27), and also “full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:28). They are, He says, “serpents” and a “generation of vipers” (Matthew 23:33). One receives the impression that God hates the sin of hypocrisy in religious leaders more than most other sins! This New Testament language used here by the Lord Jesus is as severely condemnatory as anything found in the Old Testament. Religionists such as these have all though history persecuted genuine believers, especially faithful teachers and preachers.

23:23 tithe of mint and anise. Tithing as such is nowhere commanded in the New Testament, although this verse is often used as such a commandment. However, the context is that of the law, rather than grace. Even under the law, Jesus stressed that judgment, mercy and faith were more important than tithing. The New Testament principle of money stewardship is deduced from such Scriptures as I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-11; Philippians 4:10-19; Galatians 6:6; Hebrews 13:16; etc.