Matthew 23:34 Themes and Topics

I tell you that for every careless thing that men say, they must answer on the 'Day of Judgment.' Verse Concepts

And therefore the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. Verse Concepts

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; Verse Concepts

After a long time the master of those servants returned, and settled accounts with them. Verse Concepts

But God said to the man 'Fool! This very night your life is being demanded; and as for all you have prepared--who will have it?' Verse Concepts

while one who does not know his master's wishes, but acts so as to deserve a flogging, will receive but few. From every one to whom much has been given much will be expected, and from the man to whom much has been entrusted the more will be demanded. Verse Concepts

On his return, after having been appointed King, he directed that the servants to whom he had given his money should be summoned, so that he might learn what amount of trade they had done. Verse Concepts

So, then, each one of us will have to render account of himself to God. Verse Concepts

And, because you do not run to the same extremes of profligacy as others, they are astonished, and malign you. But they will have to answer for their conduct to him who is ready to judge both the living and the dead.

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; Verse Concepts

But do not allow yourselves to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Father, the heavenly Father. And do not call any one Father, the heavenly Father. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called 'Leaders,' for you have only one Leader, the Christ.

And, later on, when he was at table in the house, a number of tax-gatherers and outcasts came in and took their places at table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples: "Why does your Teacher eat in the company of tax-gatherers and outcasts?" On hearing this, Jesus said: "It is not those who are in health that need a doctor, but those who are ill. read more.
Go and learn what this means--'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'; for I did not come to call the religious, but the outcast."

"The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees now occupy the chair of Moses. Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they tell preach but do not practice. While they make up heavy loads and pile them on other men's shoulder's they decline, themselves, to lift a finger to move them.

But alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. For you do not go in yourselves, nor yet allow those who try to go in to do so. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You destroy widow's houses, even while pretending to make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when he is gained, you make him twice as deserving of the Pit as you are yourselves. read more.
Alas for you, you blind guides! You say 'if any answer by the Temple, his oath counts for nothing; but, if any one swears by the gold of the Temple, his oath is binding him'! Fools that you are and blind! Which is the more important? The gold? Or the Temple which has given sacredness to the gold? You say, too, 'If any one swears by the altar, his oath counts for nothing, but, if any one swears by the offering placed on it, his oath is binding on him'! Blind indeed! Which is the more important? The offering? or the altar which gives sacredness to the offering? Therefore a man, swearing by the altar, swears by it and by all that is on it, and a man, swearing by the Temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it, while a man, swearing by Heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first. You blind guides, to strain out a gnat and to swallow a camel! Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the Prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men, and say 'Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we should have taken part in their murder of the Prophets! By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the Prophets. Fill up the measure of your ancestor's guilt. You serpents and brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to the Pit? That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; in order that upon your heads may fall every drop of innocent 'blood split on earth,' from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar.

For it is by fire that every one will be salted. Salt is good, but, if the salt should lose its saltiness, what will you use to season it? You must have salt in yourselves, and live at peace with one another."

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; in order that upon your heads may fall every drop of innocent 'blood split on earth,' from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. All this, I tell you, will come home to the present generation.

But Jesus said to him: "A man was once giving a great dinner. He invited many people, And sent his servant, when it was time for the dinner, to say to those who had been invited 'Come, for everything is now ready.' They all with one accord began to ask to be excused. The first man said to the servant 'I have bought a field and am obliged to go and look at it. I must ask you to consider me excused.' read more.
The next said 'I have bought five pairs of bullocks, and I am on my way to try them. I must ask you to consider me excused'; While the next said 'I am just married, and for that reason I am unable to come.' On his return the servant told his master all these answers. Then in anger the owner of the house said to his servant 'Go out at once into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, and the crippled, and the blind, and the lame.' Presently the servant said 'Sir, your order has been carried out, and still there is room.' 'Go out,' the master said, 'into the roads and hedgerows, and make people come in, so that my house may be filled; For I tell you all that not one of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"

He said: "A nobleman once went to a distant country to receive his appointment to a Kingdom and then return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds each, and told them to trade with them during his absence. But his subjects hated him and sent envoys after him to say 'We will not have this man as our King.' read more.
On his return, after having been appointed King, he directed that the servants to whom he had given his money should be summoned, so that he might learn what amount of trade they had done. The first came up, and said 'Sir, your ten pounds have made a hundred.' 'Well done, good servant!' exclaimed the master. 'As you have proved trustworthy in a very small matter, I appoint you governor over ten towns.' When the second came, he said 'Your ten pounds, Sir, have produced fifty.' So the master said to him 'And you I appoint over five towns.' Another servant also came and said 'Sir, here are your ten pounds; I have kept them put away in a handkerchief. For I was afraid of you, because you are a stern man. You take what you have not planted, and reap what you have not sown.' The master answered 'Out of your own mouth I judge you, you worthless servant. You knew that I am a stern man, that I take what I have not planted, and reap what I have not sown? Then why did not you put my money into a bank? And I, on my return, could have claimed it with interest. Take away from him the ten pounds,' he said to those standing by, 'and give them to the one who has the hundred.' 'But, Sir,' they interposed, 'he has a hundred pounds already!' 'I tell you,' he answered, 'that, to him who has, more will be given, but, from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But as for my enemies, these men who would not have me as their King, bring them here and put them to death in my presence.'"

Then Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been done, because they had not repented: "Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For, if the miracles which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Yet, I tell you, the doom of Tyre and Sidon will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than yours. read more.
And you, Capernaum! Will you 'exalt yourself to Heaven'? 'You shall go down to the Place of Death.' For, if the miracles which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing to this day. Yet, I tell you, the doom of Sodom will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than yours."

Verse Concepts

The servant who knows his master's wishes and yet does not prepare and act accordingly will receive many lashes; Verse Concepts

If no one welcomes you, or listens to what you say, as you leave that house or that town, shake off its dust from your feet. I tell you, the doom of the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than the doom of that town.

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; in order that upon your heads may fall every drop of innocent 'blood split on earth,' from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. All this, I tell you, will come home to the present generation. read more.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem! She who slays the Prophets and stones the messengers sent to her--Oh, how often have I wished to gather your children round me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not came!