The Lord in chapter 23 instructs the multitudes and His disciples concerning their attitude toward those who were in the place of authority. He acknowledges the scribes and Pharisees as being in that place. They were attempting to rule the people by the law of Moses, though they themselves were not walking according to it. The disciples were to yield obedience to all they commanded; “but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” They liked to pretend that they were doing what was commanded and to be acknowledged by the people as devoted, godly men. Also they loved the chief seats in the synagogues. They liked to be called Rabbi, or Master, but the Lord commands His disciples not to desire such titles, “for one is your Master, even Christ.”
Furthermore they were not to call any one Father on earth, “for One is your Father, which is in heaven.”
Warning
Then the Lord pronounces woe upon the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites because of the things they were doing, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city.” Here the Lord evidently means the apostles and prophets who went about among the people, as we read in the Acts.
Mourning
After this the Lord mourns over Jerusalem, His own city. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” It was no longer His house, but theirs, and it is left unto them desolate. They in their lack of faith had placed themselves under the Romans for protection, and it had proved to be a heavy yoke. But in their delivering up the Lord to Pilate, they had said, “We have no king but Caesar.” The Romans did come about forty years later and destroyed Jerusalem. It is said that over a million Jews at that time were either slain or sold into slavery.
Hope
Nevertheless, there is hope in the end for faith, for the Lord tells them that they would see Him no more until they shall say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Israel will yet see their King, but not until a remnant is converted to welcome Him back. They will not be ready for this until they have passed through the great tribulation.
Then in chapter 24, as has often been noticed with the disciples (who had not yet received the Holy Spirit), they failed to enter into the Lord’s most solemn teachings. They now desire to show Him some of the magnificent buildings of the temple. The Lord has to tell them, “Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Further Meditation
1. Why was Jerusalem destroyed in 70 A.D.?
2. What will Israel go through before they see their Messiah again?
3. A long but interesting account of the history around the time when Jerusalem was destroyed can be found in Josephus: The Essential Writings translated by P. L. Maier.