“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you travel sea and land to make a single proselyte; and when you succeed, you make him a son of hell twice as much as yourselves.
23:15 — Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you travel sea and land to make a proselyte, and once made, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you. — A proselyte is one who converts to a certain religion. Among the Jews there were “proselytes of justice” who were circumcised, accepted the law of Moses. The “gate proselytes” were those who renounced the pagan religion, and accepted some things of the law of Moses and even prayed to God, but were not circumcised. The clear implication here is that the scribes and Pharisees were children of hell. In the expression “son of hell” the word “son” refers to the fate of such proselytes; therefore, it means “ready for hell.” Compare “son of perdition” (Joh 17:12; 2Thess 2:3). This is contrasted with the sons of the kingdom (Matt 13:38). The sons of hell are the “sons of evil.” Many Gentiles converted to the true worship of God and accepted the law of Moses even though they were circumcised. Others, like Cornelius, learned about the true God and even prayed to Him with all sincerity. However, the scribes and Pharisees only converted them to Pharisaism, and by leaving the superstitions of their pagan religion, their converts accepted only the worst aspects of the religion of the Jews. These became worse than their instructors, because each generation moved further away from the law and adhered more to human traditions. Many confuse the practice of evangelizing those of other religions with the practice of the scribes and Pharisees who proselytized their religion. The Christian must teach the truth to all, including those who believe they are already saved (already Christians), even if they are members of human churches. When teaching those who are members of some denomination, the Christian is not a “hypocrite” who is “stealing sheep”, or winning “proselytes”, as some often accuse him, but is teaching and converting those who have not yet obeyed the Lord. true gospel of Christ. Many who profess to be Christians do not have a tenth of the zeal of the scribes and Pharisees to travel “sea and land to make” disciples for Christ. There is danger that many will not be converted to Christ, but will be won over to become members of some party. This was the problem of the Judaizers that Paul had to tenaciously resist. These had zeal without science (Romans 10:3). The brothers converted from paganism were “accustomed up to now to idols” and were hardly convinced about what was sacrificed to idols. Culture also influences some after their conversion to the gospel. Therefore, this text (Matt 23:15) should serve as a warning to all that the commission of Christ means evangelizing, that is, converting the world to Christ, and not being proselytizers who impose the ideas, practices and favorite prohibitions of factious brothers. It remains to ask: To what or to whom do we convert people?
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
because you travel sea and land. Gal 4:17; Gal 6:12.
to make a proselyte. Esth 8:17; Acts 2:10; Ac 13:43.
you make him twice as son of hell. Joh 8:44; Ac 13:10; Acts 14:2, Ac 14:19; Acts 17:5, Acts 17:6, Ac 17:13; Eph 2:3.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
you travel sea and land: The Pharisees and scribes could not be impartially accused of being lazy, but they were wrong and clearly dangerous to the cause of God.
Source: New Illustrated Caribbean Bible Commentary
proselyte. A Gentile convert to Judaism. see Acts 6:5. son of hell That is, someone who is eternally destined for hell.
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
23:15 — Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you travel sea and land to make a proselyte, and once made, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you. — A proselyte is one who converts to a certain religion. Among the Jews there were “proselytes of justice” who were circumcised, accepted the law of Moses. The “gate proselytes” were those who renounced the pagan religion, and accepted some things of the law of Moses and even prayed to God, but were not circumcised.
The clear implication here is that the scribes and Pharisees were children of hell. In the expression “son of hell” the word “son” refers to the fate of such proselytes; therefore, it means “ready for hell.” Compare “son of perdition” (Joh 17:12; 2Th 2:3). This is contrasted with the sons of the kingdom (Mat 13:38). The sons of hell are the “sons of evil.”
Many Gentiles converted to the true worship of God and accepted the law of Moses even though they were circumcised. Others, like Cornelius, learned about the true God and even prayed to Him with all sincerity. However, the scribes and Pharisees only converted them to Pharisaism, and by leaving the superstitions of their pagan religion, their converts accepted only the worst aspects of the religion of the Jews. These became worse than their instructors, because each generation moved further away from the law and adhered more to human traditions.
Many confuse the practice of evangelizing those of other religions with the practice of the scribes and Pharisees who proselytized their religion. The Christian must teach the truth to all, including those who believe they are already saved (already Christians), even if they are members of human churches. When teaching those who are members of some denomination, the Christian is not a “hypocrite” who is “stealing sheep”, or winning “proselytes”, as some often accuse him, but is teaching and converting those who have not yet obeyed the Lord. true gospel of Christ. Many who profess to be Christians do not have a tenth of the zeal of the scribes and Pharisees to travel “sea and land to make” disciples for Christ.
There is danger that many will not be converted to Christ, but will be won over to become members of some party. This was the problem of the Judaizers that Paul had to tenaciously resist. These had zeal without knowledge (Rom 10:3). The brothers converted from paganism were “accustomed up to now to idols” and were hardly convinced about what was sacrificed to idols. Culture also influences some after their conversion to the gospel. Therefore, this text (Mat 23:15) should serve as a warning to all that the commission of Christ means to evangelize, that is, to convert the world to Christ, and not to be proselytizers who impose the ideas, practices and favorite prohibitions of factious brothers. It remains to ask: To what or to whom do we convert people?
Source: Reeves-Partain Notes
MISSIONARIES OF EVIL
Matthew 23:15
-Woe to you, scribes! and Pharisees fakers! Because you comb land and sea to make a proselyte, -and when you get it you make him a son of hell twice as much as yourselves.
A strange characteristic of the ancient world was the attraction and repulsion that Judaism exerted on different people at the same time. There was no people that was more hated than the Jews. His exclusiveness and his isolation and contempt from other nations earned him general hostility. In fact, a fundamental part of their religion was believed to be an oath never to help any Gentile in any need, not even telling him how to go somewhere when he asked. Their observance of the Sabbath earned them a reputation for being lazy; their dislike of pork earned them ridicule, to the point of rumor that they worshiped a pig as their god. Anti-Semitism was a real and universal force in the ancient world.
And yet they exerted attraction. The belief in one God came as a wonderful thing to a world that believed in a multitude of gods. Jewish ethical purity and standards of morality held fascination in a world steeped in immorality, especially among women. The result was that many were attracted to Judaism.
Their attraction was noticeable on two levels. There were those who called God fearing. These accepted the doctrine of one God; they accepted the Jewish moral law; but they took no part in the ceremonial law, nor were they circumcised. Such people existed in great numbers, and could be found listening to and participating in the worship of any synagogue, and they were the ones who produced Paul’s main fruits in the field of evangelism. They were, for example, the greek devotees from Thessaloniki (Acts 17:4 ).
It was the invalidity of the Pharisees to make the god fearing they will become proselytes. The word proselyte is the Castilian transcription of the Greek word proselytes, What does it mean one who has come close. The proselyte was the total convert, who had accepted the ceremonial law and circumcision, and had become a Jew in the fullest sense. As often happens, “the most converted were the most perverted.” A convert often becomes the most fanatical devotee of his new religion; and many of these proselytes were more fanatical about Jewish law than traditional Jews.
Jesus accused the Pharisees of being evil missionaries. It was true that very few became proselytes; but those who came, came to the end. The sin of the Pharisees was that they were not really trying to lead people to God, but to self-righteousness. One of the gravest dangers any missionary runs is trying to convert people to a sect rather than a religion, and being more interested in bringing people to a church than to Jesus Christ. .
Premanand has a few things to say about this sectarianism that so often disfigures Christianity: “I speak as a Christian. God is my Father, the Church is my mother. I call myself a Christian; Catholic is my last name. Catholic because I belong to nothing less than the Universal Church. Do we need other names then? Why add Anglican, Episcopalian, Protestant, Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregationalist, Baptist, etc., etc.? These terms are divisive, sectarian, narrow. They shrink one’s soul.”
It was not God that the Pharisees tried to lead others to; it was to his own sect of self-righteousness. That was indeed his sin. And isn’t that sin still infecting the world when it is still insisted in certain circles that a person must leave one church and join another before he can come near the Lord’s Table? The greatest of all heresies is the sinful conviction that a church has a monopoly on God or knows the truth from him, and that a church is the only gateway to the Kingdom of God.
Source: New Testament Commentary
— proselyte: Technical term to designate the pagan who joined the Jewish religion with all the consequences,…