Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matthew 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ³  and the Pharisees, ⁴  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23:13

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law ⁵  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! ⁶  You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! ⁷  For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

Matthew 23:15

23:15 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, ⁹  and when you get one, ¹⁰  you make him twice as much a child of hell ¹¹  as yourselves!

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[5:20]  ³ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[23:13]  ⁵ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “Woe to you…because you…” The causal particle ὅτι (Joti) has not been translated here for rhetorical effect (and so throughout this chapter).

[23:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “because you are closing the kingdom of heaven before people.”

[23:15]  ⁷ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:15]  ⁸ tn Or “one proselyte.”

[23:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “when he becomes [one].”

[23:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a son of Gehenna.” Expressions constructed with υἱός (Juios) followed by a genitive of class or kind denote a person belonging to the class or kind specified by the following genitive (L&N 9.4). Thus the phrase here means “a person who belongs to hell.”