Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 23:13

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter[.]" — Matthew 23:13 (ASV)

Woe to you — In these verses, we encounter the sternest words of condemnation that ever came from our Lord’s lips. However, it is questionable whether the English translation, “Woe to you,” entirely excludes the element of sorrow, as well as indignation, which the Greek interjection is at least capable of conveying . Woe for you is, perhaps, a better rendering.

Hypocrites — See the note on Matthew 6:2.

You shut up the kingdom... — These words echo what was said before about the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52), which was the symbol given to each scribe upon his admission to office. Our Lord’s charge against them is that the only use they made of this key was to lock the door. They did not enter into the inner meaning of the Law or the Prophets. Instead, they excluded those who were trying to enter the higher life and teaching of the Kingdom, possibly referring to how they put believers in Jesus out of the synagogue (John 9:22; John 12:42). .