Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 23:27

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men`s bones, and of all uncleanness." — Matthew 23:27 (ASV)

You are like whitewashed tombs — Contact with a tomb resulted in ceremonial uncleanness. For this reason, all burial places were whitewashed once a year on the 15th day of the month Adar—around the beginning of March—so that passersby would be warned of them, just as they were warned of an approaching leper by his cry, Unclean, unclean! (Leviticus 13:45).

The word translated "whited" literally means "smeared with lime powder"—that is, "whitewashed" in the modern technical sense.

It should be noted that the comparison in Luke 11:44 is drawn from graves that were not whitewashed, or from which the whitewash had worn away, and over which people passed without knowing of their contact with corruption.

Some have thought that this passage also refers to graves that had lost their coat of whitewash and were "beautiful with grass and flowers." However, it seems unlikely that the perfect participle would be used to describe such a state. It is more probable that, considering the time of year mentioned above, our Lord pointed to tombs that were shining in their new whiteness.