John Calvin Commentary Matthew 23:33

"Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?" — Matthew 23:33 (ASV)

Offspring of vipers. After demonstrating that the scribes are not only base enemies of sound doctrine and wicked corrupters of the worship of God, but also deadly plagues of the Church, Christ, as He was about to close His discourse, kindles with more vehement indignation against them; for it is necessary to violently shake off the flatteries in which hypocrites indulge and, as it were, to drag them to the judgment seat of God, so that they may be filled with alarm.

And yet Christ did not focus on them alone, but intended to strike terror into all the people, so that everyone might guard against a similar destruction.

How harsh and intolerable this roughness of language must have been to these reverend instructors can easily be inferred from the long period during which they had held peaceful dominion, so that no one dared to mutter against them.

And there can be no doubt that many were displeased with the great freedom and sharpness Christ used. Above all, He was regarded as immoderate and outrageous in venturing to apply such reproachful epithets to the order of the scribes; just as many fastidious people today cannot endure any harsh word spoken against the Popish clergy.

But as Christ had to deal with the worst of hypocrites—who not only were swollen with proud contempt of God and intoxicated with careless security, but had also captivated the multitude by their enchantments—He found it necessary to exclaim against them with vehemence. He calls them serpents both in nature and in habits, and then threatens them with a punishment that they will vainly attempt to escape if they do not speedily repent.