Matthew 23:12

Mat 23:12. Ὅστις δὲ ὑψώσει ἑαυτὸν, κ.τ.λ., but whosoever shall exalt himself, etc.) In the S. V. of Eze 21:26, we read ἐταπείνωσας τὸ ὑψηλὸν, καὶ ὕψωσας τὸ ταπεινόν, Thou hast humbled that which is exalted, and exalted that which is humble.—ὑψώσει ἑαυτὸν, shall exalt himself) As the Scribes and Pharisees did.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He seemeth to allude to the name of the Rabbis, for Rabbi signifieth one that is aloft.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased--See on Luk 18:14. What follows was addressed more immediately to the scribes and Pharisees.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. Whosoever shall exalt himself, c.] The way to arrive at the highest degree of dignity, in the sight of God, is by being willing to become the servant of all. Nothing is more hateful in his sight than pride to bring it into everlasting contempt, God was manifest in the flesh. He who was in the likeness of God took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and humbled himself unto death. After this, can God look upon any proud man without abasing him? Spiritual lordship and domination, ecclesiastical luxury, pomp, and pride, must be an abhorrence in the sight of that God who gave the above advices to his followers.

Another lesson, which our blessed Lord teaches here, is, that no man is implicitly to receive the sayings, doctrines, and decisions of any man, or number of men, in the things which concern the interests of his immortal soul. Christ, his Spirit, and his word, are the only infallible teachers. Every man who wishes to save his soul must search the Scriptures, by prayer and faith. Reader, take counsel with the pious; hear the discourses of the wise and holy: but let the book of God ultimately fix thy creed.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(12) Whosoever shall exalt himself.—The precept seems to have been one which our Lord desired specially to imprint on the hearts of the disciples. It had been spoken at least twice before, as in Luk_14:11; Luk_18:14. The echoes of it in Jas_4:10, 1Pe_5:6, show that the impression had been made.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,.... It seems from hence, that the Scribes and Pharisees had not left him, at least not all of them, notwithstanding the confusion they were thrown into; but were still about him, observing what he said to the people, and watching an opportunity to take every advantage against him; whom he addresses in a very awful manner, calling them "hypocrites", as he truly might; for they were such, both to God and men: he had detected them already before the people, in several instances of hypocrisy; and gives sufficient reasons, in the following part of this chapter, to support the character, he gives of them, and his charge against them; denouncing a woe upon them in this world, and that which is to come, no less than eight times; expressing his abhorrence of their wickedness, his commiseration of their case, and their certain destruction: "for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men": not eternal life and happiness, the entrance into which can neither be opened nor shut by men: those whom God determines to bring thither, shall have an entrance abundantly ministered to them, in spite of the opposition of men and devils; though these men did all that in them lay, to hinder persons enjoying everlasting glory. But the Gospel dispensation is here meant, which opened by the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ and his disciples, and which the Scribes and Pharisees did all they could to shut; by discouraging the preaching of the Gospel, and the administration of ordinances, in which this dispensation lay; and prejudicing the minds of men against it, that they might not embrace the doctrines of it, nor submit to its ordinances: they, by their office, ought to have opened and explained the Scriptures, the prophecies of the Old Testament relating to the Messiah, and led the people into a knowledge of the mysteries of his kingdom, and encouraged them to enter into this new state of things; which, according to the true intent of Scripture, was to take place, and now did: but instead of this, they shut up the Scriptures, took away the key of knowledge, and laid it aside; and darkened the Scriptures by their false glosses, and obliged the people to observe the traditions of the elders, and which they call , "an hedge for the law" (w); to which Beza thinks, the allusion is here, and by which men were shut up, and kept from the true knowledge both of law and Gospel:

for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in: they neither believed in the Messiah themselves, nor embraced the doctrines relating to his person and office: have any of the Pharisees believed on him? No; they received him not, they rejected him, and also the counsel of God, against themselves, not being baptized with the baptism of John, the forerunner of Christ; nor would they suffer others, that were inclined to profess their faith in him, and be baptized, to do it; but discouraged them all they could, by their reproachful treatment of the person, miracles, and ministry of Christ, and by their threatenings and menaces, and by their excommunications of such as made a confession of him.

(w) Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Ver. 12. And whosoever shall exalt himself, &c.] Lo here a great miracle, saith Augustine, {a} God is on high, and yet the higher thou liftest up thyself, the farther thou art from him; the lower thou humblest thyself, the nearer he draweth to thee. Low things he looketh close upon, that he may raise them: proud things he knows afar off, that he may depress them. The proud Pharisee pressed as near God as he could: the poor publican, not daring to do so, stood aloof off; yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the publican.

{a} Videte magnum miraculum: altus est Deus, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. Whosoever shall exalt himself — By these various modes of assumption. Shall be abased — By the divine condemnation. Exalted — By the divine approbation, and the honour that cometh from God. This maxim Jesus is represented as repeating more times than any other.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whosever shall exalt himself shall be abased (tapeinwyhsetai , shall be humbled); and he that shall humble (tapeinwsei) himself shall be exalted. It is not clear why the rendering of the verb is not uniform in this verse. The antithesis certainly requires it. The gnome, so often repeated (see references), seems to be, as it has been called, "an axiom in the kingdom of God." It is indeed a universal law in God"s dealings with men. Olshausen quotes a saying! of Hillel to the same purport, "My humility is my exaltation, and my exaltation is my humility." The first clause was prophetic of the speedy overthrow of the haughty Pharisees; the second is grandly illustrated in the example of Christ, who humbled himself to the death of the cross, and is now highly exalted; who "for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God". (Heb_12:2) St. Peter draws the lesson, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time". (1Pe_5:5, 1Pe_5:6)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted - It is observable that no one sentence of our Lord's is so often repeated as this: it occurs, with scarce any variation, at least ten times in the evangelists. Luke xiv, 11; xviii, 14.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

12. Whosoever shall exalt himself, etc. A universal rule in the kingdom of God. Humility is an essential element of progress in it.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

12.] This often-repeated saying points here not only to the universal character of God’s dealings, but to the speedy humiliation of the lofty Pharisees; and as such finds a most striking parallel in Eze 21:26, Eze 21:27.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.] Cf. Pro 29:23. Similar words occur in Luk 14:11, Luk 18:14.

12. E F G al add here: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye devour the houses of widows, and for a pretence pray at length. Therefore ye shall receive more abundant judgement.” Omit א B D L Z a e ff1 g1 2 S1. The words are an interpolation from Mar 12:40, Luk 20:47. In some authorities the words stand after v. 13.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.