All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not.
whatsoever.
Matthew 15:2-9 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread…
Exodus 18:19,20,23 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: …
Deuteronomy 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
for.
Matthew 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Psalm 50:16-20 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? …
Romans 2:19-24 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, …
But do not do what they do,
Here, Jesus warns against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. While they teach the Law, their actions do not align with their words. This criticism is consistent with the prophetic tradition, where prophets like Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13) condemned the people for honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him. The cultural context of first-century Judaism placed a high value on outward religious observance, but Jesus calls for integrity and authenticity in one's faith practice.
for they do not practice what they preach.
This phrase underscores the disconnect between the leaders' teachings and their personal conduct. The call for congruence between words and actions is a recurring biblical theme, as seen in James 1:22, which urges believers to be doers of the word, not hearers only. The failure of the religious leaders to live out their teachings serves as a warning against superficial religiosity and highlights the need for genuine righteousness. Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, embodies the perfect example of practicing what one preaches, serving as the ultimate model for His followers.
Jesus has just said that “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:2), acknowledging that they read and explain the Law of God. Because the Lord affirms the Law’s divine origin, He tells the crowd: “So practice and observe everything they tell you.”
• God’s Word, not the character of the teacher, is the ultimate standard (2 Timothy 3:16; Deuteronomy 6:1).
• Obedience to revealed truth brings blessing—“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).
• The instruction echoes Jesus’ earlier charge that none of the commandments are to be set aside (Matthew 5:17-19).
• We are reminded that believers are “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
Even when teaching is accurate, the messenger’s life may contradict it. Jesus warns against copying ungodly role models.
• Wisdom means weighing both words and lifestyle (Philippians 3:17; 3 John 11).
• Proverbs cautions that “a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
• Imitation is powerful; therefore, we follow Christlike examples (1 Corinthians 11:1) rather than those whose conduct betrays the truth.
• This call demands discernment: respect the Scripture they expound, yet refuse to let their hypocrisy shape your own behavior.
Hypocrisy is the heart of Jesus’ indictment.
• Paul addresses the same disconnect: “You who preach against stealing, do you steal? … God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:21-24).
• James asks, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?” (James 2:14).
• Leaders bear heavier accountability: “We who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).
• The Lord exposes hypocrisy not merely to condemn but to call His listeners—and us—to authentic obedience that lines up confession with conduct (1 Peter 2:1, 21).
Matthew 23:3 directs us to honor God’s authoritative Word even when spoken by flawed people, yet it simultaneously warns us not to mirror their hypocrisy. Receive the truth they teach because Scripture is always trustworthy; reject their double-standard lives, and instead let your walk match your talk.
(3) All therefore whatsoever . . .--Followed, as the words are, by repeated protests against special and grave errors in the teaching of the Pharisees, it is obvious that they must be received with an implied limitation. So far as they really sit in Moses' seat, and set forth his teaching--as, e.g., the scribe had done whose answer has been just recorded--they were to be followed with all obedience. That which was wanting was the life, without which even the highest maxims of morality became but the common-places of rhetorical declamation. It was one thing to "draw fine pictures of virtue," and another to bring thought and word and deed into conformity with them.Verse 3. - All therefore. It is because of their official authority as appointed teachers and expositors of the Law that Christ gives the following injunction. That observe and do. Many manuscripts and versions invert the order of the verbs, reading, do and observe. The received text seems most logical. Observe; τηρεῖτε, present imperative, continue to observe as a rule of conduct. Do; ποιήσατε, aorist, do immediately, whenever the occasion arises. All that they taught or commanded out of the Law, or in due accordance therewith, was to be observed and obeyed. The statement is made in general terms, but was conditional and restricted by other considerations. It was only their official injunctions, derived immediately from Scripture, not their glosses, evasions, and interpretations, that were to be regarded with respect. The Lord had already taken occasion to warn against these errors (see Matthew 16:6, 11, 12, etc.). As inheritors of the authority of Moses, and speaking ex cathedra, they were so far worthy of respect. This principle laid down, Christ proceeds to denounce their evil practices. After their works. You must distinguish between their preaching and their practice; the latter is to be shunned with all care. The scribes are never accused of corrupting the sacred text, which, indeed, was scrupulously guarded, and kept pure and unaltered. It was their treatment of the doctrines thereof that was censured. Our Lord shows their evil example in two particulars - their principle was "words, not deeds" (ver. 4), and ostentation in religion (vers. 5-7). They say, and do not. They enunciated the Law, they enjoined obedience to it in the minutest particulars, and yet they themselves continually, in the most important points (ver. 23), infringed, neglected, evaded it. St. Paul, himself a strict Pharisee, denounces in stern language such inconsistent professors (Romans 2:21-23).