In Matthew 23:27, Jesus calls the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs.” This is part of a series of woes that Jesus pronounces against the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. To understand why Jesus used this metaphor, it’s helpful to examine the context, the meaning of whitewashed tombs, and the significance of Jesus’ critique.
The Context of Matthew 23
Matthew 23 contains Jesus’ lengthy denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. In this chapter, Jesus points out how the Jewish religious leaders claim to uphold God’s law but fail to practice what they preach (Matthew 23:3). He accuses them of adding extra rules to burden people rather than helping them (Matthew 23:4), seeking honor and recognition rather than humbly serving God (Matthew 23:5-7), and shutting people out of God’s kingdom instead of leading them to salvation (Matthew 23:13). Jesus reserves his harshest criticisms for their hypocrisy.
The “woes” in the second half of Matthew 23 highlight the specific ways the scribes and Pharisees fail to practice what they preach. Jesus condemns their hypocrisy, pride, greed, self-indulgence, and lack of compassion. By pronouncing woes against them, Jesus speaks out strongly against their damaging example of fake spirituality. The image of whitewashed tombs comes as the sixth woe in this series.
The Meaning of Whitewashed Tombs
In Jesus’ day, tombs were typically marked by white limestone. Before Passover, tombs would be whitewashed to make them stand out so people could avoid ritual impurity from contact with dead bodies (Numbers 19:16). On the surface, the whitewashed tombs looked clean and beautiful. But inside they contained decaying corpses.
Jesus accuses the Pharisees of being like these whitewashed tombs: “So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:28). Outwardly, they put on a show of holiness and obedience to God’s law. But inwardly, their hearts were corrupt and wicked.
The image powerfully exposed the stark contrast between the Pharisees’ exterior righteousness and their interior corruption. They claimed to honor God, but they cared more about impressing people. They kept up strict religious practices, but neglected justice and mercy. They looked holy on the outside, but in their hearts they were far from God.
The Significance of Jesus’ Critique
By using the metaphor of whitewashed tombs, Jesus emphasized several key problems with the Pharisees’ example:
- They were hypocritical, saying one thing but doing another.
- They cared more about appearances than true godliness.
- They burdened people with extra rules instead of showing compassion.
- They failed to address their own inner corruption and sin.
Jesus exposed their hypocrisy because it led people astray. As religious leaders, their words and actions impacted many. Since they failed to live out genuine faith themselves, they distorted people’s understanding of God. They shut people out of the kingdom by their false teaching (Matthew 23:13).
For Jesus, it was far better to be morally authentic than to put on a show of fake righteousness. External acts of piety count for nothing if someone’s heart isn’t changed. Jesus rebuked harshly not out of hatred, but from a desire to break through the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and stubbornness to show them their need to repent.
This incident serves as a warning for believers today. It’s easy to maintain a façade of righteousness while neglecting justice, mercy, and humility. We must guard against pride, hypocrisy, and valuing appearances over inner transformation. As Jesus reminds us, “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Key Details from the Passage
Looking closely at Matthew 23:27-28, we see several details that shed light on Jesus’ metaphor:
- “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” – Jesus strongly condemns their hypocrisy.
- “You are like whitewashed tombs” – Whitewashing made tombs look clean outwardly.
- “Full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” – But tombs were unclean because of dead bodies inside.
- “Outwardly appear righteous” – The Pharisees looked holy externally.
- “Within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” – But inwardly they were corrupt.
The imagery emphasizes the deceptive nature of hypocrisy – looking good on the outside while hiding evil within. Jesus cares far more about the purity of one’s heart.
Old Testament Background
The Old Testament law contains instructions relevant to Jesus’ metaphor:
- Contact with dead bodies made people ceremonially unclean (Numbers 19:11-16).
- Tombs and graves were whitewashed to make them obvious so people could avoid them (Luke 11:44).
- God judges people based on the heart, not external matters (1 Samuel 16:7).
- God hates hypocrisy and meaningless rituals without justice (Isaiah 1:11-17).
Jesus builds on these Old Testament ideas to critique practices that focus on outward conformity to law rather than inward renewal.
Application for Today
Although we are not Pharisees, the warnings from this passage remain relevant today:
- Focus on purifying your heart more than keeping up appearances.
- Major on inward transformation over outward performance.
- Beware spiritual pride that looks down on others.
- Allow God’s grace to expose and root out hypocrisy.
- Care more about pleasing God than impressing people.
The holy life is both internal and external. But we must guard our hearts first since God cares deeply about integrity between our inner and outer selves. If we honor God from our hearts, our words and actions will follow.
Other Relevant Bible Passages
Several other passages relate to this topic:
- Isaiah 29:13 – Worshiping externally while hearts are far from God
- Jeremiah 17:9 – The human heart is deceitful above all things
- Matthew 15:8 – Honoring God with lips but not heart
- Matthew 15:17-20 – Evils come from within the heart
- Luke 16:15 – God knows our hearts
- Titus 1:15-16 – Deeds deny God though words profess him
These verses reinforce the importance of integrity between inner motives and outward actions. God cares deeply about the state of our hearts.
Conclusion
In calling the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, Jesus uses a powerful metaphor to expose their hypocrisy. They appeared righteous externally but inwardly were full of corruption. Jesus cares deeply about inner purity of heart rather than just external actions. This incident serves as a warning against hypocrisy and a reminder that God looks at the heart. For believers today, it highlights the importance of integrity between our inner and outer lives.