Matthew 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
The setting
Jerusalem temple, Jesus continues His scathing critique. Pharisees were known for aggressive missionary work across the Mediterranean in Jerusalem, Israel...
The emotion here: grieved at seeing sincere seekers led astray by religious zealots
The original word
geenna (γέεννα) — Valley of Hinnom, Jerusalem's garbage dump where fires burned constantly
Why it matters
Pharisees were the most missionary-minded Jewish group, actively seeking Gentile converts
Read with care
What most readers miss in Matthew 23:15
This isn't about evangelism being wrong — it's about making converts worse than before
Common misconceptionPeople think Jesus opposes evangelism here, but He's condemning those who convert people to legalism instead of grace, making them more bound than before.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Matthew 23:15
Bible Genome reading
Matthew 23:15 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Matthew 23:15 comes from the book of Matthew, written during the gospel period. The setting is the Temple. These words are attributed to Jesus. The dominant emotion in this verse is angry, with a comfort power of 5% and a tone that is prophetic. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include false conversion, corruption. Notable phrases: travel around by sea and land; twice as much of a son of Gehenna. This verse contains prophecy.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same angry
“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'”
— Joel 3:10
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!”
— Matthew 23:24
“Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husba…”
— Amos 4:1
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn assemblies.”
— Amos 5:21
“Your eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
— Deuteronomy 19:21
Your reflection
What does Matthew 23:15 mean to you, today?
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