Matthew 23:4

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Matthew 23:4

“They bind, indeed, burdens, weighty and oppressive, and they lay upon the ‘shoulders, the men’. The, also ‘finger, theirs’, not they will to stir them.” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told those He was talking to that they were to guard and do the things the scribes and Pharisees told them to do, but they should not do according to their works. He next explains why, saying, “They bind, indeed, burdens, weighty and oppressive.”

Three new words are seen here. The first is desmeuó, to be a binder. This includes the thought of enchaining a prisoner or tying a load on another. It is from desmos, a chain, bond, band, etc. One gets the sense of these men putting fetters on others, binding them with loads that burden them.

The next new word is barus, weighty, as in burdensome or grievous. The third word is dusbastaktos, an adjective signifying something oppressive or grievous to be borne. It is derived from dus, hard or grievous, and bastazó, to bear or carry. Thus, it signifies a load that is miserable to carry around. One easily gets the sense of Jesus’ words.

It is as if these men have bound those under them with fetters attached to balls and chains, weighing them down and causing them to be oppressed and grievously burdened. And more, Jesus says, “and they lay upon the ‘shoulders, the men’.”

Another new word is seen, ómos, the shoulder. Strong believes it may be derived from the alternate of the word pheró, to bring or carry. The NAS Concordance thinks it is a primary word. Either way, it refers to the shoulder. It will only be seen again in Luke 15:5.

One can think of Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol, weighed down and burdened with the torments that oppressed him. Jesus says that this is what the doctrines of these men were like. And more, He says, “the, also ‘finger, theirs’, not they will to stir them.”

Two more new words are seen. The first is daktulos, the finger. It is probably derived from deka, ten, the normal number of digits a person has on his hands. The last new word of the verse is kineó, to stir. It is from kio, to go. It can be used literally or figuratively to indicate movement in various ways, such as moving through life, provoking others into an insurrection, and so on.

One can see the ancient granddaddy of our word kinetic. That is derived from kinetikos, which is from kinein, a word cognate to kineó. The imagery is that of people overburdened by the rules and regulations of these religious leaders. They are grievously burdened, unable to move through life with any source of freedom or enjoyment. And yet, these men won’t assist them in the slightest.

Life application: Although the people of Israel had the law and they were expected to live under it and by it, the additional burdens cast upon the people only made their lives more difficult. The law itself was already a burden the people could not carry –

“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” Acts 15:10, 11

Peter, a man who was born and lived under the law, saw this and understood it to be true. He also knew that Jesus fulfilled the law for those who were under it. As such, that yoke was removed from the people when they came to Christ.

And yet, there are people today who reimpose the law upon people of Israel who never properly lived their lives under the law. But as soon as they profess Christ, some heretic comes along and tells them that they have to observe Moses. And more, they take people who were never under the law, meaning any non-Jewish person on the planet, and they tell them they must now observe Moses!

Think of it. These are the scribes and Pharisees of today. They cast a burden on those they instruct that the people of Israel were never able to bear and that the Gentiles never had to bear. Instead of leading them to Christ, who is the fulfillment of these things, they lead people into the bondage of legalism and law observance.

If Jesus’ words about the scribes and Pharisees are actively condemning of them and their actions, imagine how much trouble these false teachers will be in! And more, if all of Israel were swept away because of the teaching of its leaders, how much more do you suppose those who follow these law-observing heretics will also receive their just condemnation?

It is hard to imagine how thoroughly duped people allow themselves to be. But there is a remedy. Pick up the Bible and read it! In the Bible, one finds freedom in Christ. May you find it today.

Lord God, help us to live our lives faithfully in Christ Jesus our Lord, trusting in His fulfillment of all works necessary to restore us to You. We can rest in His accomplished word, apart from any deeds of our own. Hallelujah and amen.