Matthew 23:12
in Matthew 23For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
KJV
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
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This verse in Matthew 23
Commentary
20 notes on this verseThen he assigns the reason: and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Hence in the canticle of the Virgin, Luke 1:52: he has put down the mighty from their seat, and has exalted the humble.
This site's exposition
greatest among you shall be your servant
on Matthew 23:11-12
"The greatest among you shall be your servant" restates the standard Jesus set at the request of the mother of James and John. The rule "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" stands as a law of the kingdom. These verses close the introduction.
This site's exposition
whoever exalts himself
Thomas Aquinas hears the same reversal in Mary's song at Luke 1:52, where God brings down rulers and lifts up the humble. Adam Clarke finds the rule kept in Christ himself. He took the nature of a servant and humbled himself to death, as Philippians 2:7 to 8 records.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks · Written before 500.
proposed
A hermit said, 'He who is praised and honoured above what he deserves suffers grievous loss. He who receives no honour at all among men, shall be glorified hereafter.'
Or otherwise; And if one minister the divine word, knowing that it is Christ that makes it to be fruitful, such a one professes himself a minister and not a master; whence it follows, He that is greatest among you, let him be your servant. As Christ Himself, who was in truth our Master, professed Himself a minister, saying, I am in the midst of you as one that ministers. (Luke 22:27.) And well does He conclude this prohibition of all vain-glory with the words, And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Which means that every one who thinks highly of his own deserts, shall be humbled before God; and every one who humbles himself concerning his good deeds, shall be exalted with God.
Having warned them therefore against this grievous pest, and amended them, He instructs also how they may escape it; by humility. Wherefore He adds also, "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. For whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and whosoever shall abase himself shall be exalted." For nothing is equal to the practice of modesty, wherefore He is continually reminding them of this virtue, both when He brought the children into the midst, and now. And, when on the mount, beginning the beatitudes, He began from hence. And in this place, He plucks it up by the roots hereby, saying, "He that abaseth himself shall be exalted." Seest thou how He draws off the hearer right over to the contrary thing. For not only doth He forbid him to set his heart upon the first place, but requires him to follow after the last. For so shalt thou obtain thy desire, He saith. Wherefore he that pursues his desire for the first, must follow after the last place. "For he that abaseth himself shall be exalted."
The Medieval Church1 voice
For he who exalts himself, presuming to be something, shall be humbled and abandoned by God.
12 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Now each of these woes against the scribes and Pharisees has a reason annexed to it containing a separate crime charged upon them, proving their hypocrisy, and justifying the judgment of Christ upon them; for his woes, his curses, are never causeless. They were sworn enemies to the gospel of Christ, and consequently to the salvation of the souls of men (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And whosoever shall exalt himself,....
He exhibits a charge against them for divers high crimes and misdemeanors, corrupting the law, opposing the gospel, and treacherous dealing both with God and man; and to each article he prefixes a woe,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Whosoever shall exalt himself, etc. - 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?
We are now beginning a chapter which in one respect is the most remarkable in the four Gospels: it contains the last words which the Lord Jesus ever spoke within the walls of the temple. Those last words consist of a withering exposure of the scribes and Pharisees, and a sharp rebuke of their doctrines and practices. Knowing full well that his time on earth was drawing to a close, our Lord no longer keeps back his opinion of the leading teachers of the Jews.
We are now beginning a chapter which in one respect is the most remarkable in the four Gospels: it contains the last words which the Lord Jesus ever spoke within the walls of the temple. Those last words consist of a withering exposure of the scribes and Pharisees, and a sharp rebuke of their doctrines and practices. Knowing full well that his time on earth was drawing to a close, our Lord no longer keeps back his opinion of the leading teachers of the Jews. Knowing that he would soon leave his followers alone, like sheep among wolves, he warns them plainly against the false shepherds by whom they were surrounded. The whole chapter is a signal example of boldness and faithfulness in denouncing error. It is a striking proof that it is possible for the most loving heart to use the language of stern reproof: above all, it is an awful evidence of the guilt of unfaithful teachers. So long as the world stands, this chapter ought to be a warning and a beacon to all ministers of religion: no sins are so sinful as theirs in the sight of Christ. In the twelve verses which begin the chapter we see firstly the duty of distinguishing between the office a false teacher and his example. “The scibes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat” rightly or wrongly, they occupied the position of the chief public teachers of religion among the Jews; however unworthily they filled the place of authority, their office entitled them to respect. But while their office was respected, their bad lives were not to be copied. Although their teaching was to be adhered to so long as it was scriptural, it was not to be observed when it contradicted the Word of God. To use the words of a great divine, “They were to be heard when they taught what Moses taught,” but no longer.
Modern Voices6 voices
All real democracy is an attempt (like that of a jolly hostess) to bring the shy people out. For every practical purpose of a political state, for every practical purpose of a tea-party, he that abaseth himself must be exalted. At a tea-party it is …
The whole secret of the practical success of Christendom lies in the Christian humility, however imperfectly fulfilled. For with the removal of all question of merit or payment, the soul is suddenly released for incredible voyages. If we ask a sane man how much he …
For the truth is much stranger even than it appears in the formal doctrine of the sin of pride. It is not only true that humility is a much wiser and more vigorous thing than pride. It is also true that vanity is a much …
As a matter of fact, the strongest nations are those, like Prussia or Japan, which began from very mean beginnings, but have not been too proud to sit at the feet of the foreigner and learn everything from him. Almost every obvious and direct victory …
The wheel is an animal that is always standing on its head; only "it does it so rapidly that no philosopher has ever found out which is its head." Or if the phrase be felt as more exact, it is an animal that is always …
The mountain tops are only noble because from them we are privileged to behold the plains. So the only value in any man being superior is that he may have a superior admiration for the level and the common. If there is any profit in …
How the passage was read
On Matthew 23:1-39On Matthew 23:1-39
The woes, read from inside Israel's own tradition
Read the chapter's own frame before its fire. Jesus opens by AFFIRMING the teaching office: the scribes and Pharisees “sit in Moses' seat,” the expositor's chair of the synagogue (stone seats of honor survive in excavated synagogues), “so practice and observe whatever they tell you” (23:2-3). And in the sharpest woe He still says of the tithe, “these you ought to have done” (23:23). The target throughout is hypocrisy in practice, never Torah observance itself. Each image is concrete: tefillin (the small Scripture boxes bound on arm and forehead in prayer, still worn today) made extra broad to be seen; tzitzit (the commanded tassels, Numbers 15:38, which Jesus Himself wore, Matthew 9:20) made extra long; the oath casuistry of Temple versus gold; herbs tithed while justice goes unweighed.
“Whited sepulchres” is seasonal and local: before Passover, graves were freshly marked with white lime so that pilgrims would not contract corpse impurity unawares; the Mishnah schedules the grave-marking in the month of Adar, a month before the feast (Shekalim 1:1). The pilgrim crowds hearing Jesus had just walked roads lined with newly whitened tombs. And the register of the speech is one Israel's own tradition could use of itself: the Talmud preserves a list of seven types of Pharisee, most of them bad, and warns against the “plague of Pharisees” (Sotah 22b), a self-critique sharper than most sermons. The chapter is a woe-oracle in the prophets' own tradition (Isaiah 1, Malachi 1-2), spoken in the Temple, and it ends not in triumph but in a lament that aches: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often would I have gathered thy children together” (23:37).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Shekalim 1:1 (graves marked in Adar, before Passover) · Sotah 22b (Babylonian Talmud, the seven types of Pharisee) · Mishnah Menachot 4:1 (tefillin and tzitzit in practice)
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅστις | hostis | He who | G3748 → | 144 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὑψώσει | hupsosei | will exalt | G5312 → | 20 times |
| ἑαυτὸν | he'auton | himself | G1438 → | 322 times |
| ταπεινωθήσεται, | tapeinothesetai | will be humbled, | G5013 → | 14 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὅστις | hostis | whoever | G3748 → | 144 times |
| ταπεινώσει | tapeinosei | will humble | G5013 → | 14 times |
| ἑαυτὸν | he'auton | himself | G1438 → | 322 times |
| ὑψωθήσεται.¶ | hupsothesetai | will be exalted. | G5312 → | 20 times |
ὅστιςHe who
hostisG3748 →144 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ὑψώσειwill exalt
hupsoseiG5312 →20 times
ἑαυτὸνhimself
he'autonG1438 →322 times
ταπεινωθήσεται,will be humbled,
tapeinothesetaiG5013 →14 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὅστιςwhoever
hostisG3748 →144 times
ταπεινώσειwill humble
tapeinoseiG5013 →14 times
ἑαυτὸνhimself
he'autonG1438 →322 times
ὑψωθήσεται.¶will be exalted.
hupsothesetaiG5312 →20 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 29:23A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Luke 14:11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Isaiah 66:2
Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles…
- James 4:6–10
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Peter 5:5
Through
1 Peter 5:5Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
it leads to
- James 4:6
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 3:34
He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 4:6
Through
Luke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 29:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 16 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks; GK Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles, The Travellers in State (1909); GK Chesterton, Heretics, Ch. 5: Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants (1905); GK Chesterton, Heretics, Ch. 9: The Moods of Mr. George Moore (1905); GK Chesterton, Heretics, Ch. 12: Paganism and Mr. Lowes Dickinson (1905); GK Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions, The Wheel (1910); GK Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions, The High Plains (1910); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 72; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.