Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 23, the book of Isaiah, and Isaiah 23

Exploring the Connection Between Matthew 23, the book of Isaiah, and Isaiah 23

For Bible in Ten – By DH – 3rd November 2026

 

Isaiah contains 66 chapters, corresponding numerically to the 66 books of the Bible. Although chapter divisions were introduced long after the books were written, this is no barrier for the Lord who created time!  As such numerical parallels provide an interesting framework for exploring the extraordinary unity of Scripture.

The 23rd book of the Bible is actually Isaiah!  In Matthew 23 and Isaiah (especially chapter 23), we encounter people who have elevated themselves and then God demonstrates His judgment against their sin.

Let's look at 8 connections between these chapters. 

1. Isaiah 23: The Humiliation of Worldly Greatness

Ancient Tyre's trading networks connected nations across the Mediterranean. Its merchants accumulated wealth and enjoyed considerable influence.

Isaiah 23:8 describes this position:  

Her merchants were treated like princes. (ICB)

These men’s commercial success had elevated them to positions resembling royalty.  But their influence could not protect them from the judgment of God.

Isaiah 23:9 explains the reason for the city's downfall:

He decided to make these proud men unimportant. (ICB)

In Matthew 23 Jesus describes religious leaders who loved prominent seats, prestigious titles, etc.  As they sought glory for themselves.   But Jesus establishes the divine principle in Matthew 23:12:

Whoever makes himself great will be made humble.Whoever makes himself humble will be made great. (ICB)

Man must never occupy the place that belongs to God.

2. Prosperity and Religious Influence

Isaiah 23 describes merchants, ships, foreign ports, and the international trading networks through which Tyre became wealthy.  Matthew 23:15 also describes people travelling.  

Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for the considerable distances they go to make a single convert, only to lead that person into the same spiritual error they themselves embraced.

Tyre crossed the seas to distribute merchandise.  The religious leaders crossed the seas to distribute doctrine.  Tyre's greatness had become an occasion for pride. 

The responsibility of Israel's spiritual leaders was to direct the people towards the Lord. Instead, pride blinded them.  Their teachings prevented people from recognizing the Lord.  

1. Matthew 23:16–22 and the conclusion of Isaiah 23

Jesus condemns the religious leaders for placing greater importance upon the gold associated with the temple than upon the temple itself.

Now consider Isaiah 23:18.  After announcing Tyre's judgment and a future return to commercial activity, Isaiah reveals something unexpected:

The profits will be saved for the Lord. (ICB)

The riches that once contributed to Tyre's greatness would ultimately serve a purpose determined by God.

In Matthew 23, the religious leaders had elevated gold above the holy things of God.
In Isaiah 23, God declares that the profits of a great commercial city will belong to Him.

Christ exposes the blindness of anyone who confuses the value of material things with the holiness of God.

4. A Connection Between Three Verses Numbered 23

Within Isaiah, two early verses numbered 23 closely resemble the central concern of Matthew 23:23.

Consider the following passages.

Isaiah 1:23 - Corrupt rulers

Isaiah condemns Jerusalem's rulers for accepting payments, associating with dishonest people, neglecting orphans, and ignoring the needs of widows.

The accusation against the rulers in Isaiah is therefore closely related to the accusation against the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23.

Isaiah 5:23 - Corrupted justice

Isaiah again condemns those entrusted with responsibility:

They take money to set the guilty free.

    But they don’t allow good people to be judged fairly. (ICB)

Those responsible for upholding what is right had begun using their authority for personal advantage.

Now compare this with Matthew 23:23 - Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for their careful attention to religious tithing while neglecting the more important requirements of God's law:

being fair, showing mercy, and being loyal. (ICB)

All three passages concern the failure to administer righteousness according to God's standards.  

5. The Outward Appearance and the Condition of the Heart

In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord condemns people whose outward expressions of devotion do not reflect their inward condition:

“These people say they love me.

    They show honor to me with words.

    But their hearts are far from me.

The honor they show me

    is nothing but human rules they have memorized.. (ICB)

This is the very problem Jesus emphatically exposes in Matthew 23.  Jesus compares them to vessels that have been cleaned externally but remain defiled within.  

1. A Destroyed Harbour and a Desolate House

Isaiah 23 opens with the destruction of Tyre's harbour and its associated commercial security.  Its wealth and influence could not preserve it.

Matthew 23 concludes with a declaration of desolation as Jesus announces that Jerusalem's house will be left empty.

As CG explains, this refers to the temple. The building that had been identified with the presence of the Lord would be left desolate as Christ departed.

How dreadful it is for man to admire the things associated with God while rejecting God Himself!   

7. Seventy Years, an Unspecified Until, and the Faithfulness of God

Despite its announcement of destruction, Isaiah 23 does not conclude with destruction.  In verse 15, God declares that Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years.  After that period, the city's commercial activity will resume.

Now consider the concluding words of Matthew 23 as Jesus announces judgment upon Jerusalem and its leaders, His final words do not exclude future hope.  Instead, He establishes an until.  He declares that they will not see Him again until they acknowledge the One coming in the name of the Lord.  Compare this with the 70 weeks of years prophecy found in Daniel chapter 9 which ends with Israel’s restoration, confirmed in Romans 11.  

God has not rejected His covenant purposes for Israel. A remnant remains according to grace, and the future restoration of Israel is bound to God's faithfulness.

8. Isaiah's Greater Revelation: The Rejected Messiah

Having considered Isaiah 23, we should not overlook the most important revelation contained in the wider book.

Isaiah reveals the One through whom God's redemptive purposes will be accomplished.  The suffering Servant.  He is rejected by men, yet His suffering has a redemptive purpose.

Isaiah 53:5 declares:

But he was wounded for the wrong things we did.

    He was crushed for the evil things we did.

The punishment, which made us well, was given to him.

    And we are healed because of his wounds. (ICB)

We can see the Lord Jesus Christ.

The very One they rejected would soon offer Himself for the sins of mankind.

Christ humbled Himself in obedience to the Father.

He came to accomplish the will of God.

He would bear the burden of sin through His sacrificial death.

Man cannot make himself righteous through religious appearance or obedience to human traditions.

Righteousness before God comes through Jesus Christ.

His death, burial, and resurrection provide the means of salvation for all who place their faith in Him.

This is the central truth toward which the whole of Scripture repeatedly and marvellously directs our attention.

Life Application

Where does our own confidence rest?  Neither wealth nor religious achievement can make a person righteous before God.  

He calls us to recognize our need for the salvation He has provided through His Son.  It is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, that we receive the gift of eternal life.

The lesson of Matthew 23 is not merely to avoid the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.  It is to recognize the Saviour whom they rejected.

And the lesson of Isaiah is not merely that God will humble the proud. It is that the sovereign Lord has provided the way by which sinful man can be reconciled to Him.

May we never become so occupied with the outward things of religion that we overlook the glorious Person at its centre.

All glory belongs to God, and all our hope is found in Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, how wonderful is Your Word!  Across the centuries, You have spoken consistently through Your prophets, revealing Your holiness, Your righteousness, and Your faithfulness.

We thank You for the remarkable connections that encourage us to search the Scriptures more carefully and to recognize the unity of Your divine revelation.

Keep us from the pride of worldly success and the emptiness of outward religion.  Help us to remember that every blessing comes from You and that all glory belongs to You alone.

Above all, we thank You for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who humbled Himself and bore our sins so that we might receive eternal life through faith in Him.

Hallelujah and Amen!