Note 14 at Mt. 23:17: The Lord uses the term "blind" five times in His rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees in this chapter (vv. 16,17,19,24,& 26). Their greatest sin was not in their blindness but in their hypocrisy in professing to see (Jn. 9:41).

Spiritual blindness is hereditary. We are born spiritually separated from God. However, God is constantly revealing Himself to us and seeking to draw us out of our blindness (Rom. 1:18-20). For a person to persist in this condition, he has to harden himself against innumerable internal and external witnesses of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is inexcusable to continue in spiritual blindness. These scribes and Pharisees were blind by choice.

Note 15 at Mt. 23:17: It is God that gives value to everything. Things mean nothing without Him. These scribes and Pharisees were making the same mistake that men make today. They put more value on material things than on spiritual things.