The point of view and the arguments made in The Gospel According to Matthew are inherently different than those found in Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals. Because of this, the views found in either selection are different however closely phrased the points made may be. In The Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" (Matthew, p. 43). Similarly, Nietzsche uses this idea of whitewashed tombs when he writes, "I do not like these whited sepulchers who impersonate life" (Nietzsche, p.158). Although the arguments of both authors were phrased in a similar manner in order to prove their respective points, Jesus uses the idea to criticize those who do not follow his paths of righteousness, while Nietzsche uses the idea to criticize those who try to follow an ascetic ideal.

In The Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus speaks to his followers about the scribes and Pharisees, viewing them as hypocrites who impersonate righteousness. This was a very strong charge in the time which Jesus lived. These groups of people was the "upholders" of the law. The scribes taught the written scripture to the illiterate people and studied the law very carefully. The Pharisees were members of a Jewish sect who interpreted the law in a very conservative manner, taking it in a very literal sense. They were later criticized, about paying attention to the words and not the spirit of the law. When Jesus criticizes these religious leaders it is shocking.

In his speech about "whited sepulchers," Jesus is telling his followers that the scribes and Pharisees are evil hypocrites (Matthew, p.43). He stated that they know and preach the law to the people. They may even occasionally seems to live in the law outwardly. However, he describes them as those who may "appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew, p. 43). They did not abide by the law in their hearts; although they teach it, they do not live by it. The fact that they know the law but do not keep it in their hearts makes them accountable to an offending sin as they live as bad examples for their misled followers.

In Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals, he criticizes followers of the Judeo-Christian belief; he views them as hypocrites who "impersonate life" (Nietzsche, p. 158). In his essay Nietzsche speaks of the origins of morality. He tells his readers that although at first he felt that morality was created by God, he later decided that it was created by humans. He feels that, at first the powerful and wealthy defined themselves as "good" and therefore those who were weak or poor became "bad" by default. Later however he tells his readers that there was a slave revolt that inverted this moral code. This inversion enabled those who were weak to claim the title "good", and through their religious beliefs that are molded by the ascetic priest they term their enemies as "evil" and damn them for being rich and powerful. The slaves feel that in order to claim goodness one must deny material wealth and worldly power. Nietzsche feels that this inversion of the moral code is unnatural for it creates the idea that there is a certain freedom of choice in whether one is weak or strong, an idea that he views as false. This idea that the strong have the choice to be weak and to defy their natural instincts allows the weak to hold the strong accountable for their strength. Because Nietzsche finds fault with the very essence of the new "slave morality" that was introduced by the Judeo-Christian belief, it only follows that he will find fault in the other beliefs that arise because of it.

When Nietzsche speaks of the "whited sepulchers" he is referring to the followers of Judeo-Christian beliefs (Nietzsche, p. 158). He criticized the Judeo-Christian belief that one should live for a higher purpose than those that are found in this world. Because Nietzsche does not believe in heaven or hell, he repudiated the idea that there is anything other than this life for which to live. He calls those who try to live for this next world hypocrites. He disagreed with the idea that one must deny material wealth and worldly comfort and power that was proffered by the ascetic priest. He said that they tried to claim that they are living fully by denying this world, when in reality they are only limiting the fullness of life through their morality. In the attempt to gain what Nietzsche views as a false afterlife, they are, in reality, denying life itself.

The ideas that were found in The Gospel According to Matthew seem to directly oppose those found in Nietzsche’s essay on morality. Jesus speaks of those who search for worldly power and wealth as being in opposition to all that is good. On the other hand, Nietzsche views those who oppose this ideal as being opposed to the natural order of things, therefore being opposed to that which is good.