Jesus, Pharisees, & Hypocrites
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first. 24 You blind guides, to strain out a gnat and to swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, teachers of law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.”
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men’s bones and all kinds of filth. 28 It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.”
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men, 30 and say: ‘Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part in their murder of the prophets! 31 By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the prophets. 32 Thus you fill up the measure of your ancestor’s guilt.”
33 “You serpents and brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to the pit? 34 That is why I send you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from town to town; 35 In order that upon your heads may fall every drop of innocent ‘blood split on earth,’ from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 All this, I tell you, will come home to the present generation.”
37 “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! She who slays the prophets and stones the messengers sent to her—oh how often have I wished to gather your children round me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not come! 38 Verily, your house is left to you desolate! 39 For nevermore, I tell you, shall you see me, until you say: ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
—–
To read Chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew, please go to False Christs and False Prophets.
The Lord’s Prayer is a short prayer but one that is layered with meaning. Read our free online book The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life to begin discovering the prayer’s hidden teachings. Click the following link to begin reading the Living Hour book now: The Lord’s Prayer.
Browse the entire Gospel of Matthew here: Gospel of Matthew
