Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ….“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. ……Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! ……..“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. ….“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence…….“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness……“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,…..You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?…… I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Comment: This passage follows directly after yesterday’s passage. You can see that I have ‘savaged’ it to make the reading shorter but to maintain the introduction and underline the seven woes which the ‘gentle Jesus’ spoke to those whom He knew were to be the judges who would condemn Him, It was very ‘gutsy’ and relevant to me if I see myself as ‘religious’!
Prayer: Teach me well, O God, that I cannot fool You!
As I read it! 