Mat 23 | Comm | STEP | Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

‏ Matthew 23

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must observe and do whatever they tell you. But do not do what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. 4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. 5 But they do all their works to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and the tassels of their garments long. 6 And they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi.’ 8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi, ‘for you have only one Master, and you are all brethren. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your ‘Father, ‘for you have one Father, he who is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘Teacher, ‘for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who would enter to go in. 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win a single proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift that is on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it. 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 You serpents! You brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 Behold, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’"