Chapter 23
Jesus gives a long speech condemning the corrupt Pharisees. He tells the listening crowd that the Pharisees are the teachers of the law; the people should follow what the they tell them, since they know the law, but shouldn’t emulate their actions, since “they do not practice what they preach.” They load other people down with the heavy burden of the law of Moses, but they themselves “are not willing to lift a finger.” Instead, they like to show off how “devout” and important they are by taking the most important seats at the synagogue, showing off their Torahs, and having people call them “teacher”. But Jesus tells the crowds that they are not to be called “teacher” or father or anything else, because the only father is the Father in heaven and the only teacher is the Messiah. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus then addresses the Pharisees, and accuses them of slamming the gates of heaven in people’s faces. Since they themselves cannot enter, they try to keep out everyone else also. They also break the very laws that they pride themselves on knowing. They tell people that if anyone swears by the temple or the altar, the oath means nothing. But if they swear by the gold of the temple or the gift on the altar, then the oath is binding. Jesus yells, “You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? … You blind men! Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?”
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Jesus continues. They follow the small legalistic points of the law, like giving a tenth of their spices, but ignore the most important aspects of the law, like justice and mercy. Jesus angrily says that they clean the outside of the cup – i.e. are focused on outer appearances – while leaving the inside of the cup dirty and nasty. If they had focused on cleaning the inside of the cup, the outside would have become clean too. The Pharisees are like whitewashed tombs, clean and shiny on the outside, but full of dirt and bones on the inside.
Jesus tells them that he will send wise men and prophets and teachers. He already knows that the Pharisees and their ilk will kill and persecute them, but in so doing, they will take credit not only for their current killings, but also for all of the other killings that unrighteous hypocrites such as themselves have done over the centuries.
Jesus then laments for Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those 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. Look, your house is left to you desolate.”
Commentary
So, I guess Jesus isn’t as Zen about the Pharisees as I thought. This was quite an angry tirade. I guess he finally got fed up with them. Incidentally, almost every new paragraph began with the line, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” but I only quoted it the once to save space. His anger seems to have passed as quickly as it appeared; he ends the speech on a sad note, feeling sad and protective of Jerusalem.
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