“You
Hypocrites!”
“Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of
your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important
matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced
the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out
a gnat but swallow a camel.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full
of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean
the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the
dead and everything unclean.
In the same way, on the outside you
appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and
wickedness.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the
righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we
would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
So you testify against yourselves that
you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Matthew 23:23-31
Jesus
rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Many of them took pride in showing
off their spirituality in public. Yet on the inside, they were guilty of many
secret sins. Because of this, Jesus spoke of them as “whitewashed tombs,”
meaning they appeared beautiful outside but inside were full of uncleanness.
Only Christ can transform us.
Our Daily Bread –