Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar,  swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."

- Matthew 23:13-26

In our current readings in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is what we know as Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' earthly life, and Passover Week for the Jews.  Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry, He has cleansed the temple, and has debated with the leadership in various challenges as to His authority and teachings (see the readings from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday.  Yesterday we began reading what is known as Jesus' Final Sermon.  He spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying:  "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  My study bible says that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God will hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore, leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1).

 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'  Fools and blind!  For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?  Therefore he who swears by the altar,  swears by it and by all things on it.  He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.  And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it."  Jesus' emphasis here is consistent with all of His teachings on the focus of the Law and the Prophets.  In Tuesday's reading,  Jesus was asked by the Pharisees what was the greatest commandment.  He gave two, but He said the first and great commandment was "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  Once more, His consistent emphasis is on God first.  It is God dwelling in the temple that sanctifies the gold.  It is God dwelling on the altar who sanctifies the gift.  In all things, Jesus teaches the devotion to God as the first and great commandment.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!"   Jesus refers here to a practice whereby the Pharisees would attach strainers to the mouths of decanters in order to avoid accidentally consuming a substance that was ritually unclean.   My study bible tells us that all of the warnings that are given here, and which follow in this final sermon of Jesus, apply to Christians.  They are particularly emphasized for Orthodox Christians and others for whom the ancient practices of the Church have been maintained, such as tithing, sacred vessels, holy rites, and patristic tradition handed down through time  ("These you ought to have done," Jesus says in verse 23).  These practices, it says, can be expressions of deep faith, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ, or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to condemnation.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also."  To cleanse the outside of the cup and dish is to make a nice appearance.  But Jesus teaches us that true purity is from the inside out, with hearts toward God as the One whose judgment counts, and to whom we are always called.

What does it mean to do "holy acts" for show?  For a pretense, as Christ puts it?  All of the actions He ascribes to hypocrites have something to do with the emphasis on making an appearance before others.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus says of the hypocrites, "But all their works they do to be seen by men."  And this is the key for us.  It seems to be the exact opposite of Jesus' teaching that it's really God's eyes we should be concerned for, and God's judgment rather than the "judgment of men."  Jesus seems to emphasize this over and over again in His varied teachings.  Even the teaching on authority and greatness among His own apostles reflects this understanding.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus has taught them, "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  Service and humility require of us to put behind ourselves consideration for the importance of how we look in the eyes of others.  To "love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi'" reflects a consideration for one's status in the eyes of others as a prime motivator in life, and it is part and parcel of what makes a hypocrite.  Once again, we recall that the word hypocrite in Greek was actually the word for "actor."  It literally means "below the mask," as the ancient actors all wore masks to delineate their characters.  To truly consider a life where God comes first is to experience the humility of service.  If it is God we are going to please, then all the opinions that others may form of us, our position in worldly eyes, our place in some sort of scheme of competition, is really going to come second.  Sacrifice is so often a sacrifice of that place in the eyes of others.  Christ on the Cross, humiliated, scorned, suffering, and ridiculed is the greatest example we have to teach us by example just what is truly of importance and what is not.  Jesus' saving and sacrificial work was not so we admire Him, but in order to save a universe.  Can we put His priorities first?    It is for the failure to do so that Jesus condemns these religious leaders as hypocrites -- even as He tells His apostles to respect that they sit in Moses' seat.  They teach the word of God, but they are not to be imitated.  This is the standard He sets, and it remains, indeed, a high bar for us all to measure up to.  But the key is that we put the love of God as our first and great commandment, then all else follows.