Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

 

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.  But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  

 

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.  Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.  Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."

 

- Luke 11:37–52 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus spoke, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light." 

 

 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him.  So He went in and sat down to eat.  When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.  Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.  Foolish ones!  Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  Here Jesus begins to give criticisms of the Pharisees similar to those found in Matthew 23.  His repeated message of woe to them is a message about judgment that is to come.  My study Bible explains woe as a term which indicates complete and devastating destruction (Luke 6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).  Here, addressing the issue of the formal observance of the Law in ceremonial washing, Jesus emphasizes the inward part, making an allusion to the inward part of a human being.  This "inward part" is neglected by the legalism of the Pharisees.

 

 "But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  To observe formal practices of tithing, while remaining untouched by the love of God or the need for justice is to bypass the spirit of the Law while following its letter.

 

"Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  The emphasis on outward observance causes judgment by appearance, the pleasing of other people rather than God (John 12:43).  Jesus likens this inward state of neglect to death, emptiness, nothingness -- painting a forlorn picture of the unknown graves of the dead.  

Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also."  And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers!  For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."  Here the lawyers or scribes, who are closely allied with the Pharisees, complain to Jesus.  Again, Jesus speaks of their hard-heartedness, similar to that of the Pharisees.  These men scrupulously and zealously study and give opinions in the Law; in this context they load men with burdens hard to bear, but never show mercy in so doing, nor the compassion to truly help others. 

"Woe to you!  For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.  In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.  Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple.  Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."  Jesus now links the Pharisees and scribes to the same leaders who built the tombs of the prophets and killed them in the past.  He speaks of God's justice, in which all these things are known, and which will require a response.  Regarding Zechariah, my study Bible comments that some patristic teachers say this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) while others say it's a reference to the father of St. John the Baptist.  According to tradition, Zechariah (or Zacharias), the father of the Baptist, was also murdered in the temple.  

"Woe to you lawyers!  For you have taken away the key of knowledge.  You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."  My study Bible comments here that, because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Therefore leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 

Today's list of "woes" given by Jesus encapsulate in some sense what it means to be a hypocrite.  Indeed, in Matthew 23, Christ's grand critique of the Pharisees and the scribes, His condemnation is punctuated multiple times with the accusation, "Hypocrites!" Today's reading gives us an idea of exactly what the problem with hypocrisy is:  it hides from ourselves our own interior disposition, and the problems with it that we need to correct.  Jesus says, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness."  Outward observance is possible without ever coming to terms with our own needs and problems and shortcoming we need to correct.  This kind of blindness to oneself also leads to projection, and false judgment of others.  In response to their criticism of His lack of ceremonial washing, Jesus advises them to be charitable with what they have, teaching them the consequences of such:  clean hands:  "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."   But then He continues to explain the problem with tithing for outward appearance's sake, and the disconnect with the heart that results:  "But woe to you Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."  The point of charitable giving is serving God's justice, ameliorating the harsh conditions we know in the world, and so properly done out of the love of God and of justice.  Jesus continues, "Woe to you Pharisees!  For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them."  Their emphasis on worldly glory (the best seats in the synagogues . . . greetings in the marketplaces) hides their true reality:  emptiness without substance, empty of virtue, to be forgotten and passed over.  In Christ's criticism of the lawyers (scribes) He goes even further; these experts who know the law and render opinions have used it to obstruct the purposes of God.  They cover the fact that they inherit the ways of those who killed and persecuted the prophets before them, in their hypocrisy building their tombs and mourning over them.  They have inherited the ways of their spiritual fathers, doing the same to those prophets and apostles who will come (and to Christ the Son as well).  They not only obstruct the knowledge of God for themselves, but they hindered those who were entering in to such -- thus fully defeating and obstructing the whole purpose of the Law.  Hypocrisy, in short, allows us to hide from ourselves the true state of our souls, our inner part, and what we do -- so that it may cover up even a multitude of the worst kind of sins.  My study Bible has a note on the warnings given to these religious leaders in Matthew 23.  It says that these warnings about hypocritical practice of our faith are especially important to Orthodox Christians.  The Church, it says, has maintained the ancient practices of tithing, sacred vessels, holy rites, and following the tradition handed down from our own fathers (and mothers).  These practices, it continues, 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.  Let us understand that these words of Jesus Christ are not just for people who would be religious leaders and teachers 2,000 years ago.  They are for us today, especially for all of us who would be disciples of Christ, and seek to follow as He teaches us.  Let us learn from His words and take them all to heart.  For the wisdom of God will send yet more to us, and this wisdom is Christ Himself.  

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers!

 

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 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.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

- Matthew 23:27-39 

 

In yesterday's reading, we continued with Jesus' final public sermon (read the beginning in Wednesday's reading).  Jesus said, "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."

 

 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"  Earlier, Jesus told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, in which the vineyard owner (representing God) sent many servants to ask for the fruit of the harvest (the prophets sent to Israel).  Finally, the wicked vinedressers, who've leased the land, decide to kill the son of the owner (representing Christ) when he is sent to them.  Here in this part of Christ's final public sermon, Jesus links the leadership of His time with the leaders who murdered the prophets, declaring they are in the same lineage as those who were partakers in the blood of the prophets.  Their hypocrisy is condemned by Christ as it is covers staggering sins, which they are about to extend from the past murder of many servants/prophets into another terrible murder of the Son.  He says to them, in this context, that they take upon themselves the sin of the past by extending it into the present, "Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt." 

"Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 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.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."   Here Jesus clearly links the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers to the prophets, wise men, and scribes which are to come in His name, affirming their responsibility for the continued persecutions begun in acts against the murdered prophets of the past.  In Jesus' words, they are all linked from the same impulse and in the same lineage.  The murder of Abel was the first murder, and was done for spiritual envy (Genesis 4:1-15), the reference to precisely which Zechariah Jesus names is disputed in the tradition of the Church.  Some of the patristic teachers say this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (2 Chronicles 24:20-22), and others say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist, who according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.  At any rate, we are to understand from Christ's words the whole chronicle of martyrs, from the first murder to the last prophet murdered, the guilt of which is cemented by future acts in which they will kill and crucify, scourge, and persecute those sent in Christ's name, so that all these things will come upon this generation.

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"  My study Bible comments that God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of God's people, yet most do not want God.  The desolate house refers both to the temple and to the nation itself, for house can be used to mean "family or "tribe" (see Psalms 115:12, 135:19).   My study Bible adds that both the temple and the nation will be without God's presence once Christ departs.

There is an interesting concept which Jesus expresses in today's reading that should give us pause to think.  He refers to all the unjust murders of the past -- and specifically those martyred for reasons of faithfulness to God, especially servants of God such as the prophets and others -- as contained also within such acts going into the immediate future.  In other words, the continuation of such types of acts incurs the collective guilt of the precedents.  This is something we need to think about, as our faith does not nominally hold anyone responsible for the sins committed by others.  But at Jesus' words we need to think.  If we would collectively mourn and rue terrible acts of sin through the murder of innocent martyrs, servants of God, of the past, does that not give us a responsibility in terms of the things we ourselves do in life?  Should we mourn terrible injustices of the past, and yet move along to commit the same sorts of crimes?  Here, Christ is speaking of crimes committed precisely because a servant of God (such as a prophet) is sent with a message from God to the people, calling people back to God.  He extends that to the servants (I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes) whom they will also persecute and murder.  If they understand and mourn the terrible acts of the past, if they mourn the murder of the prophets of the past and claim they would not do such things as their ancestors have done, then what culpability will they have when the do the same?  Of course, it is Christ Himself who knows what is going to happen to Him at the end of this very week through which we're reading in the Gospels.  He knows they plot against Him, and that He will go to His crucifixion.  But here, He does not mention Himself.  Instead He refers to those whom He will send whom this leadership will also persecute, scourge, and murder.  It should, at the very least, give us pause to consider that when we do something similar to that which we have condemned in others of the past, we take the responsibility of that past crime upon ourselves.  It is the greatest act of hypocrisy to condemn an injustice of the past, especially one implying such serious understanding as committed against one who bears a message of God, but to engage in the same oneself.   Christ's words should teach us about our own acts of hypocrisy, to weigh our decisions in light of what exactly we would join in condemning of the past.  For the same temptations and evils, as Jesus Himself points out here, come in the future.  God will continue to attempt to reach us, and we will be faced with similar choices about message we don't like to hear, and the temptation to respond with hatred against the messenger, even the spiritual envy of Cain for one who was favored by God for his sacrifice.  Let us weigh the options of repentance and sin, and think about Christ's words, for sin continues, and our options remain the same.