Warnings to the Religious Leaders

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ²He said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat." ³So obey and follow whatever they tell you. But don't follow their example, because they don't practice what they preach. ⁴They pile heavy, crushing burdens on people's shoulders, but they won't lift a finger to help carry the load. ⁵Everything they do is to be noticed by others. They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. ⁶They love the seats of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. ⁷They love being greeted with respect in the marketplaces and having people call them 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' ⁸But do not be called “Rabbi,” because one is your Master, Christ, and all of you are brothers. ⁹Don't call anyone on earth your father, because you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Don't let anyone call you 'master' either, because you have one Master — Christ. ¹¹But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹²Whoever lifts himself up will be brought low, and whoever humbles himself will be lifted up. ¹³But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are trying to enter to go in. ¹⁴How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive the greater damnation. ¹⁵How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You cross land and sea to win a single convert, and when you do, you turn that person into twice the child of hell that you are. ¹⁶How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, 'If someone swears by the temple, it means nothing. But if someone swears by the gold of the temple, that oath is binding.' ¹⁷You blind fools! Which is greater — the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸You also say, 'If someone swears by the altar, it means nothing. But if someone swears by the gift on the altar, that oath is binding.' ¹⁹You blind fools! Which is greater — the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰So when someone swears by the altar, they're swearing by it and by everything on it. ²¹When someone swears by the temple, they're swearing by it and by God who lives in it. ²²And when someone swears by heaven, they're swearing by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. ²³How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You carefully tithe your mint, dill, and cumin, but you've neglected the things that matter most in the Law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should have practiced these without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. ²⁵How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You polish the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they're full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will be clean too. ²⁷How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You're like whitewashed tombs — beautiful on the outside, but inside you're full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. ²⁸That's exactly what you're like. On the outside you look righteous to everyone, but on the inside you're full of hypocrisy and wickedness. ²⁹How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build monuments for the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous, ³⁰and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have shared in the blood of the prophets with them.' ³¹By saying that, you're admitting that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³²Then fill up the measure of your fathers. ³³You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴Therefore, look, I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. ³⁵As a result, you will be held responsible for all the righteous blood ever shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶I tell you the truth: all of this will fall on this generation. ³⁷"Jerusalem, Jerusalem — you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! How many times I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you refused! ³⁸Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹I tell you this: you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"