Christian Art | Jesus And Scribes And Pharisees | Jesus And Temple Judaism | Son Of God
Matthew 23: 1-12 – Lent 2, Tuesday; Week 20, Saturday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
1 THEN spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Through the Sermon in the Temple, Jesus’ attack on the Pharisees and the scribes who side with them is clear, hard and definitive. Their way of life is corrupt and vicious. They are blind guides and hypocrites. They will be condemned – ‘Woe to you’ – because they kill the true message of God through their failure of love, mercy, justice, faith. They are serpents who drag the people they preach to down with them.
Jesus’ attack on the scribes and Pharisees is motivated by his love and compassion and sorrow for the ordinary mass of people who are subjected to bad teaching, who have been abused, indeed hellishly bound, by the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus has come to free those ordinary people.
While Jesus recognizes that the scribes and Pharisees do have authority to teach the Law in the synagogues, this must be distinguished from the practical interpretations of the law to be seen in the lifestyles of these leaders of the Jewish people. It is there that their corruption shines blackly forth. They grotesquely abuse their position. They preach but they don’t practise what they preach. They are full of extortion and rapacity. They say and do not.
Their faith is insincere and it is lacking in love of God. The ‘phylacteries’ were belts or bands carrying quotations from Holy Scripture which would be worn fastened to the arms or forehead. The Pharisees wear broader phylacteries, because they need to try to prove to other people how religiously observant they are. (They will have their reward.)
Through Lent, we might look to Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees to see if in any way, no matter how slightly, we reflect anything about those whom Jesus condemns.
Jesus asks searching questions. He seeks to perfect his Jewish audience and his message shines through history to the Church. Do we always practise what we profess? Do we ever take advantage of others’ trust in us? Are we ever complacent? Do we love the place of honour and to be seen of men, when in our heart of hearts we know we haven’t really done anything that special? (Do we ever envy others their place of honour?) Do we ask our fellow humans to face too difficult demands, perhaps pushing them all the more because we ourselves are inadequate to tasks we face? Do we ‘tut-tut’ another then look in a mirror and fail to see ourselves?
Or do we love as Christ loved and give all as Christ gave all? Do we always serve and honour our fellow man? Probably we don’t. But it is humbling to know this and to try and try, to know that we are here to serve. We are here to give everything. Christ demands it. He says so explicitly. We are here to be perfect.
As he berates them, Jesus knows what the scribes and the Pharisees will cause to have done to him. He has come to Jerusalem to be crucified. His outrage in the Temple could become a despairing expression of tragedy were it not that it is Jesus speaking, and he is speaking on his way to the cross to absolve us of these very errors he speaks of. Through this biting satire on the corruption endemic and institutionalized in Jerusalem, the cross of our salvation continues to shine. This is, though, also the cry of a man, sharing in our humanity, who is going to die, and horribly. Jesus will lament all the lost opportunities as he moves closer to his saving death which was needed for all our sakes:
‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’
King James Audio Bible | Love Revealed By Jesus Christ | Endnotes
Radical Love | Jesus’ Revolutionary Message | Beyond Power And Hierarchy
In Matthew 23, in the Temple, Jesus delivers a scathing condemnation of the religious authorities of his time, accusing them of hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and neglecting the weightier matters of the law. Jesus’ message is radical, challenging the established religious and political order of his time, and calling for a fundamental shift in the way people thought about power, authority, and spirituality.
At the heart of Jesus’ message is radical love – love in such a way as exceeds and might even make a mockery of human understandings. Jesus emphasizes that the greatest commandment is to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself. This message of love is beyond religious observance and ritual purity, even beyond emphasizing the importance of treating others with compassion and kindness.
Jesus’ message of radical love challenges the hierarchical social structure of his time. Jesus rejects earthly titles and positions of authority, emphasizing the equality of all people before God. In his excoriating attack on the Jewish religious authorities, Jesus in a sense signs his own death warrant – and this of course becomes Jesus’ ultimate act of love, to give himself upon the Cross for our salvation, to make restitution for our sins through an act of purest love and self-sacrifice, through crucifixion.
In a sense then, this passage of the Gospels both teaches and enacts Jesus’ commandment – the teaching produces the outcome.
Jesus’ emphasis on radical love and equality is a call to action for his followers. Jesus calls Christians to serve others, enemies and friends, with humility and love, rather than seek positions of power and authority. This message has inspired countless people throughout history, from St. Francis of Assisi to Mahatma Gandhi.
As the apostle Paul wrote: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.’ (1 Corinthians 13:13, KJV)
Jesus’ message of radical love is a reminder that true power and authority come not from earthly status, but from a spirit of service and compassion towards others, and a complete reciprocation of the love of God.
The psalm begins with a declaration, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ This opening line serves as a thesis statement, asserting the intrinsic value and pleasantness of communal harmony. The emphasis here is on the collective experience of togetherness, highlighting the inherent goodness found in unity among God’s people [ … ]
The poem expresses a living relationship between light and darkness, both real and symbolic. The change from night to day stands for a shifting disposition from ignorance to knowledge. This mirrors a human quest for understanding [ … ]
The Carrefour will be open, where I can buy nuts for the red squirrel, who lives in Campo Grande. The red squirrel is Valladolid’s best bit. Even as a child, I had never seen one before, apart from in picture books. It was last term’s discovery. The most beautiful encounter. I didn’t know it was there – in the park. A complete surprise. The tiny little thing bobbled and hopped, as it received in its little hands a nut from the man’s hands. Each surprising instant – it was childlike. I whispered: ‘Oh my wow.’ I walk toward the El Cortes Ingles. There is, for now, that settled feel of friends in bookshops. Though a null-affect, neutral day – it won’t glean, it is not to be scratched at. The queues are long in the Carrefour. Though, as it might be, on relatively modest incomes, many people live centrally. Their behaviours neither pinched nor stark. Yet the shop so busy while the street so empty… An error in the simulation, a glitch in the code. I potter about the aisles, which are pleasant enough, then at the tills I flinch at how expensive a little bag of up-sold nuts can be. Nonetheless, I queue for a packet of almonds. Two English men queue directly ahead of me. They are stocky, and have gay voices, their wheelie-bucket piled with soft drinks and party food, while they bitch to one another about the obviously terrible party they’re going to. The air heaves relief as I wander up the way to the broad plaza fringing Campo Grande. This is a place to see – a piece of Spain. There is a tourist information office, though unopened. At these fountains, three girls take selfies. Pompous-looking buildings, the military offices aside, line the park’s nearest vicinities. Hotel-bars have their patches. Liveried doormen idle time, for there are no paying customers, in and out the doorways’ shadows. A mixed group of kids play at the hoops on the pedestrian boulevard, and two boys practise on skateboards, working the thing out. I pass by them, touched by the thought, and happy that they are there. Wistful, I smile at the odds of the ball spilling over to me, and play in mind the agreeable scene of a fleeting connection. Then I am through the park gates. An air now – of humanity become self-selecting. Modestly understated. Understatedly modest. Campo Grande is nice but it isn’t grande… I walk slowly, and very soon hear for a second time English voices. Not them – it is an English family, just a little way ahead, a Dad and a Mum and a younger boy and an older girl, and theirs are Midlands accents. Dad seems to have been here and to know the place. He gestures panoramically. Mum wants her lunch. The girl at a difficult age. She carries a balloon-on-a-stick. Though she is sprouting – yet wears a loud dress. Then leggings, trainers. Her hair is nice… Maybe she is being okay about it. And not horrific. It’s okay once they get into it, but those months… Yet then, they mostly blossom, if they come from a good home, and become rounded personalities, entering into their womanhood. It was that… when yet they weren’t… I shudder to think of it. They walk toward the pond, and I trail, and would follow had I not been going that way. I wish I could say something so they might hear I am English too. (Fake a phone call?) How my voice might sound – there’d be all college hurling around in such matter I… a demented thing, ludicrous blurt – of Henry, Geoff, and all of them – not to mention the personal predicament. Maybe they’re a nice family. She is letting him explain what he needs to explain. And it would blow his fire, me being English. Mum and Dad. You’d probably see them all having their lunch in a little while. All sat round the table. With napkins and the menus out. Dad looks safe. I look into the pond. Terrapins live in there. But not today. I walk toward the join in the paths where the squirrel lives. There, I crumple the packet of almonds, making noise. I peer and I squat and crouch – chewing a mouthful. All the peacocks have perched right up in the trees’ branches. That never looks like something they should be doing. It’s disappointing that the squirrel isn’t here – but then the not-knowing-if is a part of it. Now, next, my visit to the National Sculpture Museum is an obligation. Canon Peter stood literally aghast when I hadn’t heard of it. Mortified, I made resolute promises. Though a few weeks have passed, it isn’t just any old something I could do on the hoof. A great commitment – it must command a known and prepared and anticipated not-just-any-old-time. But, rather, the sort you must wait for – and listen for. [ … ] Beyond Plaza Mayor, there would be a brief series of old-town alleyways. The National Sculpture Museum would be – just up there, this archway, this next…They are bleached and forgotten-looking walls, and the smoothed paving could be medieval. Not that it is making Tomàs anxious – I follow the map. A kind of place – uneasy credit-cards, and modern vaccinations, and a phone, might not help much. I fancy I feel the back-wall of a church, and that – fancifully – pressure-release drawn out of me. Only I am playing games in a nice way – making play-scared on the uncertainty – with only myself to see. The National Museum is there, modestly signed on stencilled plexiglass stuck to the stone wall. A uniformed lady sits just a little way inside the doorway. She reassures me there is no money required, and directs me over the courtyard into the planned route, showing me where I can pick up a free map. I get my […]
