Christian Art | Scribes And Pharisees | Jesus And Temple Judaism | King James Audio Bible
Matthew 23: 13-22 – Week 21 Ordinary Time, Monday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
13 ¶ But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Today’s Gospel verses continue Jesus’ stinging critique of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Jesus condemns the Pharisees’ conduct, threatening them with punishment – ‘Woe unto you!’ – if they do not repent and mend their ways. Having over the centuries acquired a degree of power in Jerusalem, the Pharisees now abuse that power. Greedy for honour and recognition as they are, their show of great virtue is merely that, a show, while in essence they live in gross discordance with the truth of God.
The Pharisees’ crimes, as Jesus relates them, are grave indeed. Not only do they themselves refuse to enter into the Kingdom of heaven; they prevent others from finding the Kingdom. The Pharisees have shut their doors against Jesus, and they are intent on keeping others from acknowledging Christ. They choke the Word, true not to God but rather enslaved to the evil in their hearts. The Pharisees keep the people from being freed from sin. These are astonishing words of Jesus. We think of the hours each day the Pharisees devoted to prayer, to the effort to perfect themselves, and yet Jesus says they are blind; they have got it all twisted and wrong.
The Pharisees’ crimes extend to devouring widow’s pensions in return for a show of prayer. Additionally, they seek out proselytes, converts to Judaism, and when they have found one convert, who is looking for the light, they constrict him in their own narrow views and false practices. There is the crime of corrupting others.
Finally, in these verses, the Pharisees do not know the true value of those holy things by which oaths are – rightly or wrongly – taken. They say that it is nothing to swear by the altar, but when a person swears by the gift that is upon the altar, that oath is binding. This, Jesus says, is absurd. The Pharisees are blind to the source of such spiritual value the gold that is within the Temple has. They see the gold and cannot see God.
We have come a long way since the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, from the joy of the promise of a gateway to heaven to this dark opposite, a statement of evils the choke our spiritual capacity, occluding our relationship with God. God is love, yet here we find God’s precepts twisted in evil ways. Jesus strives in these verses to shock us out of our complacency. He speaks to the Pharisees and to the people of Jerusalem, and he speaks to us now.
Concluding Prayer
Father, Creator of all that is good,
you have called men to work in your world,
and by their co-operation to better the condition of mankind.
Grant that we may always work together as children of your family,
and love all men as our brethren.
Through Christ our Lord.
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
What Were The Outward Shows Of Holiness Made By The Pharisees?
Jesus condemns the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and their outward shows of holiness. Jesus accuses the Pharisees of neglecting the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faith, while focusing on the smaller details of the law, such as tithing and ritual purity.
The Pharisees were meticulous in their observance of the Sabbath, and would not even lift a finger to help someone in need on that day. They fasted twice a week, and would make a public display of their fasting by disfiguring their faces and wearing sackcloth. They also paid careful attention to the details of the law, such as tithing even the smallest herbs from their gardens.
However, Jesus saw through the Pharisees’ outward shows of holiness and recognized that their hearts were far from God. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of dead bones and uncleanness on the inside. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites, saying that they loved to be seen by men, and that they made their phylacteries and fringes long in order to be noticed.
The Pharisees were known for their distinctive appearance, which was designed to make them stand out as holy men. One of the most notable aspects of their appearance was the use of phylacteries, which were small leather boxes containing scripture verses that were worn on the forehead and arm during prayer. This practice was based on the commandment in Deuteronomy 6:8 to ‘bind [God’s words] for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes’. The phylacteries were meant to serve as a physical reminder of God’s presence and commandments, and to help the wearer focus on their prayers.
In addition to the phylacteries, the Pharisees also wore fringes or tassels on the corners of their garments, as commanded in Numbers 15:38-39. These fringes were meant to remind the wearer of the commandments and to help them avoid sin. However, the Pharisees were known for making their fringes longer than necessary in order to draw attention to themselves and demonstrate their piety.
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the Pharisees were ‘distinguished from the rest of the people by their manner of living, and were considered the most accurate interpreters of the law’ (Antiquities Of The Jews, Book XVII, Chapter II). Top of FormBottom of Form
Through subsequent, Christian history, religious authorities from both the Catholic and Protestant traditions have commented on the issue of outward shows of holiness. Saint Augustine wrote about the danger of focusing too much on external piety at the expense of true faith:
‘What avails it to wear the robe of Christ, unless we live the life of Christ? What avails it to be called Christians, unless we do Christ’s works?…Let us not then deceive ourselves with vain hopes; for, as we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 33)
In the Protestant tradition, Martin Luther had strong words for those who put too much emphasis on outward shows of holiness:
‘For the righteousness of God is the righteousness of Christ, which he alone works in us, and which, therefore, we can never have of ourselves. He is the vine, and we are the branches; and we can only bear fruit by abiding in him.’ (Commentary On Galatians)
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, emphasized the importance of faith and works going hand in hand:
‘True faith will work by love; it will purify the heart, overcome the world, and make us holy in all manner of conversation.’ (Sermon On Faith And Good Works)
The poem is an address to the Holy Spirit, symbolized as fire or a spark, exploring themes of divine transformation, purification, and ultimate union with God. Herbert opens with an acknowledgment of the Spirit’s divinity, emanating from the presence of the Saviour’s face. The Spirit is seen as belonging naturally to this celestial realm, yet the poet invites the Spirit to ‘take a bad lodging’ in his heart, reflecting humility and recognition of his own imperfections [ … ]
Who Is Mary Magdalene? Mary Magdalene is known for her unwavering faith and devotion to Jesus. In the Bible, she is one of the few people who stood by Jesus during his crucifixion and witnessed his resurrection. Her faith and courage have inspired Christians for centuries, and her example continues to resonate today [ … ]
Sometimes, when I read my Bible, I pause in the reading and say to myself: ‘This bit’s real.’ It would be fair to say, I have issues with Mary, because, contrary to what we are taught to say, Mary isn’t my mother. Rather: Mum is. One bit of the Bible-text says this: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, “He is beside himself.” … And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3: 21; 31-35.) Here she comes. She is in considerable distress. I can imagine that. I can relate to that. To save her boy from whatever he’s got himself into this time. And you’re not telling me there isn’t something inside that. Her boy is beside himself. Radical. Radicalized. Radicalizing. A misunderstood word. /ˈradɪk(ə)l/ adjective & noun. 1 Forming the root, basis, or foundation; original, primary. 2a Inherent in the nature of a thing or person; fundamental. b Of action, change, an idea: going to the root or origin; far-reaching, thorough. c Advocating thorough or far-reaching change. d Characterized by departure from tradition; progressive; unorthodox. ‘He has a demon! And he is mad!’ – thus ‘the Jews’. (e.g. John 10: 20.) Come home! It’s all she wants. His family want him back now. But it is an exclusive cult: there is an inside and there is an outside; and on the outside, they are not meant to understand, lest they be converted. He has defined himself as different from anything she was. Only at the end does Jesus say to his Mum – and with savage, bitter irony: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ And then he dies. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. We ask that we might find Mary in our hearts as a Yes! place for Jesus. It is also recommended that we pray to Jesus that we may be further in oneness with Mary. It is self-emptying, such that we only exist insofar as we are responsive to God’s Word. * Last term, and put-out to pasture, the old Archbishop Emeritus came over to stay for a few days and did the odd class with us. He spoke of Yes! as the meaning of Mary’s virginity. And we were not very nice about him. One or two took umbrage. One or two got the hump. In a sense, his Grace, the Arch, basically wanted to move anyone he’d ever known from a high-place – a mountain – received theological ‘truth’ – to an imminent, human plane. Earthing the spiritual. Recalibrating metrics of life’s believability toward a spiritual sense of things. He might have asked the impermissible question: what happened? His Grace described it. God’s love as a cloud. This descended upon Mary – and subsumed her. Within the cloud, Mary capitulated utterly. She became only and purely a response to God’s love. As he spoke, the Arch cradled her. He carried her in his lap – in his hands. His Grace was a consecrated bishop. He was faith. He sat squat, a rounded man, hands cupped and ankles crossed, fingers interlocked, with parted thighs. Rumpled, washed, speckled. A lifetime’s skin… There could be no doubt His Grace spoke through long-term personal relationship with Mary. It was Julian went for him: ‘So are you saying Mary was a Virgin? Or are you not saying Mary was a Virgin?’ Nasty. No, it wasn’t pretty. Julian twisting his silver ring. For a moment, what Julian had said to the Arch simply failed to communicate. No, for a moment, that dumped on the air meant nothing. Then His Grace said: ‘There is a range of possible meanings we may understand in the question of Mary’s virginity. For example, there are understandings of the word virginity entailed in the action of giving birth.’ Julian said: ‘Duh! So had she had sex or hadn’t she?’ Trigger words. No, it wasn’t pretty. On that went for a little while. At length, Julian’s point seemed reluctantly conceded. Then the Arch told us a new story, an additionally human event, the more to baffle us. Controversially, he told us that Mary could not have been Joseph’s first wife, for this would not have been the way of things in the society of that time. His belief was that Joseph must have taken Mary into his household through pity. That would be normal, he said, for Joseph to bring a young, vulnerable girl, who is about to have a baby, within his protection, not meaning to enjoy with her marital relations, but through kindness. ‘And this story of the inn and stable,’ the Archbishop said, ‘it can’t have been like that really. Joseph has travelled with Mary to stay with his family, at home in Bethlehem, and they don’t want Mary in their house, for reasons which I am sure we can understand. It must have been there was considerable resistance to Mary. But Mary gives birth, and who can resist a baby? That’s what happened. It must have been. ‘I’m convinced that must have been how it happened really.’ Later that term, toward the beginning of Advent, we met boys who had been here before, in Valladolid, and now were in regular seminary. They had heard and recited verbatim all the Archbishop had said to them. Their spot-on impressions of each of the fathers were scathing. […]
