Matthew 23:3–28

³So you should obey and follow whatever they tell you, but their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they themselves don’t do them. ⁴They make strict rules and try to force people to obey them, but they are unwilling to help those who struggle under the weight of their rules.

⁵“They do good things so that other people will see them. They enlarge the little boxes ⁿ holding Scriptures that they wear, and they make their special prayer clothes very long. ⁶Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at feasts and in the synagogues. ⁷They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’

⁸“But you must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. ⁹And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father,’ because you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰And you should not be called ‘Master,’ because you have only one Master, the Christ. ¹¹Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you. ¹²Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.

¹³“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You close the door for people to enter the kingdom of heaven. You yourselves don’t enter, and you stop others who are trying to enter. ¹⁴How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites. You take away widows’ houses, and you say long prayers so that people will notice you. So you will have a worse punishment. ⁿ

¹⁵“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You travel across land and sea to find one person who will change to your ways. When you find that person, you make him more fit for hell than you are.

¹⁶“How terrible for you! You guide the people, but you are blind. You say, ‘If people swear by the Temple when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gold that is in the Temple, they must keep that promise.’ ¹⁷You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold or the Temple that makes that gold holy? ¹⁸And you say, ‘If people swear by the altar when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they must keep that promise.’ ¹⁹You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰The person who swears by the altar is really using the altar and also everything on the altar. ²¹And the person who swears by the Temple is really using the Temple and also everything in the Temple. ²²The person who swears by heaven is also using God’s throne and the One who sits on that throne.

²³“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn—even your mint, dill, and cumin. ⁿ But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things. ²⁴You guide the people, but you are blind! You are like a person who picks a fly out of a drink and then swallows a camel! ⁿ

²⁵“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You wash the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside they are full of things you got by cheating others and by pleasing only yourselves. ²⁶Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean, and then the outside of the cup can be truly clean.

²⁷“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine, but inside, they are full of the bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things. ²⁸It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.