The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 23:1-39

 

Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,

 

Matthew 23:2 saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.

 

Matthew 23:3 Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.

 

Matthew 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens  (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.

 

Matthew 23:5 All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.

 

Matthew 23:6 They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,

 

Matthew 23:7 greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'

 

Matthew 23:8 As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.

 

Matthew 23:9 Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.

 

Matthew 23:10 Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah.

 

Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you must be your servant.

 

Matthew 23:12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 

Matthew 23:13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven  before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

 

Matthew 23:14 

 

Matthew 23:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.

 

Matthew 23:16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.'

 

Matthew 23:17 Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred?

 

Matthew 23:18 And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.'

 

Matthew 23:19 You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

 

Matthew 23:20 One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;

 

Matthew 23:21 one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it;

 

Matthew 23:22 one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.

 

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes  of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.

 

Matthew 23:24 Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

 

Matthew 23:25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.

 

Matthew 23:26 Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.

 

Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.

 

Matthew 23:28 Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

 

Matthew 23:29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,  you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous,

 

Matthew 23:30 and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'

 

Matthew 23:31 Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;

 

Matthew 23:32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out!

 

Matthew 23:33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?

 

Matthew 23:34 Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,

 

Matthew 23:35 so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

 

Matthew 23:36 Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

 

Matthew 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!

 

Matthew 23:38 Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate.

 

Matthew 23:39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"