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Matthew 23 |
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| 23:1
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, |
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| 23:2
Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: |
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| 23:3
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but
do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. |
 (23:3, 5)
"All their works they do for to be seen of men."
Should we let others see our good works?
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| 23:4
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. |
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| 23:5
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their
phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, |
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| 23:6
And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, |
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| 23:7
And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. |
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| 23:8
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all
ye are brethren. |
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| 23:9
And call no man your
father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. |
"Call no man your
father upon the earth."
Not even dear old dad? Was it OK for Elisha to cry out "father,
father" as Elijah ascended into heaven? (2
Kg.2:12)
How should parents be treated?
Is it OK to call anyone "Father"?
 "Neither be ye called masters."
But elsewhere slaves are told to faithfully
serve their masters, and women are told to serve and obey their husbands.
Does God approve of slavery?
Should we serve God alone?
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| 23:10
Neither be ye called
masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
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| 23:11
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
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| 23:12
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall
humble himself shall be exalted.
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| 23:13
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. |
(23:13-36)
"Fools, hypocrites, blind guides, serpents, vipers!"
Jesus calls his critics fools
(among other things like hypocrites and vipers), thus making himself eligible
for "hell fire." (Mt.5:22)
Is it OK to call someone a fool?
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| 23:14
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.
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| 23:15
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. |
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| 23:16
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! |
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| 23:17
Ye fools and
blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth
the gold? |
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| 23:18
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever
sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. |
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| 23:19
Ye fools and
blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth
the gift? |
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| 23:20
Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all
things thereon. |
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| 23:21
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that
dwelleth therein. |
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| 23:22
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by
him that sitteth thereon. |
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| 23:23
Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and
cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. |
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| 23:24
Ye blind guides,
which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. |
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| 23:25
Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and
of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. |
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| 23:26
Thou blind Pharisee,
cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of
them may be clean also. |
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| 23:27
Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which
indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones,
and of all uncleanness. |
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| 23:28
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are
full of hypocrisy and iniquity. |
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| 23:29
Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets,
and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, |
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| 23:30
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been
partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. |
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| 23:31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that
ye are the children of
them which killed the prophets. |
"Ye are the children of them which killed the prophets."
Jesus condemns the Jews for being "the children of them which killed the prophets."
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| 23:32
Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
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| 23:33
Ye serpents, ye
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? |
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| 23:34
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: |
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| 23:35
That upon you may come
all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the altar. |
"From the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias"
Jesus blames the Jews (who were then living) for "all the righteous blood" from Abel to Zecharias,
who he mistakenly calls "the son of Barachias" (see 2 Chr.24:20)
Who was Zechariah's father?
Has there ever been a righteous person?
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| 23:36
Verily I say unto you, All
these things shall come upon this generation. |
"All these things shall come upon this generation."
Jesus predicts the end of the world within the lifetime of his listeners.
What the Bible says about the end of the world
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| 23:37
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!
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| 23:38
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. |
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| 23:39
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. |
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