Matthew
Chapter 23
1 Jesus spoke to the crowd and to his followers.
2 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have authority like Moses.
3 Do what they tell you to follow, but don’t copy their actions. They talk but don’t act.
4 They put heavy and hard loads on people’s shoulders but won’t lift a finger to help them.
5 They do all their actions to be seen by people: they wear wide scripture boxes and make the edges of their clothes long.
6 They like the best places at feasts and the most important seats in the synagogues.
7 They like to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Teacher, Teacher.’
8 Don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ because you have only one Teacher, Christ, and you are all brothers and sisters.
9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10 Don’t be called leaders, because you have only one leader, Christ.
11 The one who is the greatest among you must be your helper.
12 Anyone who makes himself important will be made humble, and he who makes himself humble will be made important.
13 But trouble comes to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, pretenders! You lock the door to God’s kingdom so no one can enter. You don’t go in, and you don’t let those trying to enter get in.
14 Trouble awaits you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, fakers! You take advantage of widows and their homes, and pretend to be holy by praying long prayers. Because of this, you will face harsher punishment.
15 You are in trouble, teachers of the law and Pharisees, fakers! You travel over sea and land to win one follower, and when you do, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 Trouble to you, blind leaders, who say, if anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the temple’s gold, they must keep their promise!
17 You fools and blind, which is more important, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy?
18 Anyone who swears by the altar is not committing to anything, but whoever swears by the offering on it is responsible.
19 You fools and blind: which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?
20 Anyone who swears by the altar, is swearing by it and everything on it.
21 Anyone who swears by the temple is swearing by it and by God who lives in it.
22 Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
23 You are in trouble, teachers and religious leaders, pretenders! You give a tenth of your spices like mint, anise, and cumin, but you ignore the more important things in God’s law—justice, kindness, and trust. You should do these without forgetting the others.
24 You blind leaders, who filter out a small insect but swallow a camel.
25 Trouble comes to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, fakers! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside can be clean too.
27 Trouble comes to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, fakers! You are like painted tombs that look nice on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and all kinds of filth.
28 You might look good to others, but inside you are full of fakeness and wrong.
29 Trouble to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you fakers! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the good people.
30 And say, If we had lived when our ancestors did, we wouldn’t have helped them kill the prophets.
31 So you show by your own actions that you are descendants of those who killed the prophets.
32 Complete what your ancestors started.
33 You snakes, you family of vipers, how can you avoid being condemned to hell?
34 So, look, I will send to you prophets, wise people, and writers; and some of them you will kill and hang on crosses; and some of them you will beat in your places of worship, and chase from town to town.
35 So that the punishment for all the good people’s blood spilled on the earth will fall on you, from the good Abel’s blood to the blood of Zacharias, Barachias’s son, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.
36 I truly tell you, all these things will happen to this generation.
37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you didn’t want that!
38 Look, your house is left empty.
39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name.”