Denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees

JESUS said, “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. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”

REFLECTION WHITEWASHED TOMBS. With this image, Jesus denounces the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees who appear beautiful on the outside but are rotten inside. Instead, these teachers of religion should strive to look nice both in and out or be consistently good within and without. As they take care of their external appearance, they should clean up their internal garbage. They should not deceive people and use religion to victimize the unsuspecting innocent. The scribes and Pharisees build monuments and make images or memorials to saints and prophets. They present themselves as better than their ancestors who murdered the prophets. But they are also killers, because they are trying to silence Jesus and his disciples. Jesus demands sincerity in the practice of religion. Those who are interested must listen to him. They are not in church to gain recognition and to be served. True adherents of religion are formed and trained to be Godcentered and other-centered.

You are a true believer of Jesus when you look to others’ interests before your own.