Matthew 23:27-32
Chapter 23
27
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness.
28
Similarly, you seem religious to others, but inside you’re full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.
30
You say: Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets.
31
So, you yourselves confess to being descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32
And now, complete what your ancestors started!
Commentaries
Invective Against the Scribes and Pharisees.
Here, the conflict between the Christian community and the Jewish religious authorities reaches its peak. Conditions and genre influence the text: the language likely reflects a time when Christians had already separated from the Jewish community. In contrast, the literary style of “polemic” accounts for obvious exaggerations or oversimplifications when describing the enemy. Religion involves the heart, both vertically in relation to God and horizontally in relation to neighbors. When this does not happen, it can become overwhelming, suffocating, and enslaving.