Sunday, January 29, 2023

4 Gospels: twenty-three

 Hypocrisy Exposed

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and [a]comply with it all, but do not do [b]as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their [c]phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called [d]Rabbi by the people. But as for you, do not be called [e]Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called [f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.[g]

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one [h]proselyte; and when he becomes one, you [i]make him twice as much a son of [j]hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the [k]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the [l]temple is obligated.’ 17 You fools and blind men! Which is [m]more important, the gold or the [n]temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the [o]offering that is on it is obligated.’ 19 You blind men, which is [p]more important, the [q]offering or the altar that sanctifies the [r]offering? 20 Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by [s]the altar and by everything on it. 21 And the one who swears by the [t]temple, swears both by [u]the temple and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And the one who swears by [v]heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [w]cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who [x]strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full [y]of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the [z]outside of it may also become clean.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are [aa]sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 [ab]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You snakes, you [ac]offspring of vipers, how [ad]will you escape the [ae]sentence of [af]hell?

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the [ag]temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Grieving over Jerusalem

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23

Jesus before Pilate

23 Then the entire assembly of them set out and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is [a]Christ, a King.” Now Pilate asked Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, It is as you say.” But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.” But they kept on insisting, saying, “He is stirring up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, as far as this place!”

Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, [b]since he also was in Jerusalem [c]at this time.

Jesus before Herod

Now Herod was overjoyed when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some [d]sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him [e]at some length; but He offered him no answer at all. 10 Now the chief priests and the scribes stood there, vehemently charging Him. 11 And Herod, together with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressing Him in a brightly shining robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. 12 And so Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.

Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release

13 Now Pilate summoned to himself the chief priests, the [f]rulers, and the people, 14 and he said to them, “You brought this man to me on the ground that he is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this man for the charges which you are bringing against Him. 15 No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. 16 Therefore I will [g]punish Him and release Him.” 17 [[h]Now he was obligated to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

18 But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas!” 19 (He was one who had been thrown into prison for a revolt that took place in the city, and for murder.) 20 But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, 21 but they kept on crying out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” 22 And he said to them a third time, “Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found [i]in His case no grounds for a sentence of death; therefore I will [j]punish Him and release Him.” 23 But they were insistent, with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail. 24 And so Pilate decided to have their demand carried out. 25 And he released the man for whom they were asking, who had been thrown into prison for a revolt and murder; but he handed Jesus over to their will.

Simon Carries the Cross

26 And when they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

27 Now following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were [k]mourning and grieving for Him. 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are those who cannot bear, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed.’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things [l]when the tree is green, what will happen [m]when it is dry?”

32 Now two others, who were criminals, were also being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

33 And when they came to the place called [n]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 [[o]But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] And they cast lots, dividing His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, watching. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the [p]Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also ridiculed Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was [q]hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the [r]Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving [s]what we deserve for our crimes; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

44 It was now about [t]the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until [u]the ninth hour, 45 [v]because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn [w]in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” And having said this, He [x]died. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This man was in fact [y]innocent.” 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, after watching what had happened, began to return home[z]beating their chests. 49 And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

Jesus Is Buried

50 And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God— 52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. 54 It was a [aa]preparation day, and a Sabbath was about to [ab]begin. 55 Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 And then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.

And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Luke 23

Hypocrisy:

13 Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [f]do not care what anyone thinks; for You [g]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it [h]permissible to pay a [i]poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [j]denarius to look at.” 16 And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him. Mark 12:13-17

God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after [a]so many thousands of [b]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all“Beware of the [c]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have [d]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

“Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into [e]hell; yes, I tell you, fear [f]Him! Are five sparrows not sold for two [g]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. [h]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

“Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who [i]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12: 1-12

All Bible verses taken from the NASB

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