Matthew 23
The letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law
The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;
therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it;
but do not do as they do,
for they do not practice what they teach.
Matthew 23:2-3 (NRSV)
They do all their deeds to be seen by others;
for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
They love to have the place of honor at banquets
and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted
with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people
call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi,
for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
Matthew 23: 5-8 (NRSV)
They do all their deeds to be seen by others;
for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
Matthew 23: 5-8 (NRSV)
Keep these words that I am commanding you in your heart…
bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem,
or frontlet, on your forehead – or between your eyes.
Deuteronomy 6:6-8
Matthew 23:13-39
The Seven Woes
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven.
For you do not go in yourselves,
and when others are going in, you stop them.
Matthew 23:13 (NRSV)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected
the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!”
Matthew 23: 23-24 (NRSV)
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets;
I have come not to abolish but fulfill.
Matthew 5:17 (NRSV)
These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is based on merely human rules
that have been taught.
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing
with one another, and seeing that he answered them well,
he asked them, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’ The second is this,
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31 (NRSV)