Hypocrites
Don't you just hate hypocrites?
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, "If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'" - Matthew 23:27-39
As the end drew near, Jesus lost patience with those who pretended to be righteous but in truth were not.
What got him so angry with them?
In this rant, he addresses the killing of the prophets and compares it to how they treat those sent from God to restore the people to grace.
If they truly cared about those over whom they had authority, their teaching would reflect it.
Instead of looking for evidence of sinfulness, they should be helping to restore people form sinful ways.
It is only natural that they would act that way, though. We see it today.
People are quick to judge.
They claim to be compassionate, but their compassion is focused only on those they see as victims.
Jesus told us to love one another. He was an example of that love and he expects us to be as well.
So, when we claim to be loving, but then judge others for their sins and faults, aren't we being hypocrites, too?
More to come...