23. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have left the weightier things of the law; judgment, and mercy, and faith. These things you ought to have done, and not to leave those undone.
St. Matthew 23 contains a strong condemnation of Jesus to the religious leaders of the time for his hypocrisy and arrogance. He accuses them of imposing heavy burdens on the people as they do not practice what they preach. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in this chapter:
Jeremiah 7:9-10: "They steal and kill, commit adultery and swear falsely; they make offerings to Baal and follow other gods they have not known. And they still come to my temple and profane it, my house is called by them 'sanctuary 'But they turned it into thieves' lady! " - Jesus accuses the religious leaders of hypocrisy for imposing rules and burdens on the people as they commit serious sins themselves.
Proverbs 23:1-3: "When you sit to eat with a ruler, think well what you are in front of you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to many appetites. Do not covet your fine acepipe misleading food. " - Jesus warns that religious leaders are motivated by the desire for personal gain and power rather than taking care of the people.
Isaiah 29:13: "This people approach me with my mouth and honor me with the lips, but their hearts are far from me. The worship that gives me is made only of rules taught by men." - Jesus accuses religious leaders to focus only on the external appearance of religion and not true worship of God.
Ezekiel 34:2-3: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesie and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who are noticed to themselves! "You eat fat, wearing the wool, degolais the barley, but not the sheep." - Jesus accuses religious leaders not to properly take care of the people, but instead focus on their own comfort and enrichment.
Matthew 6:1-2: "Beware of the practice of justice before others, just to be seen by them. If you act like this, you will have no reward from the heavenly Father. Therefore, when you give alms, do not announce it with trumpets , as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, in order to be honored by others. I assure them that they have already received their full reward. " - Jesus accuses religious leaders of doing good things just to be seen by others rather than having the true motivation to please God.
“Onde há mais sacrifício, há mais generosidade.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
