Friday, March 7, 2014

The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God

Matthew 23:1-12, 13-33, 34-36, 37-39 Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not you after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay on men's shoulders; but they will not move them with one of their fingers. All their works they do to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But do not you be called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all of you are brethren. Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be called masters: for one is your Master, Christ. He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. 
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! You fools and blind: for what is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. You fools and blind: for what is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon. 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you have done, and not to leave the other undone. You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to whited sepulcher, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you built the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore you bear witnesses to yourselves, that you are the children of them which killed the prophets. And fill up then the measure of your fathers. You serpents, generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? 

Wherefore, behold, I have sent to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and of others of them you shall kill and crucify; and of them shall you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say to you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that have killed the prophets, and stoned them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell to you, You shall not see Me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.(parallel passages Mark 12:38-40, Luke 11:37-52; 20:45-47, 13:34-35)    

No comments: