From: Matthew 23:23-26
Jesus Indicts the Scribes and Pharisees
[25] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside
of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity.” [26]
You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the
outside also may be clean.”
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Commentary:
23. Mint, dill (aniseed) and cummin were herbs the Jews used in cooking or to
perfume rooms. They were such insignificant items that they were not covered
by the Mosaic precept on paying tithes (Leviticus 27:30-33; Deuteronomy 14:
22ff); the precept did not apply to domestic animals and the more common ag-
ricultural products such as wheat, wine and olive oil. However, the Pharisees,
being so intent on showing their scrupulous observance of the Law, paid tithes
even of these herbs. Our Lord does not despise or reject the Law; He is simply
telling people to get their priorities right: there is no point in attending to secon-
dary details if one is neglecting what is really basic and important—justice, mer-
cy and faith.
24. The Pharisees were so scrupulous about not swallowing any insect which
the Law declared to be unclean that they went as far as to filter drinks through
a linen cloth. Our Lord criticizes them for being so inconsistent—straining mos-
quitos, being so scrupulous about little things, yet quite happily “swallowing a
camel”, committing serious sins.
25-26. After reproaching the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in religious practice,
our Lord now goes on to indict their two-facedness in matters of morality. The
Jews used to perform elaborate washings of plates, cups and other tableware,
in line with the regulations on legal cleansing (cf. Mark 7:1-4).
The example He chooses suggests a deeper level of meaning—concern for that
moral purity which should characterize man’s interior life. What is of prime im-
portance is cleanliness of heart, an upright intention, consistency between what
one says and what one does, etc.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,14-17 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 95:10-13 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
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Or | Heb4:12 |
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Gospel | Matthew 23:23-26 © |
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