Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
(Mk. 12:38–40; Lk. 11:37–52; 20:45–47)
1Then Jesus spoke to the people and to his followers. Jesus said,
2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees
3So you should obey the things they say. You should do all the things they tell you to do. But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they don’t do those things themselves.
4They make strict rules that are hard for people to obey. They try to force other people to obey all those rules. But they themselves will not try to follow any of those rules.
5“The only reason they do good things is for other people to see them. They wear special boxes
6Those Pharisees
7They love for people to show respect to them in the market places. And they love to have people call them ‘Teacher.’
8“But you must not be called ‘Teacher.’ You are all brothers and sisters together. You have only one Teacher.
9And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father.’ You have one Father. He is in heaven.
10And you should not be called ‘Master.’ You have only one Master, the Christ.
11The person that serves you like a servant is the greatest person among you.
12Every person that makes himself better than other people will be made humble. Every person that makes himself humble will be made great.
13“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
15“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
16“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
17You are blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple? The temple makes that gold holy. {So the temple is greater.}
18And you say, ‘If any person uses the altar
19You are blind. {You understand nothing!} Which is greater: the gift, or the altar? The altar makes the gift holy. {So the altar is greater.}
20The person that uses the altar to make a promise is really using the altar and also everything on the altar.
21And the person that uses the temple to make a promise is really using the temple and also the One that lives in the temple.
22The person that uses heaven to make a promise is also using God’s throne and the One that sits on that throne.
23“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
24You guide the people, but you are blind! Think about a person picking a little fly out of his drink and then swallowing a camel! You are like that.
25“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
26Pharisees, you are blind! First make the inside of the cup clean and good. Then the outside of the cup can be truly clean.
27“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
28It is the same with you. People look at you and think that you are good. But on the inside you are full of hypocrisy
29“It will be bad for you teachers of the law and Pharisees.
30And you say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our fathers,
31You give proof that you are children (descendants) of those people that killed the prophets.
32And you will finish the sin that your fathers started!
33“You are snakes! You are from a family of poisonous snakes! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and go to hell!
34So I tell you this: I send to you prophets
35So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people that have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the killing of that good man Abel.
36I tell you the truth. All of these things will happen to you people that are living now.
Jesus Warns the People of Jerusalem
(Lk. 13:34–35)
37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets.
38Now your house will be left completely empty.
39I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘Welcome! God bless the one that comes in the name of the Lord.’