Jesus was preaching to the crowd and his disciples about the bad example of the pharisees and scribes. These religious men were very educated in the law, tradition, and history of Israel. In fact, they knew the word of God in the depths of their hearts and minds. Some of the scribes were considered to be experts in scripture even to be lawyers. The pharisees, on the other hand, were zealous for the law and the ritual practices of the law. They were more concerned about doing what was right and just and not loving their neighbor and reaching out to the poor.
Jesus confronts the crowds by wooing the religious leaders that work in the synagogue and temple. He confronted the hypocrisy and corrupt politics that rule the lives of the religious leaders. They were educated men, but they ever practice what they believed because if they did believe in the teaching of Moses then they will come to believe in the teaching of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus is fulfilling the law of God that was given to Moses at Mount Sinai. Jesus comes and preaches the truth by letting the crowd know that they should not imitate the example of religious leaders.
In the first reading of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, St. Paul, who was also a pharisee, takes on a new role as a true proclaimer. He no longer keeps people away from the kingdom of God. In fact, he has become an instrument of grace to others, so that they can come to believe in the Good News of salvation. He praises God for those He has chosen to follow Him. He chose, those who were baptize in the community, to be witnesses of faith to the world that continues to live a life of sin by holding on to idols. The Pharisees and Scribes kept people from entering the kingdom of God by not sharing the richness and treasures of Holy Scripture. They used people only to control their ambitious desire that kept others from following the upright way and producing good fruits.
St. Paul goes out of his way as a follower of Christ. He proclaims the Gospel to all the Gentiles as he journeys throughout different towns. Jesus works through St. Paul to reach those who have not heard about the Good News of Salvation. St. Paul proclaims a Gospel that is grounded in the death and Resurrection of Christ. He tells others about the great love that God has shown to humanity by giving his only begotten Son, that those who may come to believe in him may have eternal life. This love is what cause the believer to follow Christ and to turn away from idols. An idol can be anything that may take the place of Jesus at the center of the heart and mind of the person. During Jesus' time, people did not know who to follow or who to imitate because there was no good and holy religious leaders.
Jesus woes the Pharisees and Scribes for their behavior and bad example for the people. He says,
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter to you, scribes and Pharisees,
you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
Jesus was really angry with the example of some of these religious leaders. Even though there might be a lot of corruption in an institute, there are still some good faithful people within this system. For instance, Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and he was an upright man that tried to follow the law and do what was just. Moreover, Nathaniel , whom Jesus said that there was no one like him in Israel, was considered to be a faithful and holy Israelite in comparison to the religious leaders; and the list can go on.
Jesus lived in a time where there was no truth being proclaimed. That is why, he did not have a lot of followers, such as men. The majority of followers that Jesus had were women that sought him for assurance and confidence of God's unfailing love. Most men knew the reality of the false teachings of their leaders and refuse to practice their faith in the eyes of the world. If they did practice their faith, it was because of personal gain and not for the sake of salvation to the whole world. Although Jesus pointed out the faults and corruption in the pharisees and sadducees and scribes, he never pointed to himself as to follow him. He asked the people to believe in the words and works that he performed because they were able to noticed whether he was authentic or not. There is a proverb that says that actions speak louder than words.
Today, let us seek the example of Jesus by following him in radical way. Let us place ourselves in the midst of the crowd and listen to his voice as it reaches our ears and hearts. Let us pray that we may imitate his love, so that others can find the image of Jesus in our souls and not be like the pharisees and scribes that revealed something contrary to the truth.
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