MATTHEW 23:13-22: MONDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
manuel tuazon, ocds
A.M.D.G.
For: Monday, August 26, 1996
21st Week in Ordinary Time
From: Matthew 23:13-22
Jesus Indicts the Scribes and Pharisees
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(Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees,) [13] "But woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the Kingdom of
Heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those
who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte,
and when he becomes proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of
Hell as yourselves.
[16] "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, `If any one swears by the
temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple,
he is bound by his oath.' [17] You blind fools! For which is greater,
the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? [18] And you
say, `If any one swears by the altar, it is nothing; but if one swears
by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.' [19] You
blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the
gift sacred? [20] So he who swears by the altar, swears by it and
everything on it; [21] and he who swears by the temple, swears by it
and by him who dwells in it; [22] and he who swears by Heaven, swears
by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."
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Commentary:
13. Here comes our Lord's invective against the behavior of the scribes
and Pharisees: His "woes" condemn their past conduct and threaten them
with punishment if they do not repent and mend their ways.
14. As RSV points out, "other authorities add here (or after verse 12)
verse 14, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers;
therefore you will receive greater condemnation." Our Lord is not
reproaching them for praying long prayers but for their hypocrisy and
cupidity. By going in for a lot of external religious practices, the
Pharisees wanted to be recognized as devout men and then trade on that
reputation particularly with vulnerable people. Widows, for example,
would ask them to say prayers; the Pharisees in turn would ask for
alms. What Jesus means here is that prayer should always come from an
upright heart and a generous spirit.
15. "Proselyte": a pagan convert to Judaism. The root of the word
means "he who comes", he who--coming from idolatry--joins the chosen
people in response to a calling from God. The Pharisees spared no
effort to gain converts. Our Lord reproaches them not for this, but
because they were concerned only about human success, their motivation
being vainglory.
The sad thing about these proselytes was that, after receivng the light
of Old Testament revelation, they remained under the influence of
scribes and Pharisees, who passed on to them their own narrow outlook.
22. Our Lord's teaching about taking oaths is given in the Sermon on
the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37). Jesus does away with the nitpicking
casuistry of the Pharisees by focusing directly on the uprightness of
the intention of the oath-taker and by stressing the respect due to
God's majesty and dignity. What Jesus wants is a pure heart, with no
element of deceit.
Our Lord particularly reproves any tendency to undermine the content of
an oath, as the Doctors of the Law tended to do, thereby failing to
respect holy things and especially the holy name of God. He therefore
draws attention to the commandment of the Law which says, `You shall
not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus
19:12; Deuteronomy 5:11).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentary
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland. Printed in Hungary.
"The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries" is currently available in
the New Testament version only.
"Nihil Obstat": Stephen J. Greene, "Censor Deputatus".
"Imprimi Potest": J. O'Carroll, Diocesan Administrator, 15 October
1987.
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