[dsc]

“As for hypocrisy, there is the old saying that it is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. We admire the saints but don’t have the will to imitate them.”

Not having the will to imitate the saints is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is demanding that others imitate the saints while not requiring it of one’s self.

[RobbyS]

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for devising rules of purity that went far beyond the dictates of the law, and by following them, gave themselves a claim to be set apart from other Jews. So he not only condemns them for no obeying their own rules but also their interpretation of the law. But of course, he is going beyond that, and saying that the Law itself is too restrictive, because it limits the “rights” of non-Jews, such as by preaching to the Samaritans and even to the pagans, taking up the mission of Jonah.