Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, ....For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For ...and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.[c] 9 And call no man your father on earth...The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land ...you make him twice as much a child of hell”.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
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“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous....
I agree. If he had intended to change the world through political means, he would have overthrown Roman rule, become King and ruled from Jerusalem 2000 years ago.
No doubt you would agree that the fact he did not choose a political solution is not prescriptive for our involvement in politics. As long as we understand that the Kingdom of God is not built by human hands or political means, then political activity can even be a calling.
Nonetheless, it is possible to be critical of self-proclaimed Christian politicians without being hypocrites or pharisees. After all, by that standard, we would be open to the charge of pharasaism by criticizing Obama.