From: Luke 11:37-41
The Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees
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Commentary:
39-52. In this passage (one of the most severe in the Gospel) Jesus determinedly
unmasks the vice which was largely responsible for official Judaism’s rejection of
His teaching — hypocrisy cloaked in legalism. There are many people, who under
the guise of doing good, keeping the mere letter of the law, fail to keep its spirit;
they close themselves to the love of God and neighbor; they harden their hearts
and, though apparently very upright, turn others away from fervent pursuit of God
— making virtue distasteful. Jesus’ criticism is vehement because they are worse
than open enemies: against open enemies one can defend oneself, but these en-
emies are almost impossible to deal with. The scribes and Pharisees were bloc-
king the way of those who wanted to follow Jesus: they were the most formidable
obstacle to the Gospel. Our Lord’s invective against the scribes and Pharisees is
reported even more fully in chapter 23 of St. Matthew. See the note on Matthew
23:1-39.
[The note on Matthew 23:1-39 states:
1-39. Throughout this chapter Jesus severely criticizes the scribes and Phari-
sees and demonstrates the sorrow and compassion He feels towards the ordina-
ry mass of the people, who have been ill-used, “harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His address may be divided into three parts:
in the first (verses 1-12) He identifies their principal vices and corrupt practices;
in the second (verses 13-36) He confronts them and speaks His famous “woes”,
which in effect are the reverse of the Beatitudes He preached in Chapter 5: no
one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven — no one can escape condemnation to the
flames — unless he changes his attitude and behavior; in the third part (verses 37-
39) He weeps over Jerusalem, so grieved is He by the evils into which the blind
pride and hardheartedness of the scribes and Pharisees have misled the people.]
40-41. It is not easy to work out what these verses mean. Probably our Lord is
using the idea of cleaning the inside and outside of dishes to teach that a per-
son’s heart is much more important than what appears on the surface — whereas
the Pharisees got it the wrong way round, as so many people tend to do. Jesus
is warning us not to be so concerned about “the outside” but rather give impor-
tance to “the inside”. Applying this to the case of alms: we have to be generous
with those things we are inclined to hoard; in other words, it is not enough just to
give a little money (that could be a purely formal, external gesture); love is what
we have to give others — love and understanding, refinement, respect for their free-
dom, deep concern for their spiritual and material welfare; this is something we
cannot do unless our interior dispositions are right.
In an address to young people, Bl. John Paul II explained what almsgiving really
meant: “The Greek word for alms, “eleemosyne”, comes from “eleos”, meaning
compassion and mercy. Various circumstances have combined to change this
meaning so that almsgiving is often regarded as a cold act, with no love in it. But
almsgiving in the proper sense means realizing the needs of others and letting
them share in one’s own goods. Who would say that there will not always be
others who need help, especially spiritual help, support, consolation, fraternity,
love? The world is always very poor, as far as love is concerned” (28 March
1979).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | Galatians 5:1-6 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 118:41,43-45,47-48 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
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Or | Heb4:12 |
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Gospel | Luke 11:37-41 © |
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