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Explanation for:
Matthew
23
:
25
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness.
9
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{"arr":[{"author-name":"John Chrysostom","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88ea76859f9f8e2ffd3ee_John%20Chrysostom.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"Christ rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for their foolishness, pointing out that they foster a lack of respect for the fundamental commandments. While He previously suggested that they impose heavy burdens yet fail to assist (Matthew 23:4), they did so while simultaneously corrupting their followers by emphasizing trivial practices and neglecting the weightier responsibilities. The Savior remarks, \\"Ye are blind,\\" regarding prayer, tithes, and herbs, while overlooking the greater aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. He insists that these matters should be practiced without neglecting the others (v. 23). One might argue that where tithing occurs, almsgiving follows, and question what is wrong with giving alms. Yet, the Savior does not condemn the scribes and Pharisees for adhering to the law in this regard; rather, He affirms the importance of these actions. However, when discussing cleanliness, He differentiates between inner and outer purity, indicating that true inner cleanliness must precede outward purity, rather than the other way around. \\n\\nWhen discussing the observance of physical cleansings, He clearly counters these rituals. Therefore, He states concerning almsgiving that it is proper to perform such acts without neglecting them, but He does not apply this principle to ritual purifications. He critiques their focus on outward appearances, stating, \\"You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but the inside is full of greed and wickedness. Cleanse first the inside of the cup, that the outside may also be clean.\\" Here, Christ uses familiar examples to convey His message. Furthermore, to illustrate the true danger of neglecting inner purification, which pertains to virtue, He refers to external cleansing as a \\"gnat\\"—insignificant—while actions that purify the soul are termed a \\"camel\\"—substantial and demanding. Thus He declares, \\"You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel\\" (v. 24). \\n\\nThe law prescribed external purifications solely to promote internal sanctification related to mercy and justice; therefore, even in the Old Testament, if neglected, such practices proved hollow. Since lesser matters exist to support greater ones, their abandonment for the sake of the minor rendered them fruitless, as the internal purity failed to follow the external. The Savior reveals that even prior to grace, external purity did not hold significant importance; alternative priorities were essential. If such trivialities were irrelevant before grace, they became even less necessary following the revelation of the higher commandments of the New Testament. Consequently, a sinful existence is undeniably perilous; it becomes even graver when the sinful individual perceives no need for correction, and more alarming still when such a person believes they possess the ability to correct others. Christ identifies the scribes as \\"blind leaders of the blind.\\" If it is tragic for a blind person to avoid seeking guidance, how catastrophic when they try to lead others? The Savior's sharp words highlight the excessive and nearly frantic glorification of the scribes and Pharisees, leading them away from genuine faith and into a state of delusion characterized by superficial display. Their pursuit of external cleanliness has veered them away from authentic virtue, neglecting the sanctification of the soul.\\n\\nIn recognizing this, Christ seeks to guide them towards genuine virtue and soul-cleansing, emphasizing the values of grace, justice, and faith—these essential forces sustain our lives. The virtues that cleanse the soul include compassion and integrity, urging us to forgive others and mitigating our tendency toward cruelty. By embodying such grace, we become loving and partake in the immense love that God holds for humanity. Truth empowers us to act honestly and refrains from deception. When Christ states, \\"It is fitting to do these things and not to forsake them,\\" He does not intend to reinstate the observance of Old Testament regulations; similarly, in affirming the necessity of cleansing the inside of the cup and dish, He is not promoting minutiae but rather indicating their redundancy. His focus remains on inner rather than outer cleanliness, revealing that prioritizing the inner self will naturally lead to the purification of the outer being. Ultimately, Christ's teaching is about the soul and body, with \\"outward\\" referring to the body and \\"inward\\" signifying the soul."},{"author-name":"Jerome of Stridon","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88dcd3432c6dd41375498_Jerome%20of%20Stridon.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":4,"exegesis-text":"In other terms, He admonishes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and deception, as they project one image to the public yet live otherwise in their private lives. This critique does not imply that their false piety is limited to the surface of their possessions, but rather that they outwardly display righteousness through their actions, words, the decoration of their garments, their lengthy prayers, and similar practices, while internally they are consumed with moral impurity."},{"author-name":"Theophylact of Bulgaria","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8989296bafed9104677d7_Theophylact%20of%20Bulgaria.png","category":"Holy Fathers and Teachers","century":11,"exegesis-text":"Paying close attention to the customs of their forebears, the Pharisees ensured that they cleansed the containers and utensils used for serving food. Nevertheless, the food and wine they consumed were obtained through dishonest means, rendering them spiritually impure. Yet the Lord instructs that one should not procure wine through unethical practices; in this way, the vessel remains pure. In a metaphorical sense, the Savior is not referring to physical bowls and plates, but rather to the outward—bodily—and inward—spiritual—aspects of humanity."},{"author-name":"Euthymios Zigabenos","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c96d263b8c22d9c467bdab_no-pic-theosis.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":11,"exegesis-text":"This discourse conveys the following message: you focus on cleansing your physical forms, like the external appearance of a cup or dish, yet within, your spirits are consumed by theft and the wickedness of desires; in other words, you prioritize outward cleanliness while overlooking the purity of your thoughts. The term unrighteousness encompasses all forms of sin, just as righteousness represents every kind of virtue. As Luke states more explicitly, \\"But your inner being is full of robbery and deceit\\" (Luke 11:39)."},{"author-name":"Abbot Panteleimon about the Trinity","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c96d263b8c22d9c467bdab_no-pic-theosis.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"You focus on insignificant matters, concentrating solely on the external while neglecting the inner, which is of greatest significance. Woe to you, O scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you only cleanse the outside of your vessels, while inwardly they are filled with the spoils of greed and injustice. What benefit is there in your meticulous attention to the cleanliness of your tableware?"},{"author-name":"Michail (Lusin)","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c89550c567e172d15b3055_Michail%20(Lusin).png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"\\"You clean the outside of the cup and the dish\\": the Pharisees, adhering to their customs, took great care in ensuring the cleanliness of their tableware, assigning spiritual significance to this (Mark 7:4). \\"Inwardly filled with robbery and wickedness\\" - they were brimming with food and drink acquired through unjust practices."},{"author-name":"Gladkow B.I.","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c88bf0ceef8c96e09a6521_Gladkow%20B.I..png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"Beware, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you who are pretenders, for you focus on the outward purity of the vessels and plates meant for meals, ignoring that these very items contain ill-gotten and unjustly obtained treasures."},{"author-name":"Paul Matwejewski","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8969f5be0d592d5a10576_Paul%20Matwejewski.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"The sixth woe addresses the focus on mere external rituals of cleansing, neglecting the inner purity of the heart and spirit. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and wickedness. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may also be clean. The Pharisees, along with all the Jews who adhered to their teachings, placed great emphasis on the traditions handed down about washing after returning from the marketplace, performing rigorous handwashing before meals, and ensuring bowls, cups, pots, and even benches were spotless (Mk. 7:3, 4). They regarded these traditions as more binding than the actual commandments of the law, which were clearly stated (Mk. 7:9, 13). These ancient hypocrites emphasized legal purity solely in terms of outer cleanliness, disregarding the essential purity of a heart untainted by greed and unrighteousness. In the sight of God, true purity resided within; thus, bowls and dishes that were well washed but filled with food and drink obtained through dishonest means were, in reality, unclean, contrary to the beliefs of the Pharisees. St. John Chrysostom notes that the law prescribed external cleansing to promote internal purity—designed for mercy and judgment. The minor regulations were instituted to support the greater truth, yet the scribes and Pharisees disregarded the significant, focusing solely on the trivial, leading to no spiritual benefit, as inner purification did not follow external practices. Instead, the reverse should occur; the internal must precede the external. The Lord’s instruction to \\"cleanse first\\" indicates, as observed by the holy father, that He is not advocating for superficial priorities, but rather illustrating that external matters are secondary. He did not command one to cleanse the external before the internal, but unequivocally asserted that true cleansing of the heart would naturally lead to the purity of outward appearance."},{"author-name":"Alexander Gorsky","author-image":"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6864003fdf3714da6ff0b33a/68c8884037c1e1c51e1332e2_Alexander%20Gorsky.png","category":"Christian Authors","century":19,"exegesis-text":"Following these events, the Lord departed from the temple, delivering a stern rebuke to the Pharisees and the temple priests who were culpable for the people's moral degradation, accompanied by warnings about the impending judgment of God. As He completed His earthly mission, He proclaimed that He would persist in working among them through His messengers; however, the Pharisees would also pursue these messengers just as they had previously persecuted the witnesses of the truth, thereby increasing the measure of their forebears' transgressions. Consequently, the judgment of God would be revealed upon the unrighteousness of Jerusalem."}]}
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