Matthew 23 - Prayer Tents



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Matthew 23
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Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

23Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,G5119G2980G2424G3793G2532G846G3101 2"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.G3004G1122G2532G5330G2523G1909G3475G2515 3So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach.G3956G3767G302G3745G2036G5213G5083G5083G2532G4160G1161G4160G3361G2596G846G2041G1063G3004G2532G4160G3756 4They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.G1063G1195G926G5413G2532G1419G2532G2007G1909G444G5606G1161G2309G3756G2795G846G846G1147 5"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.G1161G3956G846G2041G4160G4314G2300G444G1161G4115G846G5440G2532G3170G2899G846G2440 6And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues.G5037G5368G4411G1722G1173G2532G4410G1722G4864 7They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi.'G2532G783G1722G58G2532G2564G5259G444G4461G4461 8"Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.G1161G2564G3361G5210G2564G4461G1063G1520G2076G5216G2519G5547G1161G3956G5210G2075G80 9And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.G2532G2564G3361G5216G3962G1909G1093G1063G1520G2076G5216G3962G3588G1722G3772 10And don't let anyone call you 'Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Messiah.G3366G2564G2519G1063G1520G2076G5216G2519G5547 11The greatest among you must be a servant.G1161G3187G5216G2071G5216G1249 12But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.G1161G3748G5312G1438G5013G2532G3748G5013G1438G5312 13"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either.G1161G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G2808G932G3772G1715G444G1063G5210G3761G1525G3756G863G1525G1525 14G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G2719G5503G3614G2532G4392G4336G3117G4336G1223G5124G2983G4055G2917 15"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G4013G2281G2532G3584G4160G1520G4339G2532G3752G1096G4160G846G1362G5207G1067G5216 16"Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple,' but that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.'G3759G5213G5185G3595G3588G3004G3739G302G3660G1722G3485G2076G3762G1161G3739G302G3660G1722G5557G3485G3784 17Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?G3474G2532G5185G1063G5101G2076G3187G5557G2228G3485G37G5557 18And you say that to swear 'by the altar' is not binding, but to swear 'by the gifts on the altar' is binding.G2532G3739G1437G3660G1722G2379G2076G3762G1161G3739G302G3660G1722G1435G1883G846G3784 19How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?G3474G2532G5185G1063G5101G3187G1435G2228G2379G37G1435 20When you swear 'by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it.G3767G3660G1722G2379G3660G1722G846G2532G1722G3956G1883G846 21And when you swear 'by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.G2532G3660G1722G3485G3660G1722G846G2532G1722G2730G846 22And when you swear 'by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.G2532G3660G1722G3772G3660G1722G2362G2316G2532G1722G2521G1883G846 23"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G586G2238G2532G432G2532G2951G2532G863G926G3551G2920G2532G1656G2532G4102G5023G1163G4160G3361G863G2548G863 24Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!G5185G3595G1368G2971G1161G2666G2574 25"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G2511G1855G4221G2532G3953G1161G2081G1073G1537G724G2532G192 26You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.G5185G5330G2511G4412G1787G4221G2532G3953G2443G1622G846G1096G2513G2532 27"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G3945G2867G5028G3748G3303G5316G5611G1855G1161G2081G1073G3498G3747G2532G3956G167 28Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.G3779G5210G2532G3303G1855G5316G1342G444G1161G2081G2075G3324G5272G2532G458 29"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.G3759G5213G1122G2532G5330G5273G3754G3618G5028G4396G2532G2885G3419G1342 30Then you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.'G2532G3004G1487G2258G1722G2250G2257G3962G302G3756G2258G2844G846G1722G129G4396 31"But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.G5620G3140G1438G3754G2075G5207G5407G4396 32Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.G4137G5210G4137G2532G3358G5216G3962 33Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?G3789G1081G2191G4459G5343G575G2920G1067 34"Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city.G1223G5124G2400G1473G649G4314G5209G4396G2532G4680G2532G1122G2532G1537G846G615G2532G4717G2532G1537G846G3146G1722G5216G4864G2532G1377G575G4172G1519G4172 35As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.G3704G1909G5209G2064G3956G1342G129G1632G1909G1093G575G129G1342G6G2193G129G2197G5207G914G3739G5407G3342G3485G2532G2379 36I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.G281G3004G5213G3956G5023G2240G1909G5026G1074

Jesus Grieves over Jerusalem

37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.G2419G2419G615G4396G2532G3036G649G4314G846G4212G2309G1996G4675G3739G5043G1996G5158G3733G1996G1438G3556G5259G4420G2532G2309G3756 38And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.G2400G5216G3624G863G5213G2048 39For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, 'Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!'"G1063G3004G5213G1492G3364G1492G3165G575G737G2193G302G2036G2127G2064G1722G3686G2962


New Living Translation (NLT). Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. More details.
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