Jesus warned us about “scribes and Pharisees who have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.”
“As He taught, He said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets.'” (Mark 12:38-44)
Jesus described “Pharisees” in Mt 12:34, 23:33, and Luke 3:7 as being “hypocrites, a brood of vipers, blind guides, and white-washed tombs.” “They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
Jesus is clear: Scribes and Pharisees are “whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but are full of dead people’s bones and rotting flesh on the inside” (Mt. 23:27-28).
Jesus described the eternal fate of “scribes and Pharisees” and those in “the brood of vipers”: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of The Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Mt 23:13)
For 2,000 years, “scribes, Pharisees, and broods of vipers” have hated Jesus for giving “the keys to the door of The Kingdom of Heaven” to His First Catholic Pope: “And I say unto you thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys to The Kingdom of Heaven.” May all in the “brood of vipers” be blessed to not let others in the “brood” keep them from having the “keys to The Kingdom of Heaven”.
“The scribes, Pharisees, and broods of vipers’ invent Imaginary Problems in every age: “You must not support Christian institutions. You cannot build your own house for your family. Instead of inexpensive nuclear power that provides electricity for 2 cents per kilowatt hour, you must have windmills and solar panels that provide intermittent power for a dollar per kilowatt hour. You must take medicines that shorten your lives. You must replace inexpensive wells and septic tanks with expensive public water and sewage. You must praise us for killing unborn children to keep mothers working and paying the taxes we need. Then, you must be made ignorant enough to believe that we scribes, Pharisees, and broods of vipers care about you.”
May all be blessed to understand the God, neighbor, and family-hating nature of “scribes and Pharisees” for the past 2,000 years.
~
Today’s Simple Rhyme: “May all be blessed with God’s good labor: / Loving God and loving neighbor.”
~
