Thematic Bible: Admonition against


Thematic Bible




"A prophet or a diviner of dreams may arise among you, give you an omen or a miracle that takes place, and then he may tell you, "Let's follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let's serve them.' Even though the sign or portent comes to pass, you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that diviner of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to make known whether or not you'll continue to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

So whoever sets aside one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom from heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom from heaven

"The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses, so do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don't do what they say. They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people's shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them. read more.
"They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called "Rabbi' by people. "But you are not to be called "Rabbi,' because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. And don't call anyone on earth "Father,' because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called "Teachers,' because you have only one teacher, the Messiah! The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people's faces. You don't go in yourselves, and you don't allow those who are trying to enter to go in. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation! "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are. "How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, "Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.' You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? Again you say, "Whoever swears an oath by the altar is excused, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it must keep his oath.' You blind men! Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there. And the one who swears an oath by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel! "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. Then you say, "If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Then finish what your ancestors started! You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

"Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands when they eat." But he answered them, "Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? Because God said, "You are to honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.' read more.
But you say, "Whoever tells his father or his mother, "Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God," does not have to honor his father.' Because of your tradition, then, you have disregarded the authority of God's word. You hypocrites! How well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is empty, because they teach human rules as doctrines.'" Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, "Listen and understand! It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean." Then the disciples came and asked him, "Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch." Then Peter told him, "Explain to us this parable." Jesus said, "Are you still so ignorant? Don't you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander. These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn't make a person unclean."

The Pharisee was surprised to see that he didn't first wash before the meal. But the Lord told him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of greed and evil. You fools! The one who made the outside made the inside, too, didn't he? read more.
So give what is inside to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you. "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces. How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves people walk on them without realizing it." Then one of the experts in the Law told him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too." Jesus said, "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don't even lift a finger to ease those burdens. How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments. That is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,' so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation! How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in."


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