pharisees

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and to his disciples, ²saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down in the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, all things whatsoever that they shall say to you, observe and do. Yet truly, do not choose to act according to their works. For they say, but they do not do. ⁴For they bind up heavy and unbearable burdens, and they impose them on men’s shoulders. But they are not willing to move them with even a finger of their own. ⁵Truly, they do all their works so that they may be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and glorify their hems. ⁶And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,

¹⁰“Two men ascended to the temple, in order to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹Standing, the Pharisee prayed within himself in this way: ‘O God, I give thanks to you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unjust, adulterers, even as this tax collector chooses to be. ¹²I fast twice between Sabbaths. I give tithes from all that I possess.’ ¹³And the tax collector, standing at a distance, was not willing to even lift up his eyes to heaven. But he struck his chest, saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴I say to you, this one descended to his house justified, but not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁴⁶“Be cautious of the scribes, who choose to walk in long robes, and who love greetings in the marketplace, and the first chairs in the synagogues, and the first places at table during feasts, ⁴⁷who devour the houses of widows, feigning long prayers. These will receive the greater damnation.”

³⁶Then certain Pharisees petitioned him, so that they might eat with him. And he went into the house of the Pharisee, and he reclined at table. ³⁷And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner, found out that he was reclining at table in the house of the Pharisee, so she brought an alabaster container of ointment. ³⁸And standing behind him, beside his feet, she began to wash his feet with tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and she kissed his feet, and she anointed them with ointment. ³⁹Then the Pharisee, who had invited him, upon seeing this, spoke within himself, saying, “This man, if he were a prophet, would certainly know who and what kind of woman is this, who is touching him: that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And in response, Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Speak, Teacher.” ⁴¹“A certain creditor had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

²⁰For I say to you, that unless your justice has surpassed that of the scribes and the Pharisees you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

¹But accept those who are weak in faith, without disputing about ideas. ²For one person believes that he may eat all things, but if another is weak, let him eat plants. ³He who eats should not despise him who does not eat. And he who does not eat should not judge him who eats. For God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge the servant of another? He stands or falls by his own Lord. But he shall stand. For God is able to make him stand. ⁵For one person discerns one age from the next. But another discerns unto every age. Let each one increase according to his own mind. ⁶He who understands the age, understands for the Lord. And he who eats, eats for the Lord; for he gives thanks to God. And he who does not eat, does not eat for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.

³¹Which of the two did the will of the father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them: “Amen I say to you, that tax collectors and prostitutes shall precede you, into the kingdom of God. ³²For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Yet even after seeing this, you did not repent, so as to believe him.

²¹Not all who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many powerful deeds in your name?’ ²³And then will I disclose to them: ‘I have never known you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.’

²And approaching, the Pharisees questioned him, testing him: “Is it lawful for a man to dismiss his wife?” ³But in response, he said to them, “What did Moses instruct you?” ⁴And they said, “Moses gave permission to write a bill of divorce and to dismiss her.” ⁵But Jesus responded by saying: “It was due to the hardness of your heart that he wrote that precept for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. ⁷Because of this, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife.

⁹Now about certain persons who consider themselves to be just, while disdaining others, he told also this parable: ¹⁰“Two men ascended to the temple, in order to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹Standing, the Pharisee prayed within himself in this way: ‘O God, I give thanks to you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unjust, adulterers, even as this tax collector chooses to be. ¹²I fast twice between Sabbaths. I give tithes from all that I possess.’ ¹³And the tax collector, standing at a distance, was not willing to even lift up his eyes to heaven. But he struck his chest, saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴I say to you, this one descended to his house justified, but not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹And Jesus, while passing by, saw a man blind from birth. ²And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³Jesus responded: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God would be made manifest in him. ⁴I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day: the night is coming, when no one is able to work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, and he made clay from the spittle, and he smeared the clay over his eyes.

¹⁰So then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” ¹²And so, each one of us shall offer an explanation of himself to God.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God.

¹⁹A certain man was wealthy, and he was clothed in purple and in fine linen. And he feasted splendidly every day. ²⁰And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹wanting to be filled with the crumbs which were falling from the wealthy man’s table. But no one gave it to him. And even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²Then it happened that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Now the wealthy man also died, and he was entombed in Hell. ²³Then lifting up his eyes, while he was in torments, he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴And crying out, he said: ‘Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to refresh my tongue. For I am tortured in this fire.’