Matt 23:1-33	Luke 11:37-52	Mark 12:38-39
		38 In his teaching
1 Then Jesus said	39 But the Master said	he was saying,
to the crowds	to him,
and to his disciples:
2 "The scholars and Pharisees		"Look out for the scholars
occupy the chair of Moses...
4 They invent heavy burdens	[see Luke 11:46 below]
and lay them
on folks shoulders,
but they themselves
won't lift a finger
to move them...
5 Everything they do,
they do for show.
So they widen
their phylacteries
and enlarge their tassels.
6 They love	[see Luke 11:43 below]	who like
		to parade around
		in long robes
[see Matt 23:7 below]		and respectful greetings
		in the marketplaces
the best couches		39 and the prominent seats
at banquets		in synagogues
and the prominent seats		and the best couches
in synagogues.		at banquets..."
7 and respectful greetings		[see Mark 12:38 above]
in marketplaces
and having everyone
call them 'Rabbi'...
13 You scholars and Pharisees,
you imposters! *
Damn you!
you slam the door
of the empire of Heaven
in people's faces.
You yourselves don't go in,	[see Luke 11:52 below]	[see Thom 39:2 below]
and you block the way
of those trying to go in...
23 You scholars and Pharisees,	[see Luke 11:42 below]
you imposters! *
Damn you!
You pay tithes on mint
and dill and cumin too,
but ignore
the really important matters
of the Law,
such as justice and mercy
and trust.
It's these
you should have practiced
without ignoring
the others...		Thom 89
		1 Jesus said:
25 You scholars and Pharisees,	"You Pharisees
you imposters! *
Damn you!
You wash	clean	"Why do you wash
the outside	the outside	the outside
of cups and plates,	of cups and dishes,	of the cup?
but inside	but inside
they are full of greed	you are full of greed
and self-indulgence.	and evil.
26 You blind Pharisee,	40 You fools!	2Don't you understand
	Did not the one	that the one
	who made the outside	who made the inside
	also	is also the one
	make the inside?	who made the outside?"
first clean	41 Still donate
the inside of the cup	what is inside
	to charity
and then	and then you'll see
the outside	how everything
will be clean too...	comes clean for you.
[see Matt 23:23 above]	42 Damn you, Pharisees!
	You pay tithes on mint
	and rue and every herb,
	but neglect justice
	and the love of God.
	It's these
	you should have practiced
	without neglecting
	the others.	Luke 20:46
		46 "Be on guard against
	43 Damn you, Pharisees!	the scholars
	[see Mark 12:38 above]	who like to parade around
		in long robes
[see Matt 23:6-7 above]	You love	and who love
		respectful greetings
		in the marketplaces
	the prominent seat	and the prominent seats
	in synagogues.	in the synagogues
	and respectful greetings
	in marketplaces.
		and the best couches
		at banquets..."
27 You scholars and Pharisees,
you imposters! *
Damn you!	44 Damn you!
You're like	You're like
whitewashed tombs:	unmarked graves
on the outside	that people walk on
they look beautiful,	without realizing it."
but inside
they're full of dead bones
and every kind of decay.
28 So you too look like
upright people on the outside,
but on the inside
you are doing nothing
but posturing
and subverting the Law.
	45 One the legal experts
	says to him in reply,
	"Teacher,
	when you say these things
	you're insulting us too."
	46 And he said,
	"Damn you legal experts, too!
[see Matt 23:4 above]	You load people down
	with crushing burdens,
	but you yourselves
	won't lift a finger
	to help carry them.
29 You scholars and Pharisees,
you imposters! *
Damn you!	47 Damn you!
You build the tombs	You build monuments
of the prophets	to the prophets whom
	your ancestors murdered.
and decorate the graves
of the just,
30 and claim,
'If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors
we wouldn't have joined them
in spilling
the prophets' blood.'
31 So	48 Therefore,
you witness	you are witnesses to
	and approve of the deeds
	of your ancestors:
against yourselves:
you are descendants of those
who murdered the prophets	they killed <the prophets>
32 and you're	and you build
the spitting image
of your ancestors.	<monuments> to them.
33You serpents!
You spawn of Satan!
How are you going to escape
Gehenna's judgment?
34 Look, that is why	49 That is why
	the Wisdom of God said:
I send you prophets	'I will send them prophets
and sages and scholars.	and apostles, and
Some you are going to kill	some they are going to kill
and crucify,	and persecute.
and some you are going to flog
in your synagogues and
hound from town to town.
35And so,	50 So,
	this generation
	will have to answer for
all the innocent blood	the blood of all the prophets
that has ever been shed	that has been shed
on the earth	since the world was founded,
will be on you,
from the blood	from the blood
of innocent Abel	of Abel
to the blood of Zechariah,	to the blood of Zechariah,
son of Baruch,
whom you murdered	who perished
between the temple	between the altar
and the altar.	and the sanctuary.
36 Let me tell you,	51 Yes, I'm telling you,
all these things,
are going to rain down
upon this generation.	this generation
	will have to answer for it.	Thom 39:1-2
		1 Jesus said:
	52 You legal experts,	"The Pharisees
	damn you!	and the scholars
	You've taken away	have taken away
	the key of knowledge.	the keys of knowledge
		and hidden them.
[see Matt 23:13 above]	You yourselves	2 They
	haven't gone in	have not entered,
	and you've blocked the way	nor have they allowed
	of those trying to!"	those who want to
		to do so."

* Greek: ὑποκριταί

Composition

The eight accusations common to Luke 11 and Matt 23 are based on a loose string of Q sayings that were linked more by form than content. In Matthew, six of them begin with the same formula, condemning both scribes and Pharisees as "hypocrites," the Greek term for actors, who often wore masks in classical dramas. During the Hellenistic period this term took on pejorative connotations for Jews, who lacked a native theater tradition of their own. Only Matthew's version of these sayings includes this charge of dishonest posturing. In Luke the string is split into two subgroups, half aimed only at Pharisees, the rest at unspecified legal experts. Each subgroup contains three separate condemnations and another accusation.

The sequence of complaints in each gospel differs, probably because both authors modified Q's list to fit separate settings. Yet they kept four charges in the same relative order:

• Luke 11:42//Matt 23:23 (tithes)
• Luke 11:44//Matt 23:27 (graves/tombs)
• Luke 11:47-48//Matt 23:29 (prophets' memorials)
• Luke 11:49-51//Matt 23:34-36 (innocent blood).

Some of these complaints are cited separately in other sources. Mark aims one at scribes in general. Thomas has versions of two others, one of which mentions "scribes and Pharisees."

Elements

Q's list of complaints against Pharisees and legal experts raises four types of criticism, each represented by a pair of sayings:

One focuses on routine rituals: tithing (Luke 11:42 par) and washing (Luke 11:39-41 par). Among Judean parties Pharisees were especially noted for their rules regarding these matters.

A second pair (Luke 11:43-44) involves a public image of a more general sort. These criticisms could concern people other than Pharisees, as Mark 12:38-39 shows.

A third pair deals with burdens (Luke 11:46 par) and obstacles (Luke 11:52 par) that legal authorities create by imposing regulations on the behavior of others. These complaints concern abuse of power rather than membership in a particular religious party.

The fourth pair has the most thematic unity. It presents a double prophetic oracle, claiming those who build tombs to honor prophets (Luke 11:47-48 par) will be judged as their murderers (Luke 11:49-51 par). This oracle in effect condemns all Judeans.

Reconstruction

The original order of these sayings in Q is not certain. But the four pairs of charges suggest a structure that both Matthew and Luke modified. Moreover, these pairs gradually progress from a minor charge of misplaced priorities by one Judean party to a sweeping charge of murder against the whole people. So, that sequence is adopted here.

Tithes and justice	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:42 Matt 23:23		0 13	29 13	0 13	71 63	19 25	black black

Issue

This saying contrasts two attitudes toward legal observance. The tithe was a basic element of social responsibility in Judean religion. Every landowner was required by law (Lev 27:30-33) to give one tenth of major crops to temple officials, who did not have farms to support their families. Pharisees went beyond the legal requirement by tithing even common herbs.

Long before Jesus, however, Hebrew prophets had stressed that God wanted social justice more than offerings (see Isa 1:11-17). This saying accuses Pharisees of ignoring this. Yet, even before Jesus Pharisees like Hillel taught that human justice was the basic focus of the Law (see notes on the golden rule). Either the author of this saying was unaware of this or meant to accuse Pharisees of ignoring their own teaching.

Perspective

Luke's version of this charge especially gives a distorted view of Pharisees' priorities. In theory at least rabbis stressed the love of God (Deut 6:4; compare Mark 12:32 and Luke 10:27). Luke's list of tithed herbs is also inaccurate.

How much Jesus actually knew about the Pharisees is uncertain. The oral teaching of the rabbis had not yet been recorded for open study. So any view of Pharisaic positions was limited to personal contact. But Jesus was a Galilean, while the Pharisees were based far to the south in Judea. How far their influence extended during the first third of the first century of the common era is disputed.

A majority of the Fellows agreed in general that Jesus probably came into conflict with Pharisees. Yet they also overwhelmingly agreed that he was not a scholar who debated fine legal issues. At any rate, conflict between Pharisees and Christian preachers increased in intensity after Jesus' death (see Philp 3:5-6).

Attribution

Some Fellows regard a saying that contrasts justice with regulations supporting the temple as compatible with Jesus' position. But this was a common prophetic stance that was hardly unique to Jesus. This complaint is sharp, but humorless. There is none of the irony that is a distinguishing feature of many genuine Jesus sayings. The charge of ignoring justice (in general?) is too vague to tell why the speaker makes an issue out of tithing herbs. Besides, this is the type of nit-picking that Jesus warned others to avoid (see Luke 6:41-42//Matt 7:3-5//Thom 26). Hence, most Fellows voted black.

Inside and outside	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:39 Matt 23:25-26 Thom 89		4 0 22	22 39 35	39 26 35	35 35 9	32 35 57	grey grey pink

Versions

There are two sources for this saying, Q and Thomas. Dishwashing is the issue in both versions, but for different reasons.

Thom 89 is a riddle composed of two questions. These challenge washing the outside of a cup because it was created by the one who made the inside. The concrete images are metaphors related to the Hebrew portrait of God as a potter and people as dishes (Gen 2:7, Isa 45:9). Assuming that the inside is not washed, the riddle points to the conclusion that the outside does not need washing either. The point of this argument is not tied to conflict with opponents. The issue is not moralized and no one is condemned.

Q's version moralizes the argument and aims it at Pharisees, who were noted for fastidiousness. Q also breaks the dish metaphor by claiming that the dishwashers are themselves full of moral filth. Q's original conclusion is not clear. Luke keeps the metaphor and moral mixed by suggesting that the Pharisees could make themselves clean by giving alms. This suggestion is strange since Pharisees made a point of almsgiving. Matthew instead urges Pharisees to focus on inner (moral) purification before attempting to cleanse externals. He keeps the cup metaphor but does not mention its maker.

Attribution

Of the three versions, Thom 89 is the most logically obscure, but the most likely to have caused Matthew and Luke's variants. Like many of Jesus' parables it does not identify the application of its metaphors. Gnostics may have used this saying to criticize Christians who baptized outsiders. But it contradicts the gnostic view that the outside world is evil. On the other hand, Thom 89 is consistent with gospel reports that Jesus was criticized for ignoring the boundaries of ritual purity (see Luke 7:34//Matt 11:19; Mark 7:1-5). And it agrees with his view that external things are not unclean (Mark 7:15). Thus, the Fellows rated Thomas' version pink, while they ranked the synoptic variants of the Q version lower, since Matthew and Luke both turned it into a name calling condemnation that missed the point of the metaphor of the common creator.

Honors and salutations	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:43 Matt 23:5-7 Mark 12:28-39 Luke 20:46		17 17 25 25	33 33 42 42	42 42 25 25	8 8 8 8	53 53 61 61	pink pink pink pink

Sources

Luke has this charge in two contexts. Luke 20:46 copies Mark almost word for word. Luke 11:43 is from Q, as is Matt 23:6-7a. Matthew apparently framed the Q saying with other charges. Thus, the core saying has two sources.

Details

Every version of this saying refers to public greetings and reserved places at gatherings. Luke 11:43, however, does not mention banquets. After all, Jesus himself was accused of excessive feasting (Luke 7:24//Matt 11:19). Matthew replaces Mark's robes with more distinctive dress.

Setting

This is a critique of people who enjoy being socially prominent. Q directs it against the Pharisees, while Mark aims it at anonymous scholars. The Fellows judged Mark's version to be probably earlier. In Jesus' day scribes were important public officials, whatever their party affiliation. It is not certain that Pharisees shared such public esteem as early as this in Galilee (see "perspective" on Luke 11:42//Matt 23:23 above). Although Mark sets this saying among partisan disputes in Jerusalem, he does not link it to one party. Only Matt 23:5 mentions traits that were just typical of Pharisees.

Attribution

Both versions of this saying reflect rivalry that was more common in social relations between Jesus' followers and Jewish leaders after his death. Yet most Fellows thought a warning against a cultural elite was consistent with Jesus' view that the poor were heirs to the realm of God (see Luke 6:20).  Most votes fell in the pink-grey range because the saying's content was adapted to fit later contexts.

Like graves	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:44 Matt 23:27-28		13 0	8 0	29 21	50 79	28 07	grey black

Versions

Matthew and Luke's list of condemnations includes one from Q that compares Pharisees to a graveyard. The original wording is uncertain, because the sayings in each gospel vary greatly. Luke imagines unmarked graves that people are not alerted to avoid. Matthew imagines the opposite: tombs that appear clean on the outside but rot within.

Custom

Judean tombs were marked both to honor the dead and warn of possible contamination. Whitewash was used both as a disinfectant and a marker. Matthew charges the Pharisees with hiding their own inner corruption; Luke blames them with spreading pollution to passers-by. In either case, Pharisees are accused of being unclean.

Attribution

Most Fellows view Luke's brief version as earlier. Matthew develops the saying to suit his own view that the Pharisees are phonies. Accusing Pharisees of polluting is certainly a shocking tactic, since they made physical cleanliness a religious priority. While some Fellows thought this paradoxical use of the image of a graveyard was worthy of Jesus, most did not think he would have made such a blunt condemnation without some plausible provocation. Nobody thought Jesus was the author of Matthew's harsh invective.

Heavy burdens	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:46b Matt 23:4		4 0	21 33	13 4	63 64	22 24	black black

Setting

Luke deliberately directs this charge at "lawyers" instead of Pharisees. Matthew considers the Pharisees to be the sole legal authorities (see Matt 23:2 above). This was true only after the destruction of the temple, a generation after Jesus and long after the composition of Q. Therefore, Luke's version is probably more original.

Image

Judeans traditionally credited God with freeing them from the burden of slavery (Ps. 81:6). Yet, sometimes they paradoxically referred to the Law as the "burden of the Lord" (Jer 24:33-39). This saying accuses those who enforce the Law of acting more like foreign oppressors than as agents of God.

Attribution

The gospels indicate that Jesus was charged with ignoring regulations more than once. Some Fellows thought that this metaphorical paradox could have been formed as a retort for such occasions. The images, however, come from common tradition; and enforcement of the Law became a major issue in the separation of the church from Judean religion. Long after Jesus' death Paul claims he convinced Peter that observance of the Law was not necessary (Gal 2:14-21). Most Fellows trace this saying to that period rather than to Jesus.

Hindering others	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:52 Matt 23:13 Thom 39:1 pOxy655		4 0 0 0	26 39 30 30	43 26 48 48	26 35 22 22	36 35 36 36	grey grey grey grey

Sources

This saying comes from two sources, Q and Thomas. Like Matthew Thomas directs the charge against Pharisees and scholars. Otherwise his wording is closer to Luke. However, unlike either synoptic version, Thomas phrases the charge as a warning rather than a condemnation. A Greek fragment with traces of Thom 39:1 is older than most known manuscripts of any gospel.

Images

Q (=Luke) and Thomas level two charges against scholars:

• They confiscate the "key(s) of knowledge"; and
• They keep others from something they themselves avoid.

Matthew takes the two to mean that people have been locked out of God's domain. His version may refer to regulations that rabbis adopted long after Jesus' death to keep Christians from preaching in synagogues.

However, the "key(s) of knowledge" probably meant important information or rules of interpretation that Jewish scholars adopted to clarify scripture. The original saying, therefore, charges trained scholars with neither using what they know nor making it public for others to use. It is a protest against professional secrets.

Attribution

The bulk of the votes on this saying fell in the pink-grey range. The agreement between Q and Thomas indicates a fairly fixed formula in early oral tradition. Moreover, the saying champions the public against an educated elite. This is the social stance of Luke 10:21//Matt 11:25, which many Fellows accept as a genuine Jesus saying.

Yet, this type of broadside blast blaming Judaic authorities for obstructionist tactics is less like Jesus' ironic retorts to critics than the diatribes of later Christian preachers (e.g., Acts 7:51). It is precisely the type of complaint that Paul made in reference to events after Jesus' death (1 Thess 2:14-15). Luke and Thomas censor the opponents for past actions. And Matthew's wording also implies a later perspective. So, most Fellows think this charge was formed during the church's conflict with synagogue leaders after the time of Jesus.

Prophets' tombs	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 11:47-48 Matt 23:29-33		0 0	12 4	15 13	73 83	13 07	black black
Wisdom's envoys
Luke 11:49-51 Matt 23:34-36		0 0	5 7	9 5	86 88	06 06	black black

Form

This small cluster is the only portion of Q's string of condemnations that Matthew and Luke present in exactly the same order. Together they form a prophetic oracle about murdered prophets. Thus, they have a tighter bond than other sayings in this string and could have circulated as a separate unit. Yet the cluster is composed of two distinct elements:

• an accusation (Luke 11:47-48//Matt 23:29-33) and
• a judgment (Luke 11:49-51//Matt 23:34-36).

Content

The accusation is ironic. It observes that those who build monuments to dead prophets are testifying that their own ancestors were murderers.

The judgment, on the other hand, sentences the whole current generation to pay for the murder of every "prophet" mentioned in Hebrew scripture. The idea that Israel's leaders murdered any true prophet is an exaggeration based on stories like that of Elijah (1 Kings 18). The Zechariah who was killed in the temple was the son of Jehoiada, a powerful priest in Jerusalem before 800 BCE (2 Chron 24:20-22). Matthew confuses him with the author of the book of oracles (Zech 1:1) that comes from the Persian period, more than 300 years later.

Here the divine judge's sentence is delivered in the first person, just as Hebrew prophets presumed to speak for God. Matthew, like most later Christians, assumes Jesus is himself that judge. But Luke has Jesus credit the quote to "Wisdom," a traditional Jewish personification of the voice of God (compare Luke 7:35). A close parallel is found in the prologue to the late Jewish apocalypse credited to Ezra (2 Esdr 1:32):

• "I sent you my servants the prophets, but you have taken and slain them and torn their bodies to pieces, their blood I will require of you," says the Lord (2 Esdr 1:32)

Attribution

Apart from the irony of the first verse, there is nothing in this cluster of sayings to identify Jesus as the original speaker. The charge that Israel killed the prophets comes from Jewish tradition that was used by Christian preachers like Stephen, after Jesus' own execution (Acts 7:52). It represents the viewpoint of the editor of Q (see notes on Luke 6:22-23//Matt 5:11-12). Moreover, the sweeping condemnation of "this generation" reflects the attitude of later Christian prophets toward opponents (see Luke 11:31-32//Matt 12:41-42) rather than Jesus' tolerance (Luke 6:27,35//Matt 6:44). There were no red and few pink votes.

Matt 23:37-39	Luke 13:34-35
37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,	34 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you murder the prophets	you murder the prophets
and stone those sent to you!	and stone those sent to you!
How often I wanted	How often I wanted
to gather your children	to gather your children
as a hen gathers her chicks	as a hen <gathers> her chicks
under her wings,	under her wings,
but you wouldn't let me.	but you wouldn't let me.
38Can't you see,	35Can't you see,
your house is being abandoned	your house is being abandoned
as a ruin?	as a ruin?
39 I'm telling you,	I'm telling you,
you certainly won't see me again	you certainly won't see me
until	until the time comes
you say,	when you say,
'Blessed is the one	'Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord.'"	who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Sources

Matthew and Luke present this prophetic lament in almost the same words. Q must have credited it to Jesus. But the prologue to a Judaic apocalypse ascribes some of the same lines to God:

• "I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (2 Esdr 1:30) and
• "Thus says the Lord Almighty: "Your house is abandoned..." (2 Esdr 1:33).

Setting

The lament focuses on Jerusalem. Matthew appends it to Q's condemnations of the Pharisees, which he presents after Jesus reaches the holy city. Luke, however, locates these condemnations in Galilee. He places Q's lament somewhat later as reason for Jesus' journey to Jerusalem.

Both settings are artificial, because the speaker claims to have had many missions to Jerusalem before this, which are not mentioned by either Matthew or Luke. Yet, Q was not composed as a narrative so much as a string of thematic clusters. In Luke's order, this lament interrupts such a string. It fits better in Matthew, since the opening line was an  obvious link to the prophetic oracle against prophet killers (Luke 11:47-51//Matt 23:29-33). So Matthew's sequence is adopted here.

Contents

The lament had four elements:

• an outcry against a policy of executions;
• comparison of the speaker to a frustrated mother;
• a decree that the temple is devastated; and
• conditions for the speaker's return.

Together these elements form a typical prophetic proclamation that God has abandoned Jerusalem (compare Jer 8). The last  element quotes a festive hymn (Ps 118:26) for celebrations in the temple. The canonical gospels associate it with Jesus' arrival at Passover. Q did not mention this incident.

Attribution

Jerusalem indicted	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 13:34-35 Matt 23:37-39		0 0	18 3	21 9	61 88	19 05	black black

The author of this saying was a typical Judean prophet speaking for God rather than for himself. Jesus was widely regarded as a prophet. And the majority of the Jesus seminar agreed that he probably spoke against the temple and/or Jerusalem. A few Fellows thought he may have said something like this. But the language is traditional. None of the characteristics of genuine Jesus sayings are present. And the sweeping charge that Jerusalem stones prophets seems to be a reaction to stories about Christian preachers like Stephen (Acts 7:57-58) rather than a description of documented policies of temple authorities before Jesus' death. So, it was not accepted into the data base of things Jesus probably said.