Daily Meditation
12 And whosoever
shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted.
Today’s Reading
The Gospel According
To
Matthew
Chapter Twenty-Three
Then spake Jesus to
the multitude
1 Then spake Jesus
to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses’ seat: 3 all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s
shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5
But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their
phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 and love the
uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and
greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not
ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is
in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even
Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And
whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself
shall be exalted.
13 But woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering
to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour
widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive
the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye
blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing;
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye
fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that
sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is
nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19
Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that
sanctifieth the gift? 20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by
it, and by all things thereon. 21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth
by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that shall swear by heaven,
sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and
cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and
faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 Ye
blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25 Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and
of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the
outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all
uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within
ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days
of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the
children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of
your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the
damnation of hell?
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