Matthew Chapter Twenty-Three Poem by Day Williams

Matthew Chapter Twenty-Three



1 Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples:
2 "The teachers of the law and Pharisees
Sit in Moses' seat,3 so you must obey

Them and do everything they tell you, but
Do not do what they do, for they do not
Practice what they have preached.4 They tie large loads

And put them on men's shoulders, but they aren't
Willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 Everything that they do is done for men

To see: They make their prayer boxes wide
And tassels on their garments long; 6 they love
The honored place at banquets and the most

Important seats in synagogues; 7 they love
The deference paid them on the streets and how
Men call them ‘Rabbi, ' 8 but you should not be

Called ‘Rabbi, ' for you have one Master and
You are all brothers,9 and do not address
Anyone on the earth as ‘father, ' for

You have one Father, who's in heaven,10 nor
Are you to be called ‘teacher, ' for you have
One Teacher, Christ.11 To be the greatest, be

A servant,12 for the one who thinks himself
Great will be humbled, and whoever humbles
Himself will be exalted.13-14 But alas

For you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors!
You lock the door of Heaven's kingdom in
Men's faces; you will not go in yourselves,

Nor will you permit those at the door to go
Inside.15 Alas for you, you scribes and you
Pharisees, play-actors! You scour the sea

And land to make a single convert, then
You make him twice as ripe for ruin as
You are yourselves.16 Alas for you, blind guides!

You say that swearing by the temple means
Nothing, but if you swear by temple gold,
You're bound by oath.' 17 You blind fools! Which is greater:

Gold, or the temple sanctifying gold?
18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by
The altar, it means nothing; but if he

Swears by the gift on it, his oath binds him.'
19 You blind men! Which is greater: is the gift,
Or is the altar, that which sanctifies

The gift? 20 And so, when you are swearing by
The altar, you are swearing by it and
By everything on it; 21 and if you should swear by

The temple, you are swearing by it and
The one who lives in it.22 And if you swear
By heaven, you are swearing by God's throne

And by the one who sits upon the throne.
23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and you
Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe the spices

Out of your gardens-mint and dill and cummin,
But you've neglected the more critical
Points of the law like justice, mercy and

Faithfulness. You should tithe but you should not
Neglect the more important points.24 Blind guides!
You strain a gnat out but gulp down a camel.

25 Woe to you, teachers of the law and you
Pharisees, hypocrites! You take the cup
And dish and polish them, but inside they

Are full of greed and self-indulgence.26 Blind
Pharisee! At first clean the cup and dish
Inside, and then the outside will be clean

Too.27 Woe to you, you teachers of the law
And Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are
Like whitewashed tombs, which look attractive on

The outside but are full of dead men's bones
And filthy things within.28 In the same way,
Outwardly you look to people like you're

Righteous but inwardly you are full of
Hypocrisy and evil.29 Woe to you,
You teachers of the law and Pharisees,

You hypocrites! You raise up tombs for prophets
And decorate the graves of righteous men,
30 And you declare, ‘If we had lived when our

Forefathers lived, we never would have joined
With them in shedding prophets' blood.' 31 So you
Accuse yourselves of being sons of those

Who killed the prophets.32 Fill up, then, the measure
Of their iniquity! 33 You snakes! You brood
Of vipers! How will you escape the judgment

Of hell? 34 So I am sending you wise men,
Prophets and teachers. Some of them you'll kill
And crucify; others you'll flog in your

Synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35 Because of that, all of the righteous blood
That has been shed on earth will come on you,

From righteous Abel's blood down to the blood
Of Zechariah, Berekiah's son,
The one you killed between the temple and

The altar.36 I tell you the truth, all this
Will come upon this generation.37 O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who

Murder the prophets and who stone those sent
To you, how often I have longed to bring
Your kids together, just as a hen

Gathers her chicks beneath her wings, but you
Weren't willing.38 Look, your house is left to you
Desolate,39 for I'm telling you, you won't

See me again until you greet the one
Who comes in God's name, His one, only Son."

Sunday, July 16, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: bible,god,jesus
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Day Williams

Day Williams

Fresno, California
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