Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.^{(A) 38} But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.^(B)

³⁹ Then the Lord^(C) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(D) 40} You foolish people!^(E) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(F) and everything will be clean for you.^(G)

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(B)

Prayer^(C)

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing^(D) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,^(E) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

True and False Disciples

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’^(A) will enter the kingdom of heaven,^(B) but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.^(C)

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(A)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a](B) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(C)

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.^{(A) 34} You brood of vipers,^(B) how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks^(C) what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.