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Gospel Reading for August 26, 2026 – Matthew 23: 27-32
WOE TO US!
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
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“You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.”
Jesus could have compared the scribes and Pharisees to something less abhorrent. But He deliberately chose this striking image to emphasize just how serious hypocrisy is in the practice of religion.
It must have been deeply painful for Jesus to see what had become of the faith that God had patiently built through the prophets and the people he had chosen to lead Israel. The sacrifices, the suffering, and even the blood of God’s chosen servants seemed to have been wasted because religion had become more about appearances than genuine love and obedience to God.
Worst of all, if their practice of religion was merely for show, how could they be saved?
If we, who have been blessed with the grace to know and understand the teachings of Jesus, live like the scribes and Pharisees—concerned only with looking holy while neglecting holiness within—then WOE TO US!
Lord Jesus, may your love and your teachings be at the very core of our being, so that what people see on the outside is simply the reflection of who we truly are within. Amen.
