The Pharisees hold a unique place in the Gospels as critics of Jesus and his teachings. Their name means “separation,” and they held themselves apart as models of perfection in the law. They were ...

For the past several weeks, Matthew’s Gospel has been unrelenting in his attacks on the Pharisees. They are presented as faithless husbandmen in a vineyard they try to seize for their own. They are ...

Find today’s readings here. Have you ever invited a guest for dinner and then regretted extending that invitation? Imagine the shock of the Pharisee in today’s Gospel when, after inviting Jesus of ...

Both Luke and Matthew have a large section of ‘woes’, that is, a denunciation of those who publicly kept the Law and its commandments, but who privately were far from the purity of heart which the Law ...