One could almost wonder if over the years between the time Jesus gave the above criticisms of the scribes and Pharisees and the time that Matthew wrote them down, the criticisms were converted into some kind of song. The “woe to you” part could have been the chorus. (Or, did it come from an Essene background?) It is obviously being repeated for dramatic effect. At the same time one recalls the original language of Jesus was Arabic. Poetic expression was given high status. The Koran as a classic example has been recognised as poetry of the finest quality ever produced in Arabic.

In terms of the ‘line of logic’ in Reality Search the criticisms made in the above paragraph apply to anyone anywhere who over-emphasises the observance of external law.

At the end of the paragraph Jesus says he is moving away from these people. This type of warning also appears in the gospel of John. Yet one could wonder whether there is some kind of echo being presented here. If the family of Jesus did in fact belong to the Essene sect within Judaism then at some stage he had to have moved on from them as well. Recall the words of a prophet given to Mary the mother of Jesus when she presented Jesus in the Temple as a child “And your own soul a sword shall pierce.” Traditionally people think of this as happening at the time of the crucifixion c/f the Pieta in Rome. But in fact the sorrow prophesied to Mary may have been going on for some years beforehand.

17 Temple reliance. . . .

24:1-2

..Not a stone left on a stone

24:1-2 (Afterwards) Jesus went forth from the temple. His disciples approached him to point out the buildings of the temple. But answering them he said “Do you see these things? Truly I tell you there will not be a stone on a stone which will not be overthrown.”