The man
Vipers
Jesus warned religious people about hypocrisy.
Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew 23:1-39 · Ephesians 2
The scene
Jesus reserved some of his strongest language for religious leaders.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"Matthew 23:13
He accused them of shutting the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. They wouldn't enter, and they hindered those who were trying to.
They were careful about some matters of the law while neglecting what Jesus called the weightier matters: "Justice, mercy, and faith."Matthew 23:23
"You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!"Matthew 23:24
They cared about appearing righteous. Jesus wasn't condemning righteousness itself.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness."Matthew 23:27
"You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?"Matthew 23:33
Jesus didn't speak like this to everyone he met. Here he was speaking to religious men who taught others and appeared righteous before them.
The point
Jesus sees past religious appearances.
Sit with this
What does he see underneath?