heals a blind man; the scribes and Pharisees say: “instrument of the devil” – they’re put in their place with:
“Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites all! For you shut off the kingdom of heaven against all! You do not go in yourselves, nor do you let others enter! Blind guides! You strain in the net — and swallow a camel! You bow before the letter of the law and violate the heart of the law! Justice! Mercy! Good faith! You are like whitened sepulchers, all clean and fair without, but within — full of dead men’s bones and corruption! … You see these stones, do you not? I tell you: There will not be left here, no stone upon another that will not be thrown down! Yours is a house of desecration! The home of the lizard and the spider…. Serpents, ruler of vipers! How can any of you escape damnation? You shall not see me here again — not until you learn to cry! Blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord … for I and my Father … are one and the same.”
“As he approached the city and saw it, he wept over the land and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’ “
