How can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?

1 Ts 2,9-13; Ps 138; Mt 23,27-32
28 AUGUST

Why cannot Pharisees and scribes escape from the condemnation of Gehenna, that is, to the condemnation of hell? Because the way that leads to eternal life is only one: obedience to the Law of the Lord, the observance of his Commandments and his Word. However, Scribes and Pharisees are intent only to replace the truth with falsehood, grace with sin, obedience with disobedience, good with evil, justice with injustice, Scripture with their traditions and glory of God with their glory. Between them and the Lord there is no point of contact, rather Jesus says that they have already closed the kingdom of God for themselves and for others. Might ever who closes the gates of the kingdom think of reaching Paradise? That’s why they might never escape the condemnation of Gehenna. They should be converted to the Word of Jesus, while in their hearts from the beginning there was only one thought: how to take Jesus away, how to kill him in a legal way, without anyone thinking that it was the result of their satanic and diabolical will. From the Acts of the Apostles we learn that this will against Christ Jesus even during the course of the years had remained alive. This is attested by the execratory oath made by some of them to kill Paul who had witnessed the truth of Jesus’ resurrection in the Sanhedrin. A long time had already gone by.

When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who formed this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. You, together with the Sanhedrin, must now make an official request to the commander to have him bring him down to you, as though you meant to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part are prepared to kill him before he arrives.” The son of Paul’s sister, however, heard about the ambush; so he went and entered the compound and reported it to Paul. Paul then called one of the centurions and requested, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to report to him.” So he took him and brought him to the commander and explained,

“The prisoner Paul called me and asked that I bring this young man to you; he has something to say to you.” The commander took him by the hand, drew him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it you have to report to me?” He replied, “The Jews have conspired to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they meant to inquire about him more thoroughly, but do not believe them. More than forty of them are lying in wait for him; they have bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready and only wait for your consent.” As the commander dismissed the young man he directed him, “Tell no one that you gave me this information.” Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea by nine o’clock tonight, along with seventy horsemen and two hundred auxiliaries. Provide mounts for Paul to ride and give him safe conduct to Felix the governor” (At 23,12-24).

With this hatred so strong in the heart nobody might think either of serving God or of being able to escape the condemnation of the Gehenna. Hatred does not belong to the religion of God. Not even the desire to give death belongs to the Word of the Lord.

“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! You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?

That of the scribes and the Pharisees is a world totally devoid of God. But they use God to commit every crime and every transgression of the Law. Of the Lord they know not neither love, nor truth, nor mercy, nor justice and nor forgiveness.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that the world of the scribes and Pharisees never belong to us.