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Matthew 23:29-30 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
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The Pharisees were saying in effect, “I would never have done it the way they did it.” This is a classic statement from a narcissist / scoffer (see here and here how the Pharisees were narcissists / scoffers with insolent pride). In this situation these narcissists were doing two things at the same time
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- They were setting themselves up as judge of other’s actions (see here for Scoffers – Narcissists as Judge)
- They were setting themselves up as superior to the other person. But as typical of the Narcissist, the superiority was only in their own minds – not in reality – and didn’t actually have to be demonstrated. It is very easy to say after the fact “I would never have done that”, when you don’t have to actually prove it through your actions.
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To top it off, they were so arrogant that they were willing to trash their own ancestors in order to exalt themselves.
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But Jesus turned the tables and called them on it:
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Matthew 23:31-32 – So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
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