"The crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as their scribes"" - Matthew 7:28-29). .
Throughout the "Gospel of Matthew," Jesus asserts his authority over the people of Jerusalem. He chastises the established religious and social figures, exposing them as frauds and hypocrites, proclaims his power and authority over those who teach false doctrine, transforms preexisting laws and offers a new social dynamic for acceptance into the kingdom of heaven. It is this self-proclamation of power and authority that threatens and challenges both the established social and political orders, as well as the men and women of Jerusalem. .
In the "Gospel of Matthew," the scribes and the Pharisees are established as the chief religious and social figures in Jerusalem; however, Jesus degrades them, their authority and their legitimacy as leaders. When all the Pharisees are gathered together in the presence of Jesus, Jesus tells the crowd of the hypocrisies of both the Pharisees themselves and the scribes. He says: "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in"" (23:13). .
Jesus compares the Pharisees and scribes to hypocrites, as they do not practice what they preach. They are too concerned with being seen as the noblest of the religious figures that they lose sight of what God actually wants. God does not want people to practice deeds with the intent of receiving honor and luxuries; he wants people to do their deeds because of their faith in Him. Yet, the Pharisees do not follow that, as "they do all their deeds to be seen by men [because] they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues"" (23:5-6). As a result, in Jesus' eyes, the crowds should not follow the scribes and the Pharisees, as they are phonies and have no real legality in terms of religion.
