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Isn’t Jesus being rude to the Pharisees?

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." Matthew 23:25-26

Rudeness occurs when the person offended did not deserve such treatment. Pushing an innocent bystander or interrupting a conversation is considered rude.

When a higher authority lambasts subordinates for something as serious as sending people to hell and maligning God, it sometimes calls for harsh words. They deserve the criticism.  However, even a strong attack cannot budge a strong willed sinner. The Pharisees don’t hear one word Jesus said.

You don’t use pleasantries to get a donkey to budge. Jesus used verbal force to get the Pharisees to wake up their problem, but they won’t listen. Since they don’t listen, you can really see the problem – these religious leaders won’t submit to authority.

And the boss has every right to criticism unruly employees.