What were the self-righteous religious leaders really like underneath their outward show?
Underneath their outward religious show, these self-righteous leaders were not truly righteous. They were known for stealing from widows and the underprivileged. In the temple they took advantage of the poor by charging inflated prices for necessary sacrificial animals. They would do anything they could get away with.
Les explains that the Pharisees and Sadducees were self-righteous and proud of their religious status, and this is what Paul is addressing. They had been instructed out of the Mosaic law, knew His will, and were confident they were guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, instructors of the foolish, and teachers of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. Yet Paul asks whether the one who teaches another fails to teach himself, and whether the one who preaches against stealing actually steals. Les points out that Israel’s priests were often known for stealing from widows and the disenchanted, the underprivileged. Jesus overturned the money changers’ tables because it was not legitimate business: they charged ten prices for necessary sacrificial animals the poor could not buy elsewhere, forcing them to buy at the temple and taking advantage of them. Paul alludes to the same thing. These leaders had pomp and self-righteousness outwardly, but underneath they would do anything they could get away with.