The Exaposteilarion (here in Russian chant) is sung late in Bridegroom Matins.
It will help if you read the Gospel passages before you read this Post.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:15-46; 23:1-39
In tonight’s Gospel, the confrontation between Jesus and the authorities continues. They must stop this man. Killing Him was the last option. The better way, the cleanest way, was still to outwit Him, discredit Him. They’d had no success at this so far but now they try one more time.
The Pharisees try to butter him up: “Teacher, we know you teach the truth” – they don’t believe a word of this – “so is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” A trick question: If He said No, the Romans would arrest him for treason. If he said Yes, the people would turn against Him, for they hated paying high taxes to Rome. His answe
r: “Pay to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And all Jews knew what is God’s – everything. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the Son of God was quick-witted! but still… this was so clever, so masterful it makes me smile.
Next the Sadducees try. Sadducees disbelieved in resurrection and angels; they were almost secularists, though they did believe in God. The woman who had seven husbands: whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus’ answer is remarkable. He speaks as if He has personal knowledge of the next life, as if He has been there – as He had. He says: You don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God, and then explains that people don’t marry in heaven. (To be precise He says in heaven people are not given in marriage – don’t get married in heaven. The Church teaches that marriage is an eternal relationship which will take new form and be brought to perfection in heaven. The Sadducees’ question will be answered there in a way which is beyond our comprehension. However, the simple solution for us now is: don’t get married seven times.)
Jesus goes on to challenge the Sadducees: “For God is not the God of the dead but of the living”. In Luke He adds the breathtaking line (for that time): “For all are alive to Him”. Matthew says the people were astonished at His knowledge and authority. Again, they didn’t catch him.
A lawyer then tests His orthodoxy: “Which is the great commandment in the Law?” All Jews knew the correct answer: “Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength” Deuteronomy 6:5 and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Deuteronomy 19:17 Jesus answered correctly. He was not a heretic. Again, it didn’t work.
Now Jesus asks them a trick question: In the Scriptures some passages say the Messiah will be Son of God. Psalm 110:1 Others say He will be the son of David. 2 Samuel 7:12–16, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5–6. How can both be true? Only Jesus and His blessed Mother knew the answer to that: He was God who had been born into the house of David. But, of course, His accusers did not know that. He got them. They could not explain the Scriptures which they claimed they knew so well.
They could not outwit Him. Indeed He had made fools of them. So now there was only one way left to get rid of Him. And Jesus pushes them into it. He turns on them. For the Passover was at hand, and He was timing His death, so that on Friday He would become the new Paschal sacrifice, the new Paschal lamb.
He attacks them, antagonizes them: (Forgive me, in what follows, for updating his words a bit.) Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, play actors, fakes. You lay heavy burdens on others but not on yourselves. You don’t love God: what you love is dressing up in fancy vestments and having people say, “Father, father, you go first”. (I hate it when people try to get Priests to go first for meals.)You devour widow’s houses. You win converts and make them sons of hell worse than yourselves. You play games with God, like politicians phrasing your words so you can weasel out of them. You are so scrupulous about little things, even tithe on your cooking herbs – the Church services must be done just so, every canon law must be kept rigidly, fasting must be done scrupulously. What? I saw you hold your fingers wrong when you made the sign of the cross? – while you ignore the great things: mercy, justice, faith. (Notice carefully: He does not say to ignore the rules or be sloppy about worship and fasting. He says we ought to do both, just don’t ignore the great things ) You are like whitewashed tombs, clean on the outside, filled with corruption inside. Murderers of prophets, serpents, den of snakes, you’ll all go to hell.
People must have stood with their mouths agape. The authorities must have been burning with anger. Now He has gone too far, now this is personal, now we will stop this man. He goes on: Therefore I will send you prophets. (Listen to him. I send you prophets. It is God alone who sends prophets.) And you will scourge them and kill them. And so on you will come the punishment for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from Abel to Zechariah (father of John the Baptist) whom you killed in the temple. All this will come on this generation.
This is so poignant: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often 
I wanted to gather you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not”. Then, again He looks into the future, the not very distant future, the destruction of Jerusalem: “Behold, your house is left desolate.”
You had your chance. You failed. You rejected your Messiah. “I tell you, you shall see me no more till you say: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” It’s that Messianic Psalm again, which people had sung on Palm Sunday as He rode into the city. You will see me no more till I come in Glory. Then you will know that I am your Messiah.
In Matthew’s Gospel, with those words Jesus ended His public ministry to the Jews.
Next Post: Holy Tuesday Morning Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
Father Bill,
I love your sense of humour, delivered with great respect for the subject – that is not an easy thing to do.
It is more the British way, than the American, I think.
God bless you.
After all I was Anglican for almost thirty years. I like their style, even though I do not miss all their infighting and compromises regarding the Faith. God bless you too.