What was Jesus saying in these Scriptures?

The Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees were the literalists of the day. They believed every letter of the law but did not live by the MEANING of the law. In a sense, they made the Letter of the Law an idol, just as some today worship the Letter of the Bible but do not live by the meaning of the words. Christ made a pretty substantial condemnation of them in Matthew 23.