Scripture:
Matthew 23:23-26 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of [a] mint, dill, and cumin, [b] yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, (A) mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! (B) You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel!
25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed [c] and self-indulgence! (C) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, [d] so the outside of it [e] may also become clean.
Footnotes:
Matthew 23:23 Or You tithe
Matthew 23:23 A plant whose seeds are used as a seasoning
Matthew 23:25 Or full of violence
Matthew 23:26 Other mss add and dish
Matthew 23:26 Other mss read of them
Cross references:
Matthew 23:23 : 1Sm 15:22; Ps 33:5; Jr 5:1; Mic 6:8; Zch 7:9; Lk 11:42;
Matthew 23:24 : Mt 15:14; 23:16;
Matthew 23:25 : Mk 7:4; Lk 11:39;
Reflection:
Do you allow any blindspots to blur your vision of God's kingdom and his ways? Jesus went to the heart of the matter when he called the religious leaders of his day blind Pharisees and hypocrites! The word hypocrite means actor -- someone who puts on a show to draw attention to themselves. The scribes devoted their lives to the study of the Law of God and regarded themselves as legal experts in it. They divided the ten commandments and precepts into thousands of tiny rules and regulations. They were so exacting in their interpretations and in trying to live them out, that they had little time for anything else. By the time they finished compiling their interpretations it took no less than fifty volumes to contain them! Jesus chastised them for neglecting the more important matters of religion, such as justice and the love of God. In their misguided zeal they had lost sight of God and of his purpose for the law.
Jesus used the example of tithing to show how far they had missed the mark. God had commanded a tithe of the first fruits of one's labor as an expression of thanksgiving and honor for his providential care for his people (Deut. 14:22; Lev. 27:30). The scribes, however, went to extreme lengths to tithe on insignificant things (such as tiny plants) with great mathematical accuracy. They were very attentive to minute matters of little importance, but they neglected to care for the needy and the weak. Jesus admonished them because their hearts were not right. They were filled with pride and contempt for others. They put unnecessary burdens on others while neglecting to show charity, especially to the weak and the poor. They meticulously went through the correct motions of conventional religion while forgetting the realities. Jesus used a humorous example to show how out of proportion matters had gotten with them. Gnats were considered the smallest of insects and camels were considered the largest of animals in Palestine. Both were considered ritually impure. The scribes went to great lengths to avoid contact with gnats, even to the point of straining the wine cup with a fine cloth lest they accidently swallowed a gnat. The stark contrast must have drawn chuckles as well as groans. What was the point of Jesus' lesson and humor? The essence of God's commandments is love — love of God and love of neighbor. God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. Love is sacrificial; it both embraces and lifts the burdens of others. Do you allow the love of God to transform your mind and heart?
Prayer For The Day:
Lord, fill me with your love and inflame my heart with zeal for your kingdom. May I act with mercy, kindness and justice in all my relations and in all that I do.
2 comments:
Jesus was chastising them for neglecting the more important matters OF THE LAW –not religion. He was not instructing the Church and it was illegal for Gentiles to tithe.
In Matthew 23:24 the “gnat” is tithing. How often do we hear sermons on tithing compared with sermons on mercy and love?
Firstfruits and tithes were two entirely different things. Firstfruits were only very small token offerings. Tithes were always only food from inside Israel which God had miraculously increased. Although money was common even in Genesis money was never tithe-able from Leviticus to Luke.
Love is sacrificial and NT giving for the Church after Calvary is primarily sacrificial. Sacrificial giving requires many to give far more than 10% but it also means that some are giving sacrificially even though less.
Perhaps we all get caught up in 'ritualistic' legalism and forget about about the 'relationship' part of Christianity. Christ is upset because they are putting the created above the creator (Colossians 1:17, Jeremiah 2:13). They put themselves and their 'religious' practices above a real relationship with Holy God and they encouraged others to do it also and Jesus hated what they were doing and is very vocal about it in this passage. Christ came and died so that we might have a relationship with the Father, not so we could better follow religious rules.
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