Woe No!
Matthew 23:23-24
Matthew 23:23-24 NKJ
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
In this chapter, Jesus is dropping the hammer on the religious leaders of His day, figuratively speaking. His problem was with the scribes and Pharisees acting like hypocrites. They were very concerned with public appearances and outward shows of religion. And yet, they missed the most important reasons for the Jewish laws.
The example of tithing was a classic example. The scribes and Pharisees had become so legalistic that they were very careful to tithe everything that came into their possession. Mint, anise, and cummin were spices. So, they made sure the tithe, ten percent, of all spices, were given to the Lord.
But that wasn’t the problem. Jesus wasn’t upset with their diligence in tithing. He was upset with the fact that they were dogmatic in tithing spices but totally overlooked things that were much more important. Justice, mercy, and faith were the more weightier matters. It was great to tithe your mint but don’t overlook doing justly with your brother. No problem tithing your anise and cummin but don’t overlook showing mercy to others and faith towards God.
What made things even worse was the fact that these men were the leaders of Israel. Jesus called them blind guides. They would strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. I love that metaphor. They caught the nit-picky things but missed the big things. Woe no!
Application
Growing up, I remember seeing some of the same things in the church I was involved with. A big concern with outward things and legalistic rules but missing some of the “heart issues” that were more important.
I had a Sunday school teacher when I was in the seventh grade who was great. He would look at the weekly lesson but then often skip it and talk with a small group of bored, insecure boys about the things we were dealing with in our lives. Many Sundays, we would slip out of Sunday school and pile in his car to go to Dunkin Donuts. I loved this guy. But some of the church leaders were not happy that he was not following the rules to the letter and that he was taking the boys out of church to eat doughnuts. But he was helping us, and I actually looked forward to Sunday School. Years later, I wrote this teacher and shared with him that he was one of the most influential church leaders I ever had growing up. He helped me and spoke to my heart. And truth be told, my stomach also, those doughnuts were great!
Our relationship with the Lord is so much more than do’s and don’ts. I believe in tithing. It’s right to honor the Lord with our finances. But it’s also right to treat our brothers and sisters with love and respect regardless of their background, race, economic status, etc.… We don’t do one at the expense of the other, but if we get the heart things right then, chances are we’ll wind up on the right track. No woe for us!
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for teaching me how to live and walk before You. Thank You that it’s people You are most concerned about.