23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”
Continuing His attack on the scribes and Pharisees (He continued to call them hypocrites!) Jesus turned to their incessant pickiness over the minutia of the law. This had become a fine art for these lovers of religious law. The Pharisees as a group may have originally felt God was withholding blessing until Israel sufficiently came in line with His holiness. Hopefully the Lord would see their “attention to details,” as a sincere effort to bring blessing to Israel again. But, in time they felt the need to make a public show of their extreme devotedness and to also coerce others to follow their example, lest God continue to hold out on them. Certainly, there was some precedent for this thinking when after the exodus from Egypt, Achan’s individual sin led to Israel’s defeat when entering the promised land (Joshua 7). But, that is the best possible interpretation of the Pharisees’ motivation.
Jesus, however, did not allow them that courtesy. In fact, He blasted them for their arrogance, the fallacy of thinking that they could coerce God and in the process make a good showing of themselves–by their very public actions. God was and continues to be more interested in the heart, which was their real problem. The evidence showed a lopsided attention to the small things and neglect of the large things, like justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus’ picturesque statement captures this well, “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” His fifth woe to them!
His sixth woe builds on the fifth with another memorable image, “You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.” This is not new teaching of Jesus, for in the Sermon on the Mount He made this case already, beginning with “Blessed are the pure in heart …” (Matthew 5:8).
Jesus pulled no punches. Notice the repeated use of the word “hypocrites,” “blind” and “woe.” The gloves are off. Parables set aside. Gentle persuasion shelved. Arrogant disregard for heart issues invokes Jesus’ strongest wrath!
Lord, grant me the insight and humbleness to accept Your rebuke when I am guilty of blind hypocrisy in my religious activities. I don’t want to be like them!
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