Through the Bible -Exodus 37-38, Matthew 24:1-35
Good morning,
Yesterday we considered what it meant to be "fishers of men" and the command to love God and love others as yourself. Jesus' desire is that we "may have life and have it more abundantly".
A fishing metaphor could also be used to describe Satan's tactics. People are enticed and tricked to take his suggestions "hook line and sinker". Satan does not practice "catch and release" practices, he wants to land fish, people, big and small as his trophies.
Today's verse comes from Matthew 23 where Jesus warns the pharisees:
Matt 23:23 "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! NKJV
Bugs, insects, even the smallest ones like gnats were considered unclean. If you've ever been at a picnic with a glass or can of pop you've probably experienced the uneasy feeling of having taken a few swallows only to see a bug or two in your drink. The pharisees would not think of allowing that to happen, they would actually strain out their cups so that there would be no chance of them having something defiled go into their bodies.
They would also tithe to the nth degree, down to the spices from the garden.
But what is easier? To do these things or to truly love God and your neighbor which involve the "weightier matteres of the law: justice and mercy and faith".
I don't think Satan minds if we try to please God by focusing on works, especially those that are done out of duty and lack love and compassion.
Not that these things should be ingnored. Barnes comments show us a balance, " Faith in God here means that we are to give to him what is his due; as mercy and justice mean to do to PEOPLE, in all circumstances, what is right toward them. [These ought ye to have done] Attention to even the smallest points of the law of God is proper, but it should not interfere with the "higher" and more important parts of that law. "
How do we try to please God? What are our motives? May we not ignore or forget the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and faith.
Read some of the other criticisms of the "religious leaders". How do they speak to us today? Time and time again they point out the focus on the surface while Jesus seeks the desires of the heart.
In Christ,
Mike
Matt 23:1-25
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
5 "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi.'
8 "Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. 9 And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10 And don't let anyone call you 'Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either.
15 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!
16 "Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear 'by God's Temple,' but that it is binding to swear 'by the gold in the Temple.' 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear 'by the altar' is not binding, but to swear 'by the gifts on the altar' is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear 'by the altar,' you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear 'by the Temple,' you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear 'by heaven,' you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
23 "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
NLT
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