Forrest D. Moyer

"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. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" (Matt. 23:23-24).

In the context of this chapter, Jesus is showing the hypocrisy of the harsh, legalistic Pharisee who very carefully strains a tiny grat out of a glass of water or wine and then turns around and swallows a whole camel, hump and all! A gnat was an insect and, therefore, unclean for the Jews. So was a camel. "In order to avoid the risk of drinking anything unclean, wine was strained through muslin gauze so that any possible impurity might be strained out of it. This is one of the instances of humour which must have raised a laugh. For it is the picture of a man carefully straining his wine through gauze to avoid swallowing a microscopic insect, and yet cheefully swallowing a camel. It is the picture of a man who has completely lost his sense of proportion" (Barclay).

These hypocrites were very careful in making sure that they minutely counted every little herb in the garden in order to give 10% of it to the priests and Levites to whom to the tithe was paid. They gloried in their tithing as is seen in the case of the Pharisee in Luke 18:12: "I give tithes of all that I possess." They felt so godly because they were so meticulous.

Yet, Jesus charged them with a serious offense. They left undone "the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith." He did not tell them to leave undone these little things (tithing), but He emphasized the need of their practicing in their lives the "weightier matters." Thayer says that the "weightier matters" are of "great moment," thus, of great importance. Justice, mercy and faith (faithfulness) are of great importance before God.

Justice has to do with anything concerning justice and injustice, right or wrong. No matter how careful one might be to tithe of the smallest herb and yet showed injustice to fellowman, he is a sinner before God. We must be concerned about right and wrong in our relationships.

Mercy is kindness and good will toward mankind, especially those who are less fortunate than are we. Over and again God shows this to be one of His traits that we must imitate.

Faith in this instance most likely means fidelity, faithfulness, the character of one who can be relied on (Thayer). These are characteristics of a godly person. No matter how may legalistic duties we perform, we cannot be righteous without these godly traits in our lives. Do we strain out gnats, but swallow camels?

Do you stress cleanliness in the home and in meal preparation? Of course such is vital. You are straining out the gnats. However, many families who are so fastidious in food preparation will allow themselves and their children to feed on moral filth and corruption via the television or magazines or movies. This is indeed swallowing the camel.

Some brethren are so concerned about attending every service of the church. And all ought to be! But sometimes these who stress attendance so emphatically will go out on Monday and mistreat their employees or customers or fellow-workers. Some will cheat on their jobs, scream at their kids, browbeat their wives and yet claim to be faithful Christians because they "attend every service." Swallowing the camel!

Some of Jesus’ greatest lessons had to do with relationships between one another. Certainly, justice, mercy and fidelity involve our relationships with God and with mankind. Applying the golden rule is a master lesson on relationships. The Spirit guided Paul to write: "... put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you" (Col. 3:12-13). Important matters? Of course.