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One of the things I love most about the New Testament Gospels is the up-close encounters we see between Jesus and the crowds. We observe Jesus and the disciples, we see Jesus and those who he heals, but by far some of my favorites are his tense skirmishes with the religious leaders.
Our human thirst for drama causes us to be drawn into these standoffs. The writer of the Gospel of Matthew pens some of the most explosive jabs that Jesus exchanges with the Pharisees and scribes in the twenty-seventh chapter of his writings. The Pharisees and scribes were groups within ancient Judaism who adhered very strictly to man-made rules drawn from their interpretation of the Mosaic Law found in Leviticus. Not only did they create and manage this long list of religious rules, but they also took upon themselves the role of enforcement. Jesus is teaching the people in the temple when he delivers this scathing rebuke of these pious hypocrites. It is quite possible that the Pharisees standing in the temple could hear this rebuke directly from the mouth of Jesus.
Matthew 23:23 states: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former" (NIV).
Our imagination paints a reddish look on the faces of the religious leaders, one of embarrassment mixed with anger, as Jesus pronounces a list of woes on them. The word "woe" is a strong interjection of denunciation. This forceful word carries a sense of rebuke for their actions. You can almost hear the emotion in Jesus' voice as he directs this condemnation towards them for their hypocrisy. Jesus' condemnation of them was rightly justified since they placed such heavy, stringent, man-made laws on the people, but they themselves were not willing to lift a finger to assist their society and had sadly failed to provide justice and mercy. This passage begs the question, "Could Jesus put my name next to woe?"
The practice of tithing spices and herbs was a common ancient practice within Judaism that was based on Leviticus 27:30. Although this faithful adherence to God was quite noble, the Pharisees had neglected what was most important to the heart of God.
Jesus was in essence saying, "You have done the most tedious, time-consuming, labor-intensive tithing trying to please me, but you have left out the more important actions that I wanted you to do." My friend, Jesus is very clear that He desires us to be givers of justice, mercy, and faith. God was appalled with the external religion of his chosen people when they neglected these three most important elements. Could it be that on the exterior I give the perception of religious adherence, but my motivations and goals and aspirations are not aligned with God?
The point of this drama-filled interaction between Jesus and the religious is quite clear. We are to show the love of God to those around us by treating people fairly and equitably and sharing mercy to others as Jesus has shown us mercy.
Hunter Konkle, pastor, Ridgewood Church, Queens, New York City