Jesus and the Pharisees II

I. Introduction: In the previous lesson we studied about who the Pharisees were and their conflicts with Jesus. In Matthew 23, Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and urged the multitudes not to follow their example. In this lesson we will study about the warped perspective of the Pharisees that exhibited their hypocrisy.

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Mathew 23:23-28

II. The Pharisees tithed the herbs like mint, anise and cumin

A. Purpose of tithing

B. Numbers 18:21 – Tithes supported the Levites

C. God instituted the Old Testament tithes to support the priests

D. The priests were to devote themselves to study and teaching the Law and ministering in the temple. In times when Israel departed from God they did not pay their tithes and the priests had to leave the temple to work in the fields to meet their families needs.

E. The Pharisees paid tithes of the small herbs: mint, anise, and cumin.

F. Good Jews were diligent to pay tithes of the big things such as animals and produce from the field.

G. To tithe the herbs was an admirable display of conscientiousness.

H. It would be time consuming to make a tithe of the herbs. It demonstrated strict obedience to God’s command to give a tenth of everything from the field Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for tithing the herbs

III. Jesus chided the Pharisees for neglecting the weightier matters of the law

A. Luke 11:42: “You pass by…”

B. In their diligence to observe the minutest part of the tithe, they neglected greater responsibilities and obligations to God.

C. They strained a gnat so it would not pollute their drink but swallowed a big, stinky, unclean camel without seeing the inconsistency.

D. Weightier matters

E. Justice – Being fair and impartial; doing the right thing Mercy – compassionate treatment and care; showing favor Faith – some read faithfulness – the root of all service to God is faith in Him, His will, and commitment in spite of trials Love (Luke 11:42) – Affection and open heart to others

F. The Pharisees were diligent to do the things that would make an outward show of holiness but neglected to display justice, mercy, and love to their brethren and failed to make it part of their being.

G. The tithe was easy compared to the change in heart that the weightier matters demanded.

IV. Jesus’ Solution: Do both

A. Jesus did not dismiss their tithing!

B. Some people quote this passage as a rebuke against those who want to be careful to do all that God commands—they say some commands are just not important to God.

C. Both the tithes and the weightier matters ought to have been done

D. He emphasized the correctness of their action and commended their strict obedience to the command to tithe. There was nothing wrong with being conscientious about the smallest details of obedience but rather it ought to be done. Ought means that they were obligated to do it (“…we ought to obey God rather than men”).

E. Just because it was not a “weightier matter” did mean that it was insignificant or inconsequential

F. Having justice, mercy, and faith would not free them from the obligation to give a tithe of all they possessed. The tithe was neither optional nor irrelevant; we cannot forget that. If we try to dismiss strict adherence to God’s commands using this text, we are taking the passage to a place where it was never intended to go and miss Jesus’ point.

G. Justice, mercy and faith were “weighty” because they went beyond outward display and struck at the heart of the individual.

H. It did not matter how exacting one was in obedience, if he did not have the foundational characteristics, God would not be pleased.

I. 1 Samuel 15:22 – God commanded the sacrifices but they were useless if obedience did not characterize the worshipper.

J. To obey is better than sacrifice but obedience demanded sacrifice. God wants more than outward display; He wants inner change. Micah 6:6-8 – “The Lord has shown you what is good”

K. Mutual necessity

L. Sacrifices without the weightier matters were useless The weightier matters without obedience to the Law were useless

M. We must never put these at odds with one another

N. Martin Luther put grace and works at odds whereas the Scripture weaves them together as a necessary whole

O. The modern religious world wants to deemphasize adherence to the doctrine of Christ in the name of grace, peace, and unity.

P. They will say that doctrine is insignificant; that the important thing is God’s grace and loving our fellow man—an error that is the opposite of the Pharisees but just as wrong. We must not diminish strict adherence to the doctrine in the name of grace We must not diminish grace with strict adherence to doctrine We need to weave them together as the Scripture does