The Weightier Matters

The Weightier Matters

“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.

Matthew 23:23

As we continue the thought of embracing a whole God, a whole Bible, and a whole Christ, we arrive at a portion of the Scripture which gives us a perspective upon the Person of Christ which we perhaps often overlook. In Matthew 23, Christ addresses, at length, the errors of the ‘Scribes and Pharisees’ whom He terms, ‘Hypocrites.’ Here we see the Heart of Christ regarding what He deems important. In our text for today, He declares,’“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.‘ In essence, what Christ is saying of these hyper-religious, highly scrupulous, purveyors of moral rectitude, was that they majored on the minor, and minored on the major. What does Christ consider to be important? He speaks of justice, mercy, and faith. Elsewhere in this passage, He decries their emphasis upon their love of preference, of titles, of pretense, and of image management. If we look to Christ consistently, then we will learn from the contemplation of Him, how to imitate Him in His emphasis. He is quite interested in majoring on that which is major. So He teaches by example, so that, those who look to Him will follow. Today, let us look to Christ to teach us, by His Spirit, how to lay our emphasis where He lays His.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning