Gnats and camels

In my Bible study on Monday nights, we're going through the book of Matthew. Yesterday we got to a "Woes" section, where Jesus repeatedly says "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!" In the midst of that, we came across this verse:

"You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." Matthew 23:24

What does this mean? Well the Pharisees were the religious leaders at the time. They were very legalistic and tried to keep in line with every detail of the law. So much so that the strict Pharisee would carefully strain his drinking water through a cloth to be sure he did not swallow a gnat, the smallest of ceremonially unclean animals. Yet Jesus said they swallowed a camel, one of the largest ceremonially unclean animals!

In reading through the text, it's clear that the Pharisees sought earthly approval- they loved sitting at the place of honor and hearing men call them "Rabbi" (Matt 23:6-7). They kept all the laws externally, but inwardly they were dirty and rotten, like whitewashed tombs (Matt 23:27). Although they were following the letter of the law, they had sinful hearts- and God cares about our hearts, not our outward appearance!

As I read this verse, it struck me how often I can be like that. I'll follow all the rules and I'll do everything "right" but inside I'm holding a grudge, or selfish feelings, or mean thoughts. We can look like we're following God, but all the time our hearts can be in the wrong place. And sometimes we can get so bogged down in the details (don't do this, stay away from that) that we forget the BIG picture (love God and love other people!) God wants a sincere heart more than he wants someone who tenaciously follows all the rules. We can get bogged down in the law like the Pharisees did, or we can follow the One who came to FREE us from the law. Christianity is not about following a bunch of strict rules, but about following Jesus. Let's not lose sight of the big picture:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy, and faithfulness." Matthew 23:23