Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees - Part 11

Woe To You Scribes And Pharisees - Part 11

I’d better warn you what you’re getting into today. This is going to be my 3rd day on the same verse. I just can’t let this one go because the truth of it is so hard to digest. That’s because when Jesus condemned the spiritual leaders for their corruption and greed, he ended His fifth woe with this incredible picture:

Matthew 23:24

“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

What is Jesus talking about?

I’m glad you asked! He’s talking about being so laser-focused on the journey that we miss the destination. The Pharisees had lost track of their goal. So, let’s ask this: What goal?

Well, let’s approach it this way: Why did the Pharisees even exist? The purpose of a group like that was to be guides for those seeking God. The Pharisees were supposed to be leading people to God but they got lost somehow. Nowhere is this more painfully evident than in the Gospel of John.

In John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been blind for his entire life. But, there was a problem. The Pharisees were enraged that Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. Now, let’s take a moment to fully appreciate this. A blind man asked for help, Jesus responded by healing him, God acted in love and compassion right in their midst and He was given glory. So, the spiritual leaders praised God and rejoiced, right? Well, we know that’s not what happened. Instead, they turned against Jesus.

What?

How do the spiritual leaders suddenly become the blind ones? Amazingly, an act of mercy turned these religious experts into raging opponents of the Living God.

They were more interested in their law books than they were about a blind man being healed! Their whole mission had just been exposed as a fraud. They weren’t guides at all! They were blind men leading others down the same dead end. And suddenly, just like that, the guides became the lost. The caretakers of the things of God became the enemies of the One they were called to serve.

It’s when we take our eye off the prize that we lose track of our goal. They forgot about God while in the midst of their pursuit of Him.