Context No. 3351 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 23:23-28: in context

23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 24You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! 25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. 26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also. 27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. 28Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Jesus pronounces woes on a religion that is all surface. The scribes and Pharisees meticulously tithe their garden herbs, mint and dill and cumin, while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, obsessing over trifles while missing what matters. They clean the outside of the cup while the inside is full of greed.

And a vivid image follows: they are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of death within. The danger Jesus names is a religion of appearances, careful about the visible and the small while the heart goes untended. And he calls for the reverse order: first clean the inside of the cup, and the outside will become clean as well. God cares about the inside, the actual state of the heart, not the polished exterior we present to others. A faith that tends only the surface, however scrupulous, is a whitewashed tomb.

Am I tending the inside, the actual state of my heart, or am I settling for a clean exterior while neglecting justice, mercy, and truth within?

Sources

Matthew 23:23: "You have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith."
Matthew 23:26: "First clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also."
Matthew 23:27: "You are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones."