Matthew 23:13-22: a reflection

13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 14“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves. 16“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’ 19You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 21He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living in it. 22He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

In rebuking the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus exposes their blindness in majoring on technicalities while missing the substance, as in their hair-splitting rules about which oaths were binding. You blind guides, Jesus says, who say, whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? The Pharisees had developed elaborate technical distinctions about which oaths counted, splitting hairs over the gold versus the temple, the gift versus the altar; and in doing so they had lost sight of the substance, that the temple, the altar, and ultimately God himself, stood behind it all. They majored on technicalities and missed the point. This shows the folly of majoring on technicalities while missing the substance. Do not major on technicalities while missing the substance. Hair-splitting distinctions can make us lose sight of the point. The Pharisees lost the substance in their technical rules. Attend to the substance, not just fine distinctions.

Notice the blindness Jesus exposes: majoring on fine technical distinctions while missing the substance behind them. The Pharisees had worked out elaborate rules about oaths, distinguishing which were binding and which were not, whether one swore by the gold or by the temple, by the gift or by the altar. They were experts in these technicalities. But Jesus calls them blind fools, because in all their fine distinctions they had missed the obvious substance: that the temple sanctifies the gold, the altar the gift, and behind it all is God himself. Their technical hair-splitting had made them lose sight of the point. This is a real danger, and not only in matters of oaths. We can become so absorbed in technicalities, fine distinctions, precise rules, and the details of religious or moral practice, that we lose sight of the substance, the weightier matters, the heart of the thing, God himself behind it all. We can major on minor points while missing the major ones, getting the details exactly right while missing the substance entirely. Jesus calls us past such blindness to attend to the substance, the heart of the matter, and above all to God, rather than losing ourselves in technicalities that miss the point. We do well to keep our eyes on the substance, not majoring on technicalities while missing the weightier things. Do not lose the substance in fine technical distinctions. Keep your eyes on the heart of the matter, and on God behind it. Majoring on technicalities can make us miss the point entirely. Attend to the weightier matters, not just precise details.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is folly to major on technicalities while missing the substance, and we do well to keep our eyes on the heart of the matter, as Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their hair-splitting rules that missed the point. We can become absorbed in fine distinctions and precise rules while losing sight of the substance, the weightier matters, and God himself behind it all; but Jesus called the Pharisees blind fools for just this. Do not lose the substance in technicalities; keep your eyes on the heart of the matter, and on God behind it all. Keep your eyes on the substance and the heart of the matter, and on God behind it all, rather than majoring on technicalities and fine distinctions that make you miss the point, as Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees as blind guides and fools for their elaborate technical rules about which oaths were binding, splitting hairs over the gold versus the temple and the gift versus the altar, while missing the obvious substance that the temple sanctifies the gold, the altar the gift, and God himself stands behind it all; for the Pharisees were experts in these technicalities but had lost sight of the substance, which is a real danger, and not only in matters of oaths, since we can become so absorbed in technicalities, fine distinctions, precise rules, and the details of religious or moral practice that we lose sight of the substance, the weightier matters, the heart of the thing, and God himself behind it all, majoring on minor points while missing the major ones and getting the details exactly right while missing the substance entirely, so that Jesus calls us past such blindness to attend to the substance and above all to God rather than losing ourselves in technicalities that miss the point, and we do well to keep our eyes on the substance.

Lord Jesus, in rebuking the scribes and Pharisees, you expose their blindness in majoring on technicalities while missing the substance, as in their hair-splitting rules about which oaths were binding. You blind guides, you say, who say, whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? The Pharisees had developed elaborate technical distinctions about which oaths counted; and in doing so they had lost sight of the substance, that the temple, the altar, and ultimately God himself, stood behind it all. They majored on technicalities and missed the point. Show me the blindness you expose: majoring on fine technical distinctions while missing the substance behind them. The Pharisees had worked out elaborate rules about oaths; they were experts in these technicalities. But you call them blind fools, because in all their fine distinctions they had missed the obvious substance: that the temple sanctifies the gold, and behind it all is God himself. Their technical hair-splitting had made them lose sight of the point. This is a real danger, and not only in matters of oaths. I can become so absorbed in technicalities, fine distinctions, precise rules, and the details of religious or moral practice, that I lose sight of the substance, the weightier matters, the heart of the thing, you yourself behind it all. I can major on minor points while missing the major ones, getting the details exactly right while missing the substance entirely. Take that to my heart, for it is folly to major on technicalities while missing the substance. Keep me from losing the substance in fine technical distinctions; help me keep my eyes on the heart of the matter, Lord, and on you behind it all, attending to the weightier matters rather than losing myself in technicalities that miss the point.