The Blind Leading the Blind
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Have you ever been lost and asked for directions only to have someone try to give them to you that had never been there themselves?
During the American Revolutionary War, one of the advantages that the the Americans had was that they were fighting on home turf. They knew all the trails and paths through the forests and over the land that the British soldiers who were fresh off the ships from England didn’t know.
As Christians who are navigating life in this fallen world, it is critical that we rely on guides who have been where we are going and know the way. This is why reading great books from old, dead guys in the faith can be a good habit.
The Puritans were one such group. They studied the Bible so much that they oozed Scripture in their writings. They had been where they were taking their readers.
It’s important that we follow them into what Spurgeon called the “sunlit uplands of grace.”
This morning, we are going to look at some of the dangers of following blind guides. I hope that as you walk your journey of faith, you are following the right guides; and remember, you will be guiding those who come behind you, so make sure that you steer clear of the ditches!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Prayer
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 23:16–22
(In the first two woes Jesus spoke of the leaders’ effects on others; in the other five woes He spoke of the leaders’ own characters and actions.)
1. Don’t Minimizing Your Promises to God (vv. 16-22)
1. Don’t Minimizing Your Promises to God (vv. 16-22)
Pharisees made a distinction between oaths made by the temple and the altar vs. those made by the gifts on the altar
This was a way for them to sound like they were committing to something, but giving them a way out of their commitments
It was another form of public display of religion without being genuine
For them, as long as they didn’t swear by God’s name, they would not be bound. They could swear by Jerusalem, the temple, heaven, and even their own heads and it not be binding
Jesus taught in verse 21-22 that to swear by anything in God’s dominion is to bring God into the equation
He taught His disciples to let their yes be yes and their no be no
Illustration
How many of you remember making promises when you were a kid with your fingers crossed?
You probably would think that was stupid to do that today as an adult, but we still do the same thing in principle when we make promises that we never intend to keep.
We ought to be a dependable people that keep our words.
Another way we can do this is by making a promise, but then saying we really didn’t mean it as a binding commitment. We were just saying that we would do it if we could. Others will say that they just misspoke.
This is lying and breaking the 9th commandment.
Application:
What are some other ways we can be guilty of making false oaths?
Signing up for things and not showing up or not following through
Speaking without thinking about what commitments we’ve made
Breaking marriage vows
Breaking promises to our children
Singing hymns and songs to God without meaning what we sing
Delaying the fulfilment of vows
4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
2. Don’t Neglect the Most Important Things (vv. 23-24)
2. Don’t Neglect the Most Important Things (vv. 23-24)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
How have you made a big deal out of small matters?
Some in the church can be like these Pharisees where they are obsessed with tiny, spiritually insignificant things while neglecting the greater matters.
Let me give you a few examples.
Some people obsess over service times instead of whether people are participating in the worship and engaging.
Traditions vs. Purpose
Bibles on the floor vs. the Bible in your heart
What we wear to church vs how we prepare our hearts
Some people say we ought not take God’s name in vain, but they swear like a sailor or tell dirty jokes.
Others will obsess over the style of the worship, while not singing or singing and not really meaning what they sing
Making theological positions like the timing of the rapture a litmus test for fellowship
Obsessing over the building but not caring about the people in it
Baptisms vs. Changed Lives
I could go on but you get the picture.
Jesus used this illustration of the Pharisees.
“You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel.”
What is He talking about?
The Hebrew word for gnat is kēn, with the plural form kinnîm1. This term refers broadly to small, winged insects that bite or sting, possibly identifying the midge1. The word appears in the biblical account of the third plague in Egypt, though different translations render it variously as “lice,” “mosquitoes,” or “swarms of insects” (Study Assistant)
They would strain their wine of small insects like a gnat, based on the OT regulations.
The stricter Jews were extremely particular in straining their liquors before drinking, lest they should inadvertently swallow some unclean insect, and so be defiled. In the East, where insects abounded, it was customary to strain wine before drinking to prevent insects from entering the vessel. Beyond cleanliness, Jews considered this a matter of religious purity, since the law forbade eating “flying creeping things,” making them particularly careful about this practice. (Study Assistant)
The Talmud contains detailed explanations and directions about this practice, including the ruling that “one that eats a flea or a gnat is an apostate, and is no more to be counted one of the congregation.” The concern was so serious that even accidentally consuming a whole fly or gnat—whether dead or alive—could result in being beaten for violating the law against eating flying creeping things. (Spurgeon via Study Assistant)
Church History Connection
Spurgeon wrote in the Sword and the Trowel:
The Sword and Trowel: 1877 Straining at Gnats
The resemblance between modern and ancient Ritualists is remarkable, and somewhat amusing, as appears in the “Directorium Anglicanum.” After having ordained that “if by any negligence any of the Blood be spilled upon a table, the priest officiating must do penance forty days” (p. 90), it proceeds:—
“But if the chalice have dripped upon the altar, the drop must be sucked up, and the priest must do penance for three days.
“Also if anyone by accident of the throat vomit up the Eucharist … if he be a cleric, monk, presbyter, or deacon, he must do penance for forty days, a bishop seventy days, a laic thirty.
“But who does not keep the Sacrament well, so that a mouse or other animal devoured it, he must do penance forty days” (p. 91).
Modern Ritualists breathe the same spirit as their Jewish predecessors; but they very discreetly prefer penance to scourging.—From Spalding’s “Scripture Difficulties.
Ironically, the point of the Scripture was to be a reminder of God’s holiness.
44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.
45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Conclusion
What is it that God is really telling us in these two woes?
Keep your Commitments
The most important commitment that we can keep is our commitment to Christ as our Lord and Savior.
For a believer, we are called to keep the faith. The wonderful thing is that you do not have to do this alone. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.
2. Be Holy
God commands us to not neglect the weightier things of the Law, most importantly what Hosea 6.6 teaches us
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
and in Micah 6:8
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
But remember, we can never do what the Law requires without the help of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus came to give His life as the sacrifice for our sins.
Have you trusted in His finished work today?
