Daily Devotional For Saturday, February 7, 2026
Good day Southside. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 23. Because Jesus has much to say in this chapter that is the whole chapter, we are going to break it down into parts. Today, we are entering into the section that is called the “8 woes” because Jesus begins each one with the word “woe.” We are going to take each of these “woes” individually. Today, we come to the 4th/5th “woe” in Matthew 23:23-24:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. (24) You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (NASB).
Depending on how you count these “woes,” some see this as the 4th “woe” and some see it as the 5th “woe.” Why? Matthew 23:14 is not found in some of the earliest manuscripts of Matthew and was added later. Matthew 23:14 begins with “woe” and most modern translations will footnote this difference. In Matthew 23:23-24, Jesus notes the lack of mercy of the Pharisees. No where did the Mosaic Law require a tithe of herbs and medicinal spices. The Israelites did tithe agricultural produce such as fruit (see Lev. 27:30 and Deut. 14:22).
Since these herbs and spices were edible, the Pharisees carried to the extreme the tithe of mint, cummin and dill. Jesus did not condemn or judge them for this but for their neglect of more important things in the Mosaic law just such as showing justice, faith and mercy. Here is where their hypocrisy was so visible. They were diligent to obey the smaller details of the Mosaic law while ignoring the larger ones – such as dealing fairly and justly with people and more importantly, growing their personal relationship to God.
We see this in the modern church today. There are people who are legalistic to give 10% of their income in tithe to the church but they will not give 10% of their time or talents to the church. They practice the mightier acts while ignoring and neglecting the most important ones – people. Behind this woe in Jesus’ mind are probably these verses in the Old Testament – Micah 6:8 and Zechariah 7:9-10. The hypocrisy and inconsistency to honor the more important items in the Old Testament showed they were blind spiritually.
In some way Jesus uses humor to stress His point. The religious leaders in His mind get upset about a small bug, gnat, in their drink but swallow it as if it were a large animal – camel. Now you may miss this wordplay by Jesus here in English, but in Greek you would not. “Gnat” is the Greek word [κώνωψ; kōnōps or galma] and “camel” is the Greek word [κάμηλος; kamēlos or gamla]. “Galma and Gamla” are very similar and Jesus used a wordplay here.
Many in the modern day church major on the minors and minor on the majors. One way we see this today is how there are so many denominations and church splits. Many of these came as a result not over issues of salvation and relationships to God and each other, but petty stuff. As Christians we must stand against any teaching or doctrine that keeps people from salvation. As Christians we must stand against any teaching or doctrine that bends over backwards to accommodate people’s opinions that are contrary to Scripture.
For example, abortion is murder and sin. Yet, many churches have changed their theological doctrines on this to accommodate a more liberal culture and to keep membership up. Homosexuality is sin and an abomination to the Lord. Yet, many churches have embraced same-sex marriages and even gay staff. Salvation by being good is a lie from hell, yet many churches and Christians believe this is true.
Our disunity on major issues like this creates confusion and undermines our Christian witness and the Gospel. How can any lost person know who to trust? Many churches and Christians are big on church attendance, daily quiet times, being in a community Bible study group, tithing, but they are weak on justice and mercy – feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, clothing the naked and taking a stand against socialism, communism and liberalism. Oh, we will take a stand against any kind of abuse. We will stand against physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and even animal abuse, but is your voice heard against spiritual abuse? When you hear a believer or church advocating a false doctrine or a theology that is not biblical, do you personally take a stand against it?
They will quote Jesus in Matthew 26:11a and ignore Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46. As a church, we are to major in the majors without neglecting the minors. Tithing matters but so does talking truth, biblical truth, matters. Jesus made it clear that the world will know we are His NOT by the color of the carpet in our churches, or the stain-glass in our windows, or the size of our budgets, or the revisions in our by-laws nor the renovations of our buildings, but by two ways: (1) Our love for one another (John 13:35) and (2) by our fruit (Matthew 7:16, 20). What fruit? Read Galatians 5:22-23.
Reflection Assignment: When it comes to your own personal discipleship and piety, when are you prone to minor on the majors and major on the minors? We all do this at times and the question we have to ask ourselves is this: “Since our Lord condemned such behavior as disobedience, hypocrisy and being spiritually blind, why do we do it?” What is it we hope to gain from it? Where do you need to change in majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 21:3, “To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, please help me to be consistent – to major on the majors and not to neglect the minors. Lord, my steps in doing this will be . . . . Thank You Jesus. I love You. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly