Pharisee Woe #1

Luke 11:42. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." This is the first in a series of three woes pronounced against the Pharisees, with another three woes given against the lawyers. These six woes contain some serious errors which are indictments handed down against these leaders by God's chief prosecutor, the very Son of God. No Grand Jury is needed. No convening the Sanhedrin. Jesus has been given authority by the Holy and Righteous God to judge these matters.

This first indictment has to do with priorities. You can tell a lot of about a person as to what they think is most important, or at least more important than something else. What is in a person's central line of vision? There are always matters of interest in our peripheral vision. These have some importance if kept in perspective. The problem is that we can become so focused on these smaller matters that we miss the more important matters right before our eyes. We are like Balaam whose donkey had better eyesight than he did. In Jesus' rebuke, these small garden herbs, mint and rue, received more attention than did justice and the love of God. We are all familiar with mint, but rue is more obscure. Rue can be dangerous to the digestive system if not used correctly. With a bitter taste it is used for cooking in the Middle East. It is capable of producing abortions and is the national herb of Lithuania (and is associated with girls as a sign of virginity). The Pharisees would either carefully measure each herb and separate a tenth to contribute, or estimate a tenth of the value of a herb and contribute the money. Either way, such calculations would require some detailed attention.

The woe was about neglect or disregard, a word meaning to pass by or to render void. It is used to describe passing by a village or when Jesus asked for the cup to pass from Him. The older brother in Luke 15 is said to have never neglected a command of God. In our case what is being passed by is justice and love, some pretty large and important virtues. Justice is about decision, the act of judging or deciding a case in court. In some ways the Pharisees were pretty good at judgment on a human level, but pretty rusty when it came to godly judgment. Jesus uses the highest form of love, agape, to describe their disregard. Both justice and love are followed by "of God." Both pertained to God. The real issue is that these Pharisees did not see themselves under the justice of God and had never really experienced the love of God. Only those who know the verdict is that they are sinners and must give account and that God's great love offers them a way out can have their priorities straight.

Casual Christians often have some strict adherence to some form or ritual that makes them feel ok about their relationship with God. They may read a daily devotional, or go all out at Christmas to let folks know that it is Jesus' birthday, or display their Bible in a prominent place in their home. But, on closer inspection their lives are not about the weightier matters of the law like justice and love. They are very protective of their time and treasures. They are calloused to the hurts and needs of others. For these reasons they deserve a "woe."