Matthew 23:24 (NIV) “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

The Pharisees were one messed-up group of teachers. They had everything backwards. They taught and emphasized things that they thought were important that at the same time were in violation of the very scriptures that they taught. For example, they gave their tithes, but they neglected justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). They majored on the minors. Jesus also called them “whitewashed tombs.” By that He meant that they may have looked good on the outside, but they were rotten to the core on the inside. They practiced religion as a ritual without allowing God and His Word to change their hearts. Jesus likened that to straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel. What a word picture!

We often bring up the Pharisees as a prime example of a group of hypocrites but before we point fingers at them, we had better examine ourselves. Is there anything in your life that doesn’t match up with the Word of God? Are you quick to condemn someone for making a mistake when you have made even bigger ones? Do you pride yourself because you know the scriptures but don’t actually live according to what they teach and command? Are you diligent in going to church but not diligent in how you live your life when you're not in church? If any of that is true, then as Jesus put it, you are making sure that no small insects fly into your mouth while you are feasting on a camel, swallowing it whole.

Most people are very good at keeping up appearances. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why people who are not living right act like they are. While they may fool many of us, they are not fooling God. The Pharisees were looked at by the general population with respect and admiration... until Jesus came and exposed the motives of their hearts. They loved being called “Rabbi” and being seen as spiritually superior to everyone else while in reality, they were conceited, evil men. They were so evil that they plotted and conspired to kill the very Messiah that they purported to be waiting for. Jesus called them snakes and snakes is what they were. They were top-notch camel-swallowers. Make sure that you don’t include camels in your diet by asking Jesus to help you live a righteous life by not only talking about His Word but also by living it. Be a true disciple and resolve in your heart (with God’s help) to never swallow another camel again.

Pastor Joey Vazquez