Gtcotr/ws092226
During the last few days before the cross …
Luke 19:47 Jesus was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him.
About 2 days before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus addressed these groups directly. He pronounced woes on the Scribes, Pharisees, and Hypocrites. He called these religious people - “blind leaders of the blind.” Much of what Jesus said can be summed up in:
Matthew 23:24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”
This proverb describes the practice of focusing on and making a fuss about smaller and less important observations while ignoring the weightier and more important ones. Many of the things Jesus mentions in chapters 21 through 24 deal with personal practices and observations of religious people.
Jesus was not attempting to say small sins are ok. Rather Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy that results in judging others when we ourselves have sin in our own lives … especially sins which are greater sins in the eyes of God.
The gnat was the smallest creature, and the camel was the largest creature readily known to the Jews at that time. Gnats represented bothersome sins while camels referenced docile, perhaps even comfortable or profitable and non-threatening sins.
Jesus asked: “Which is greater?”
Matthew 23 NKJV
17 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the
gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?”
19 “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?”
Allow me to ask you tonight: Which is greater? The sin or the soul? Are you focused on the sin someone has committed or on the soul that needs saved and rescued from hell?
Matthew 7 NKJV
1 ¶ “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will
be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 “And why do you look at the speck in your
brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me
remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Many times, the plank in our eye may be anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, hurt, or fear. The motivation of our heart to judge others, especially when we care more about the sin than we do about the soul, is often misplaced, even if well-meaning, it’s still wrong in the eyes of God.
How should we proceed when we observe something that troubles us?
1. Make sure you love the sinner as much as you hate the
sin.
2. Talk to God before you talk to the person.
3. Then, don’t uncover the nakedness of others.
a.
Reference to the sin of Canaan and the curse of
Ham.
b. Proverbs 17:9 – Cover transgressions and seek love! Reveal the sins of others will serve to separate close friends.
Once we understand what sin is, we should begin to judge
ourselves, not others.
