Matthew 23:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord had said above that they bound heavy burdens upon others, which they themselves would not touch; He now again shews how they aimed at being correct in little things, but neglected weighty matters.

He refers to them as blind guides because, despite their claims of wisdom and understanding, they were ineffective for anyone, even leading individuals into the pit of disbelief. As the Lord stated, they "gnawed at the gnat," meaning they focused on minor faults, while simultaneously "swallowed up the camel," indicating they ignored significant offenses.

The Lord had commanded, that for the maintenance of the Priests and Levites, whose portion was the Lord, tithes of every thing should be offered in the temple. Accordingly, the Pharisees (to dismiss mystical expositions) concerned themselves about this alone, that these trifling things should be paid in, but lightly esteemed other things which were weighty. He charges them then with covetousness in exacting carefully the tithes of worthless herbs, while they neglected justice in their transactions of business, mercy to the poor, and faith toward God, which are weighty things.

You adhere closely to the lesser demands of the law, yet you subtly miss the mark on the most significant ones.

But because it was possible that some, hearing the Lord speak thus, might thereupon neglect paying tithes of small things, He prudently adds, These things ought ye to have done, (i. e. justice, mercy, and faith,) and not to leave the others undone, i. e. the tithing of mint, anise, and cummin.

And because it was much less guilt to omit the tithing of herbs than a duty of benevolence, the Lord derides them, Ye blind guides, which strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Or otherwise; The gnat stings while it hums; the camel bows its back to receive its load. The Jews then strained off the gnat, when they prayed to have the seditious robber released to them; and they swallowed the camel, when they sought with shouts the death of Him who had voluntarily taken on Him the burden of our mortality.

In these words the Lord shews that all the commandments of the Law, greatest and least, are to be fulfilled. They also are refuted who give alms of the fruits of the earth, supposing that thus they cannot sin, whereas their alms profit them nothing unless they are careful to keep themselves from sin.

Leaders lacking true vision and hollow followers boast foolishly of their all-knowing wisdom, exemplifying the blind nature of their faith while the deceived continue to believe in their empty claims. You approach the traditions of your forebears with an excessive caution, as though you were extracting a bug from a beverage, yet you overlook the essential demands of the Law, fulfilling the saying about straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel. Forgetting this fundamental aspect renders the adherence to trivial rules of no real value.

The Pharisees, known for their meticulous adherence to the outward aspects of the law, demonstrated a profound disregard for its fundamental principles. They failed to uphold justice in the courts, showed a lack of mercy, and lacked genuine faith in themselves.

In your meticulous effort to observe every minor detail of tradition, you mirror those individuals who, as a well-known saying goes, painstakingly filter out a mosquito from their beverage while readily consuming an entire camel.

There is a saying among Arabs: "You can swallow an elephant but struggle with a mosquito." This proverb speaks to individuals who focus on trivialities, mistaking them for significant issues while neglecting the more vital and profound matters. In reference to the Pharisees, it highlights their attempts to meticulously adhere to minor aspects of the law to avoid transgression, while disregarding the weightier principles of the law, failing to recognize their breaches. Consequently, they resemble those who filter out a mosquito from their drink yet inadvertently consume a camel. St. Chrysostom interprets this imagery, suggesting that the "mosquito" represents superficial external rituals, while the "camel" signifies actions that genuinely cleanse the soul.

The fifth indictment addresses those who meticulously adhere to even the tiniest commandments of the law while arbitrarily expanding their obligatory nature, all the while willfully ignoring the weightier matters that embody the spirit of the law. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you neglect the essence of the sacrificial system, the covenant, and the more significant tenets of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The leaders are spiritually blind, fixating on minute details, while they overlook the core principles. The law required the Israelites to contribute a tenth of their possessions for the support of worship and the Levites, yet it was ambiguous regarding specific items such as grains and herbs, as seen in Numbers 18:20-24 and Deuteronomy 14:22-24.