THINGS PASSED OVER

THINGS PASSED OVER" But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Luke 11:42, NKJV)

JESUS WAS NOT GENTLE WITH THE PHARISEES. The corruption of their hearts and their lust for recognition disqualified them from such gracious treatment. Seven times Jesus pronounces a woe upon them (Matt 23:13,14,15,23,25,27). Solemnly He warned His disciples to "beware" of their teaching, which was like defiling leaven that tended to permeate and corrupt both heart and mind (Matt 16:6,11,12).

OUR TEXT FINDS JESUS delivering a scathing rebuke to these religious leaders, pronouncing a "woe" upon them. They had, indeed, tithed according to the Law, giving of their substance. Of course, they obtained no merit for such outward obedience, for He says, "these OUGHT ye to have done" – it was their duty, and men cannot boast of doing their duty (Lk 17:10), as the prideful Pharisee who boasted, "I give tithes of all I possess" (Lk 18:12).

THE PARTICULAR TRANSGRESSION upon which Jesus focuses is one of omission, not commission. "Ye . . . PASS OVER judgment and the love of God." Other versions read "pass by" (NKJV), "disregard" (NASB), "neglect" (NIV), "give no thought to" (BBE), and "completely forget about" (NLT). Intellectually they knew, but in their hearts they forgot. Their minds had been exposed to judgment and the love of God, but they had deliberately ignored that exposure. They had been confronted with the truth of these things, yet chose to disregard it, choosing to focus on other things – things more external, and that placed less demand upon them.:JUDGMENT,"

IN THIS CASE, is human judgment, or sound evaluation. It refers particularly to making proper assessments, and in general to distinguishing between good and evil. Their lack of judgment was seen in them binding heavy burdens upon people, and not lifting so much as a finger to bring them relief (Matt 23:4). It was also confirmed in the heartless act of devouring widows' houses in a total disregard of them (Matt 23:14). People languished for the truth of God right under their noses, and they passed them by. They could tell you what the Law said, but they did not apply it properly, attempting to mingle it with the vain traditions of men (Mk 8:8-9).

THEY ALSO "PASSED OVER," or neglected, the "love of God." In the immediate sense, this refers to man's love for God – which is the summation of the first table of the Law (Deut 6:5; 10:12; Matt 22:37). The Pharisees conveniently walked pass this requirement, and demanded heartless duties of the people. Instead of reminding them to love God, and showing the reasonableness of such a response, they "omitted" this from their teaching. They had more of a mind for keeping the "tradition of the elders" (Matt 15:2), than for loving the Lord. Of course, their hearts were so corrupt, they could not recognize a love for God if they saw it. In the Son of God, they were given concrete evidence of One who loved the Lord with all of His heart, soul, mind, and strength. But they were not able to see it, for they had been blinded by their refusal to embrace the "weighter matters" Matt 23:23).

THUS THE PHARISEES PASSED BY JUDGMENT and the love of God like the priest and Levite passed by the man who was stripped of his clothing, wounded, and left "half dead." The priest, Jesus said, "saw him," yet passed by on the other side (Lk 10:31). The Levite "came and looked on him," yet "passed by on the other side" (Lk 10:30). They both judged him unworthy of help. They both lacked the love of God, and thus could easily ignore His wounded offspring.In like manner, these Pharisees had NOT seen the necessity for sound judgment in the Scriptures. They had read notable examples of the execution of such judgment. Yet, they ignored what God had said about it. Their minds had been exposed to the requirement of loving God, and the curse placed upon those who did not. However, they chose to ignore all of that, devoting themselves to things less demanding, in which they thought they could more readily boast. Jesus condemned their conduct, saying it was deliberate.

I HAVE OBSERVED OVER THE YEARS that those with a penchant for Law invariably have the character of their predecessors, the Pharisees. They tend to omit weightier matters and pass by sound judgment and loving the Lord. Rarely will you hear such men speak of judging righteously, and not according to appearance (John 7:24). Often they will exclude people who have been accepted by God, while accepting those who He has rejected. They do not speak much, if any, about loving the Lord. They speak more of obeying God than of loving Him – which is the stimulus to true obedience. As it is written, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: AND His commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3).

AFTER ALL, the very first mark of those for whom all things are being worked together for good is that they "love God" (Rom 8:28). Those who really know God are those who are said to "love God" (1 Cor 8:3).

IN OTHER WORDS, the had a heartless religion, and that is true of all who follow their eway of thinking and speaking. The Lord is not at the center of it, and consequently it is easy for them to ignore main things and major on doctrinal "motes." It is a most serious condition, and Jesus still rebukes it.

– Given O. Blakely