Theophylact Bulgarian. Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 23:23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe mint, anise and caraway seeds and have left the most important thing in the law: judgment, mercy and faith; This was to be done, and not to be abandoned.
Matthew 23:24. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
And here he reproaches the Pharisees as insane for the fact that they, neglecting the most important in the law, tried to be accurate in the little things, not even missing out on donating tithes from the caraway plant. If anyone condemned them for such pettiness, they pretended that it was required by the law. But it would be better and more pleasing to God if they demanded judgment, mercy and faith from the people. What is judgment? Obeying the judgment means not doing anything unjustly, recklessly, but doing everything with just reasoning. Mercy flows directly from such a judgment. The one who does everything justly knows who needs to be pardoned. Faith follows grace. A gracious person, of course, believes that he will not lose anything for nothing, but he will receive a reward for everything. While we are merciful, we must also believe in the true God. And many of the Gentiles were merciful, but, not believing in the living God, they did not have true mercy, characteristic of faith, and therefore their mercy is fruitless. So, every teacher should demand from people tithes, that is, to demand from ten senses (five bodily and five mental) judgment, mercy and faith. “This ought to be done,” says the Lord, not commanding this to tithe from vegetables, but removing the pretext for accusation that He teaches contrary to the Law of Moses. He calls them blind leaders because they, boasting of learning and knowledge of everything, were useless to everyone, even ruining people, plunging them into a moat of unbelief. They, according to the Lord, “strained the mosquito,” that is, they noticed small errors, and at the same time “devoured the camel,” that is, they lost sight of all sorts of crimes.
Matthew 23:25. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, while inside they are full of robbery and falsehood.
Matthew 23:26. The blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them may also be clean.
Observing the traditions of the elders, the Pharisees took care of washing the bowls and dishes in which food was served. However, the food and wine they ate and drank were acquired by predation and spiritually defiled them. Do not acquire, the Lord teaches, wine by unrighteousness, then the vessel will also be clean. Allegorically understanding, the Savior speaks not about bowls and dishes, but about the external - bodily and internal - spiritual sides of the human being. You, as the Lord says so, try to do your outward condition is magnificent, but your insides, soul, are full of filth, for you abduct and offend. The inner, that is, the soul, must be washed, and together with the purity of the soul, the outer, bodily state will also shine.
Matthew 23:27. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like painted tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness;
Matthew 23:28. so outwardly you appear righteous to people, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
And this comparison has the same meaning as the previous one. The Pharisees tried to appear decent in their outward behavior, like painted coffins, that is, whitewashed with lime and alabaster, but inside they were full of filth, dead and rotten deeds.