Blind.

The evening walk started out simple enough. My wife and I embarked on a walk in our neighborhood and I saw a path off the trail we normally walked that looked to head back towards the direction of our house. So, feeling adventurous, I encouraged my wife to jump off the trail with me and let’s go the way I had discovered assuring her I was certain I knew where it would take us. As you can guess, I was off. Like, “three miles off course”, off. Eventually, I had to come clean and confess the obvious. “Hey, you know what’s funny? I have no idea where we are.” (insert awkward silence here)

Enter into the scene Woe #3.

Woe to you who are blind but deign to lead others. You say, “Swearing by the temple means nothing, but he who swears by the gold in the temple is bound by his oath.” Are you fools? You must be blind! For which is greater: the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, “Swearing by the altar means nothing, but he who swears by the sacrifice on the altar is bound by his oath.” You must be blind! Which is greater: the sacrifice or the altar that makes it sacred? So anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by the sacrifices and gifts laid upon it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the God who sanctifies it. And when you swear by heaven, you are swearing by God’s throne and by Him who sits upon it. -Matthew 23:16-22 (Voice)

Jesus, again, is addressing yet another flaw in the leadership of the Pharisees: their blindness. Much like I led my wife down a pretty uncertain path, the religious leaders were leading others down paths that would lead to destruction. In the following five “Woes”, Jesus will direct His words towards the character and actions of the Pharisees themselves.

In the third “Woe”, we learn that the Pharisees are placing certain value on some oaths compared to others. In a sense, it was a “crossing your fingers and placing them behind your back” oath. If you swore by the gold or the sacrifice in the temple, then it was binding. However, if you swore by the temple itself or the alter in which the sacrifice was given, then it could be ignored. Ironic, right? The value was placed in the gold and sacrifice, not in the One to whom it all belonged.

It’s a simple, yet powerful reminder that Jesus is sharing with the Pharisees. Words carry weight and, even greater, they carry heart. The question we must consider today? Are we using empty words or is there heart in the midst of our promises? Are we leading people into truth, or blindly leading them in the wrong direction? The Pharisees were guilty of leading people through false pretenses and Jesus didn’t soften His words in guiding them BACK onto the correct path. May the Holy Spirit speak His truths into our lives and may we lead through our words and actions that point others towards His perfect will and truth.

That, my friends, is a path to follow.