Paying Attention to the Spices
The words of Jesus just hours before His death had to be so startling to His listeners. Their religious leaders had taught them the importance of giving tithes (10%) of all that the Lord had given to them. The leaders went beyond the obvious gifts like giving the tithe of crops they had planted and harvested. Based on Leviticus 27:30, they devoted the principle to the spices that were part of their lives.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe of mint and dill and cummin…” (Matt. 23:23). All of these were used in cooking, and cummin was also used as a medicine. While wheat and barley involved large sections of the land, the spices were grown in a far smaller place. Think about the spices that you have to use in your cooking, and you will see how devoted these leaders were in tithing. Imagine counting out all of these “seeds” and giving every tenth one to God.
Before looking at the rest of what Jesus said, do not make the mistake some have in applying these verses today. We hear individuals talking about “majoring in minors,” and in the application they conclude the only thing God is concerned about is the “weightier” aspects of what God says and concluding that the “lesser” matters really do not matter at all.
Jesus did not minimize the tithing of spices. In fact, He said that you should not ignore them, you should do them. However, He then addressed the ignoring of the “weightier” matters and called these leaders, “Hypocrites.” They substituted attention to the “lesser” items and gave the appearance that they were far more religious than others. He said that the motivation to all their works were done to be seen by men (Matt. 23:5). This is a classic illustration of hypocrisy.
Look at the “weightier” matters which the leaders had neglected. Jesus said that they had “…neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” They had devoted all their energies to lesser aspects of what God said (it was easier for a hypocrite to do this), while at the same time ignoring what God said.
The tithe of these spices was external and far easier to do. These “weightier” matters were internal and had to do with the heart and soul of the servant of God. They are not “seed” items because they are “soul” items.
That first commandment, the greatest commandment, involves loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Take time to see how this has such great application in our walk with the Lord in the new covenant. Service given to God that is only external is far removed from the greatest commandment. Think about this!