Matthew 23:24 “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

I was wondering what verse I would write on, and then I realized that this verse encapsulates the whole thing, and does it with humorous hyperbole. The chapter starts with Jesus warning his disciples, both the 12 and the larger crowd that followed Him, to listen to what the scribes and the Pharisees had to say, but not imitate them. All the rules that the religious leaders gave so much attention to weren’t bad in themselves, but all sense of proportion, not to mention the original purpose of the rules, was lost. Looking at this verse specifically, it’s not that we are to welcome swallowing gnats, but rather that camels are to be avoided! It is right after this verse that Jesus goes into his strongest, and longest, diatribe against the hypocritical religious leaders. The way I read this was forever changed by watching Matthew from The Visual Bible. They intended to do the whole New Testament, but only managed to do Matthew and Acts, but those are pow­erful indeed. Other than a few introductory words to set things up, the only dialog used is the text of the NIV translation. They frame it as Matthew in old age, dictating his recollections to a granddaughter, perhaps, and a couple of male secretaries who are writing it all down. The actor who played Jesus, Bruce Marchiano, was a committed Christian, and my impression is that he spent as much time in prayer as he did memorizing lines. He had two guiding principles he felt the Lord had given him, and those were that Jesus delighted to do what He did, rejoicing to be the Savior, and that absolutely everything Jesus did was done in love. That second principle left him in a difficult place when he came to this chapter, because Jesus’ words seem so harsh against the scribes and Pharisees. When it came time to film it, they started around 4 pm, thinking they would get some footage and then continue the next day. The set was a stone pavement, and besides Jesus and the 12 disciples they had several people dressed as scribes and Pharisees. The actor started, and went straight through without a single dropped word or other mistake, all the way to verse 39. They had four cameras on the set, and two of them ran out of film! The most miraculous part, however, was that you will never hear such a scolding, so filled with love. Jesus didn’t say these things because He hated the scribes and Pharisees, but precisely because He loved them. There was so much emotional energy in the scene that when the actor finished verse 39 he fell to his knees on the stone pavement in exhaustion, and completely unscripted, the actor playing Peter rushed to his side to see if he was alright. Watching it, my tears would not stop. That actor was indeed filled and moved by the Holy Spirit, giving revelation by his performance that I am convinced was totally true to how it actually happened. God doesn’t hate hypocrites, but He certainly hates their hypocrisy. We can seldom separate acts from those who do them, but God can and does. He loves us, even when we do the worst things!

As I said, watching that video forever changed how I read this chapter, and various other passages in the Bible as well. I want to be as clear a vessel of love as I saw Jesus to be, even when the words He has me speak are strong. And I want to be absolutely true to what He has said to and through me, with no hypocrisy. I’m certainly not perfect, any more than Paul was, (Philippians 3:12-14) but I am absolutely convinced of God’s love for me, and I want that love to flow unhindered through me. My imperfection may at times come across as hypocrisy, but I pray that it would not, and that people would be drawn to Christ through me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for The Visual Bible, and for the impact it has had on many, I am sure. The plans of the producers were grandiose, but I think they did what You wanted them to. I pray that I would fulfill Your plans and not my own, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Praise God!