wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:‖
Here are yet other verses with a worrisome lesson for today. These religious leaders were condemned as
future generations would be for not having a proper regard for YHWH's Torah. If these legalistic Pharisees
had been following Torah in its proper context, they would have recognised Y‘shua as the Messiah.
Judgment, Mercy, and FaithThose of us who claim that Y‘shua is our Master yearn to live as He desires. We study to show ourselves
approved, reach out to those who are lost, pray for the sick, and freely give to the needy. Our lives,
according to the world‘s standards, seem upright and holy. But what does He truly desire from us? What are
His standards? How do we know when He is well pleased with our walk?
There were those during the First Century who attempted to live lives of purity and holiness. Over time,
however, their hearts became more focused on the outward appearance rather than on the inward attitude.
Today, this same group of people are scorned from the pulpit and ridiculed from the pew. The Pharisees
could indeed use a new public relations agency. Try as they may, the standard that our Messiah was seeking
was different than they were attaining. They had built their own little towers of Babel, attempting to please
YHWH and man with their actions rather than their attitude. They missed the boat. They came up short. Yet
today, many of the same people who malign the Pharisees suffer from the same attitudinal shortcomings.
When Y‘shua addressed these gentlemen in Matthew 23, we see He began by telling His disciples that the
Pharisees ―sit in Moses‘ seat‖. Thereby, He placed them in a great position of honour. He further instructed
the people to do all that the Pharisees instructed them to do. So, here was our Messiah placing great
authority and responsibility on the position that the Pharisees held. One problem, though: that hypocrisy
thing. Y‘shua hates hypocrisy. Perhaps that is one reason why He led such a public ministry during His time
on earth. Many people got to witness His actions at very close range. Day after day He walked among all the
people from the rulers to the lepers. There indeed is no hypocrisy in Y‘shua, but the religious rulers of the
day were filled with it.
But what was the cornerstone of the problem? Was it hypocrisy or misplaced priorities? ―Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the
weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
other undone‖ (Matt 23:23). The ―omission‖ is the problem. This word (aphiemi) can be defined further by
substituting the words abandon, leave, disregard or keep no longer. So we see that they not only ―omitted‖,
but also disregarded or abandoned these ―weightier matters‖. To disregard or abandon implies that you are
familiar with these ―matters‖ and knowingly or unknowingly turn away from them. Yet at the same time, they
chose to continue in the paying of tithes down to the smallest detail. Perhaps that action brought them more
public acclaim. Or maybe it was just easier. Our human flesh likes ―easy‖. The Pharisees were all too human.
Judgment, mercy and faith – the ―weightier matters‖, are much more private and therefore much more
difficult to obey. These deal with your heart attitude. These are what Y‘shua seeks in His followers. However,
with these three you see one interesting point. They are not singular but rather linked to each other in a
plurality of attitude (an echad [unity] of attitude, if you will). Let us examine each one individually and then
see how they are linked together and applied in the lives of His people today... right in their home.
According to Scholars, who has completed an extensive reconstruction of the Book of Matthew from the
DuTillet Hebrew version for his Semitic New Covenant Project, these three ―weightier matters‖ are the
Hebrew words, mishpat, khesed, and emunah. Mishpat means judgement or justice. Khesed is defined as
loving-kindness, mercy or grace. Emunah translates as the English concept of trusting faithfulness. Trimm
further states, ―The Hebrew word for weightiest is khomerim, the plural of khomer (heavy, strict). Khomer
was a technical halachic term, which Hillel used, in the First Rule of Hillel. The first rule of Hillel is kol
v‘khomer (light and heavy). This concept in Judaism recognizes for example that some mitzvot
(commandments) hold greater weight than others. This is important because at times two commandments
conflict and we must determine which one has priority.‖
Judgment is a word that is typically shied away from these days. ―Judge not, that ye be not judged‖ (Matt
7:1). Who wants to ―judge‖ when the tables will be turned one day? Furthermore, how can we properly
―judge‖ when we no longer have any standards? When the foundation of Torah is removed, how do we
define sin? So you see when we talk about judging, we are indeed in murky waters. Then why did our
Messiah say that judgment was a ―weightier matter‖ – even to the point of putting judgment on a parallel with
faith. We must consider the audience. Remember that the legalistic Pharisees sat in Moses‘ seat. This was