Dr Paul Allen

The seven woes , recorded in Matthew 23 , are no exception. “White-washed tombs.” “Serpents, a brood of vipers.” “Twice as much a son of hell.” “Blind guides.” But one of the more tragically comedic is verse 24: “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” The context is Jesus ’ final rebuke of Israel ’s first-century religious leaders. The Pharisees felt good about themselves for meticulously tithing from these inconsequential herbs. “Here you go, God . We spent half the day measuring this out; a pinch of dill; a fraction of a mint leaf; and a mili-teaspoon of cumin.” They spooned out spices from under a microscope, while willfully neglecting central things in the word of God. To be sure, Jesus did not rebuke observance of the word of God, but majoring on minors to the neglect of majors. Gnat-straining and camel-gorging. Gnats and camels were the smallest and largest ceremonially unclean animals. Jesus picks the smallest creature to the eye; a gnat. These tiny b...

“Paul, a servant of God , and an apostle of Jesus Christ , according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness .” ( Titus 1:1 ) In New Testament times it was common to begin one’s letter to a friend with a salutation such as this, which usually identified the writer and the reader and then gave personal greetings. Contrary to his normal practice, Paul spends the first three verses of this four-verse greeting speaking about himself, but he places the emphasis not on his own authority, but on the nature of the message which he has been given. First, in designating his position as writer, Paul refers to himself as a “servant” (literally, “slave”) of God. His will had been voluntarily surrendered to do his Master’s will. Next, he identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ,” commissioned by Him to represent Him and His revelation. He then defines his apostleship as being in agreement with the message to which the elect have respond...