Matthew 23:24

Matthew 23:24, in plain English

Jesus uses a hilarious and unforgettable image: these leaders carefully strain a tiny gnat out of their drink but somehow manage to swallow a whole camel! They obsess over tiny details while ignoring enormous problems.

Why it's here

This might be the most memorable one-liner Jesus ever delivers. The image is intentionally absurd to drive home how ridiculous their priorities have become.

Who's speaking

Jesus uses vivid humor to make a deadly serious point about getting priorities right.

Where it sits in the story

Picture someone with a magnifying glass inspecting their tea for a speck while a camel walks through the room unnoticed. That's how backwards these leaders have gotten.

The scholarly reading

Jesus employs a masterful hyperbolic metaphor: straining out a gnat (kōnōpa) — the smallest ritually unclean creature — while swallowing a camel (kamēlon) — the largest unclean animal in Palestine. The similar sounds (kōnōpa/kamēlon) create a memorable wordplay.

Language and setting

The practice of straining wine to avoid accidentally consuming gnats (Lev 11:20-23) was a real Pharisaic practice. Jesus uses it as an absurd image of misplaced scrupulosity.

Voice

Jesus delivers one of His most memorable and satirical metaphors, highlighting the absurdity of the Pharisees' priorities.

Significance

It's one of Jesus' most vivid images: meticulously filtering a tiny bug from your drink while gulping down a whole camel. The picture is absurd, and that's exactly the point.

22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.

23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

Read all of Matthew 23 — Seven devastating woes crash down on the religious establishment. Jesus doesn't whisper his critique — he thunders it.