Strain Out a Gnat, Swallow a Camel

Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

Because they lacked a heavenly perspective, the Pharisees failed to distinguish between what was important and what wasn’t. They focused on outward appearances while neglecting the inward qualities of “justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” For this, Jesus condemned them as hypocrites and “blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.” What did He mean by this? At that time, Jews would often strain wine through a cloth before drinking it to avoid any contact with or consumption of unclean things. The “gnat” was an extremely tiny insect, while the “camel” was a massive animal. In the Aramaic language commonly used in Judea, the words for “gnat” (qalma) and “camel* (gamla) are very similar in spelling. The saying “to strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” was a proverb that meant people were so meticulous about trivial details that they completely ignored the truly important matters.

(Edited and compiled based on the Chinese Union Version Bible and Comprehensive Biblical Interpretation)