Tithing Spices - Matthew 23:23

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


Much of the time, whenever we think of the man, Jesus, we think of a kind, gentle, soft-spoken man, so meek and mild. Of course this is not an inaccurate picture, for certainly Jesus was a man who was filled with tender love - He pictured Himself as the Good Shepherd tenderly caring for His lambs, and we know that on several occasions He was moved to tears as He empathized with people in need.

However, Jesus had another side to His personality - a side which, for instance, can be seen in the picture of Him overthrowing the tables of the merchants and money-changers, and driving the animals out of the Jerusalem Temple courts.

However, this confrontive side can also be seen in His dealings with a particular group of religious leaders. When addressing them, Jesus used what sounds like harsh and angry language as He called out seven "woes."

Just so we understand the strength of what Jesus was saying, let me explain that this word "woe" (ouai ouai, oo-ah'-ee) is a "primary exclamation of grief," or as another lexicon put is, an interjection denoting pain (when applied to the speaker) or displeasure and denunciation (when applied to the one being spoken to) - it can also suggest calamity that is expected to fall upon those who are objects of the "woe," a kind of mild curse.

Let's quickly review the seven "woes":

    1 - You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. (v.13)

    2 - You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. (v.15)

    3 - You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' (v.16)

    4 - You give a tenth of your spices -- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice, mercy and faithfulness. (v.23)

    5 - You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. (v.25)

    6 - You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. (v.27)

    7 - You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. (v29) I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. (v.34)

Most everybody knows there are some things that preachers are not supposed to talk about. Actually there are three main taboo topics:

    First, preachers are not supposed to talk about things political - we're not supposed to tell you who to vote for in national and local elections (the politicians think their the only ones to tell you that);

    Second, preachers shouldn't talk from the pulpit about things sexual (that's understandable because most congregations include mixed audiences of young and old, male and female, and neuter); and

    Third, preachers are not supposed to talk about things financial (if they do, we all know it's only because they want a raise).

Today, as I do once each year, I'm going to break rule number three; I'm going to do what Jesus did, and talk to you about your money, or rather, about God's money.

The particular "woe" we're looking at is the middle one, the fourth, where Jesus criticizes the religious people of His day because they were careful to obey the law down to the minute detail of giving to God a tenth of their herbs, but at the same time were neglecting the more important laws of the heart - they were unjust, hard-hearted, and trusted more in gold than God.

In this verse there is mention of three minors and three majors.

What are these things being brought to God as a tithe? Small plants which are harvested and used as spices, two of which grow wild, and one which would be grown in the backyard garden.

    1 - Mint was primarily used as a condiment, added to meat dishes to enhance their taste.

    2 - Anise has aromatic leaves which were used in the making of pickles as well as being thrown into the soup pot to give it more flavor.

    3 - Cummin is the only one needing to be cultivated; it has aromatic seeds which are crushed and mixed with bread and added to the meat pot.

Now there are two ways to read this: the Pharisees were tithing the minute and superfluous food additives, or, they are so careful about the legality of the tithe they are taking great care to even include a tithe of the smallest things.

What I think is that maybe these men wanted to make points with God, or maybe they really just wanted to earn bragging rights with men. "You know what I took to the temple today? I took a tenth of all the mint growing in my back yard." "Oh really, well I gave a tithe of Anise!" The third Pharisee is smug as he brags, "So what's so special about that? Those things grow wild. What I brought was a tithe of the precious cummin that I had to toil day after day to raise."

    To me it sounds like the three boys bragging about their fathers. The first one says, "My dad is a musician - he scribbles some dots on a bunch of lines, calls it music and sells it for $10.00." "That's nothing, my father is an artist - he splatters a variety of colors on a canvas, calls it art and sells it for $100.00." The third boy says, "That's nothing. My father is a pastor - he writes a few notes on a piece of paper on Saturday night, reads them off on Sunday morning, and it takes four strong men to carry all the money out of the church."

Going back to the Pharisees, here's the point we're emphasizing today - Jesus didn't fault them for what they were doing. "If you pick dandelion leaves and parsley from your yard to add to your soup pot, and you bring a tenth of those leaves to present as part of your tithe, that's fine with me. But don't neglect the non-material - don't neglect the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faith."

Sure, Deuteronomy 14:22 says, "Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year." And they were doing that, and received a compliment from Jesus. But without taking a breath, He went on to chide them for not practicing justice, mercy and (faith) faithfulness. Jesus said, "You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

We might ask, "How does one practice these important evidences of godliness?" Simply put, we will treat everyone with fairness; show special kindness to the needy; and maintain faith in God.

But please notice that Jesus did not suggest that these three - justice, mercy and faith - should replace the tithe, but should be faithfully practiced alongside the tithe. We are not allowed to say, "I treat everyone the same, help people in need, and believe that Jesus died on the cross; that's all I need to do." To be a godly person - to be a Christian man or woman - one must be just, merciful and faithful - but he or she also must tithe.

So then we should ask, "How does one practice the tithe?" That's even easier (and harder) - give one tenth of one's income back to God. Jesus once said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." How can we avoid seeing that "tithing," giving one tenth of one's income to God, is one of those commandments?

However, for the Christian, tithing isn't out of fear - it's not because there's a law that, if broken, will bring evil consequences, so we give out of fear. We give our tithe out of love. And this love is a love of response; as the Apostle John wrote, "We love Him because He first loved us."

But let's press the question further, why do we tithe, what is the motive behind it?

    Do we tithe in order to get into heaven? No; we all know that salvation is not dependent on paying tithe; we all know we cannot buy our way into heaven. Besides, that attitude betrays self-centeredness - it's just about me getting into heaven.

    Do we do it to get more money in return? Is this like a guaranteed investment? That would seem rather self-serving.

    Do we tithe because of church needs? But what if a wealthy person offered to pay all the expenses of the church? Would this relieve us from giving our own tithe? No.

Here's why we tithe - to lovingly obey the commandment of Jesus and demonstrate in a real way that we acknowledge divine ownership. It also is a way to demonstrate our gratitude.

However, in addition, people who love and practice the important aspects of the law - justice, mercy and faith - tithe in order to promote these non-material qualities.

    We love justice and want there to be "liberty and justice for all." Let's not forget that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the great elevator - spiritual prosperity will raise the level of qualities such as peace, order and the reduction of crime.

    We practice mercy by making provision for benevolence, and caring for the needy.

    And we love and practice faith, so we provide for the faithful preaching of the Gospel - as the saying goes, "don't keep the faith, spread it."

We may also add that on a practical level, tithing helps to launch budgeting, combats our sinful tendency towards self-centeredness, and raises the level of responsibility as we openly recognize our accountability to God.

Finally - we tithe simply because He said so.

    Some try to avoid tithing saying that it's an Old Testament law - we see in Jesus' sharp comment to the Pharisees that the tithing practice is re-affirmed in the New Testament.

    Others contend that one's family must come first, they are more important - we remember how Jesus dealt with this when He pointed to His disciples and said, "Here are my mother, sisters, brothers."

Tithing is for today; tithing is for us.

Let me briefly tell you the story of Don Hill, a member of the church my wife and I served prior to coming here.

When we met him, Don was a man in his late forties, a disabled Vet with a low but fixed income - he had a wife and 3 teen-aged children. At one point, Don had to face the fact that he had nearly buried himself in a mountain of debt, and he called out to God for help. In that most desperate condition, Don admitted that he had for a long time forsaken the practice of tithing, and, in spite of his debt, he decided to begin tithing again. One year later, Don stood up in church to testify that he and his family were no longer in debt, and even had some money in the bank! Let me also tell you the story of Mark Milam who accepted Christ when he was 12 years old. Unfortunately in his latter teens, Mark drifted into the world, and during this time struggled to make ends meet and continually stayed in the "red" financially. Mark said that he wasted $25 a week (which just happened to be a tenth of what he was making at the time) on worldly living. When he finally woke up and realized the world didn't offer the genuine peace and happiness he once had, Mark made a serious return to God and the church. He told the Lord, "I've wasted $25 a week outside Your will, and now I'm giving it to You!"

Before long, Mark testified that he found himself in the "black" financially, making the exact same amount of money without missing that $25. It was almost as if he didn't give it. The only difference was, he had a change of heart and gave God his tenth instead of to the world. "Ever since that time," Mark said, "I give because I want to and never miss it! A lady once told me, "You can't out-give God" and I've found that is so true. He just won't let it happen! He was the first to give and continually gives."

Lan Smith gave a similar testimony. She said, "I have had so many blessings and miracles since I've started tithing. I don't know where to begin. A few months after I became a Christian, I started tithing. As a newly divorced mom, I was struggling to make ends meet. I was scared that I would not have enough money for food or bills. But, somehow God made a way where I had food and money left over for bills. I would receive refund checks from my auto insurance in the mail and also extra money from other sources that I had not expected. It is awesome how God always met my needs and then some. Sometimes it's not just money. He gives me and my family good health, great job opportunities and a wonderful church home. I strongly urge you if you are not tithing already, please start. Don't rob yourself of God's blessings."

Of course, whenever we talk about tithing, we necessarily bring up Malachi 3:8-10:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse -- the whole nation of you -- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Have you ever been robbed? What an awful feeling it brings. Can we try to understand how God must feel? "The very people who come to my house, lift their hands and verbally and musically express their love for me, are the very people who are robbing me."

On the other hand, we can also say that when the tithe is being withheld, the one being robbed is not God - after all, if God is eternal perfection, how can man add anything to Him or take anything away from Him?

We are the ones being robbed - we are robbed of the blessings, and as the prophet pointed out, the consequence is that the whole land is "under a curse" - everyone gets robbed when Christians refuse to tithe.

A small group of men from our church were attending the Promise Keeper's Rally at the Pontiac Silver Dome. During one break, a friend and I went to the concession area to get something to drink. As we stood waiting in line, I informed my friend that I would like to pay for the lemonade. He said, "No, no, that's all right - let me pay for yours."

After this argument went on for a moment or two, the man waiting in the line in front of us turned around. Actually, he was sitting in a wheel chair, and just twisted his chair enough so he could look at my friend and say, "Don't rob him of his blessing." Then he turned back to place his order. My friend and I thought that was an unusual interruption, but went on talking.

A few minutes later, I noticed that the man in the wheel chair was taking out his money to pay for the three large glasses of lemonade he had bought. Just as I was about to offer to help him carry the three glasses, he took one in his hand and started rolling away. Calling over his shoulder, and nodding his head toward the two remaining lemonade glasses sitting on the counter, he said, "And don't rob me of my blessing."

Today we call on everyone to take a fresh look at where we stand in relation to this taboo subject of tithing. Please don't be robbed of your blessing by refusing or neglecting to tithe.

Discussion Questions
Tithing Spices

1. Why is it that many artists portray Jesus as a gentle, meek, mild, and soft-spoken man?

2. What evidence do we have that Jesus at times was also somewhat harsh?

3. The "seven woes" of Jesus targeted which group, and why?

4. Why is it that preachers may shy away from topics related to politics, sex and money?

5. When Jesus scolded the Pharisees on the subject of tithing, what did He say they majored in and what did they minor in?

6. What kind of substances were mint, anise, and cummin, and what were they primarily used for?

7. Besides possibly impressing God, what were the Pharisees trying to accomplish by letting it be known that they tithed everything including even minute seeds from their yards and gardens?

8. How can we fulfill what Jesus called the "weightier matters of the law" - justice, mercy and faith?

9. What is the primary motive employed by Christians when they choose to tithe their income?

10. What is the relationship between tithing and these three things: salvation? prosperity? church needs?

11. If tithing is not to be replaced by "justice, mercy and faith," how does it promote these virtuous activities?

12. What are some of the practical benefits of tithing?

13. What is the answer to be given to people who claim that tithing is an Old Testament law and therefore not applicable to the Christian?

14. According to Malachi, who is it that gets the blunt of the consequences when the people of God do not tithe?

15. If God can't be actually robbed (because to rob Him would diminish Him), then who really is robbed when God's people do not tithe?

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