Jesus continues his confrontation with the religious leaders by citing six woes. A woe is deep distress and misery, as from grief.
The first woe is for being exact and zealous for the observation of religious traditions and rituals while neglecting justice and the love of God. Jesus cited that their love for others and God should be as exact as their tithing of spices and all kinds of garden herbs.
The second woe is the love of exaltation. So they exalted themself and loved when people honored them. Pride and self-ambition are detestable sins, especially when Jesus expects me to teach humility.
The third is they were like unmarked graves. Walking over a grave would defile a person for some time until they would perform a ceremonial wash. It did not matter if the grave was marked or not. The people that the Pharisees taught did not know it, but they were being taught that which made them unclean.
When studying the Bible it can sometimes be hard to understand the point of a passage, chapter, or the entire book. I should not give up. Rather, I should ask the Lord of the Word to reveal to me so I may do that which is important.
