The Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees
Matthew 23:23
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said:
“As for the scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus was uncompromising in condemning their hypocrisy. His warnings and commandments were direct: ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone’[Matthew 23:23]. Surely no one would accuse the Savior of not loving these scribes and Pharisees—after all, He suffered and died to save them too. But loving them, He could not let them go on in sin without clearly correcting them. One observer noted, ‘Jesus taught His followers to do as He did: to welcome everyone but also to teach about sin, since love demands warning people about what can hurt them’ [Chris Stefanick, Absolute Relativism: The New Dictatorship and What to Do about It (2011), 33].”
(“The Voice of Warning,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 109.)
