Matthew 7:3, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”
This was a well-known Jewish proverb during the time of Jesus found in Oral Tradition and can today be found in the Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 15.2. Thus, the origins of this proverb is in Hebrew and Aramaic rather than Greek. The meaning is, of course very obvious. You go around belly aching about the faults of your brother while totally ignoring your own faults which are worse.
The context indicates that this is a reference to the Pharisees who went to great lengths to live a righteous life and were highly critical of anyone who did not come up to their standards of righteousness yet their sin of pride, arrogance and condemnation was worse than the sins they were accusing of others. What has always bothered me about this is that it seems to suggest degrees of sin. Is not sin sin?
Actually, in Aramaic the word for consider is bachar which means to choose, elect, compare and make a choice. When it came time to compare sins they choose the lessor sins to hold up as an example. In Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortionist, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” Jesus is referencing an actual event. The Pharisees took great pride in their righteousness such that they would arrogantly stand in the temple and brag about their righteousness and compare themselves to others whose sins they perceived to be greater than theirs. In other words they were willing to admit they were sinners, everyone is a sinner. In fact it was considered a great sin to say you were not a sinner. It is just that their sins were not as great as others. I don’t think Jesus is talking about degrees of sin here.
It is sort of like yesterday when I was righteously talking about how churches would shorten their Sunday services so people could go home to celebrate the Super Bowl. In most states the Super Bowl starts long after the Sunday Service normally ends, but people need time to get ready for the big party so they decide to have a shorter service so they can get home on Sunday. Like the good Pharisee that I am I explained how I hate football and would much rather spend time with the Lord than watch a football game. The person I was sharing my righteousness with came back with the comment, “Is that why you choose to not rest on the Sabbath?” I started to think how I choose bachar to work the past two Sundays. I normally drive the disability and senior services bus for the Town of Cicero during the week. The driver for the weekend went on vacation and I volunteered to work overtime and drive the bus on Sunday. Sunday for me was no different than any other day of the week and I choose bachar to not rest on that Sabbath. Well, I mean after all, I was doing a service, I was helping people who are disabled or too elder to make it to church on their own and the Town graciously provides transportation for these people to attend the various houses of worship on Sunday and how noble of me to volunteer to drive for them (for compensation of course).
Somehow I suddenly felt like that Pharisee in Luke 18:11, “God, I thank you that I am not like those sinners who cut their Sabbath short so they can party and watch a football game.” No sir I do a righteous act and drive a bus for the elder and disabled so they can go to church. Why look at me, I am wearing my body out, I am ruining my health by not taking a day to rest or to cease from my normal activity as commanded by God. Ok you can go into all the reasons for the Sabbath and all the extremes in legally following a Sabbath day. I mean if your ox falls in a ditch on the Sabbath you will pull him out, right? Ok, you don’t own an ox. But the point is I use my righteous act to brag to God and others how I get up early Sunday morning and sacrifice a full day, wear myself out so I can nobly drive the elderly and disabled to church (and get compensated). Is my sin of pride, arrogance, and looking down my nose at the Super Bowl fans any better than theirs.
In the Aramaic the word for mote is gala which means a small chip of wood or straw. Just a speck in your eye can cause great discomfort. A secondary meaning of gala is something that is revealed or exposed. You can barely see that speck but it is revealed and exposed in your eye from the tearing and pain. In other words why do you look that that obvious sin that has been exposed in your brother? You know the one who commits adultery and it is revealed to the church and everyone whispers and gossips about him or her to the point where that person leaves the church. You choose or bachar to focus on that one sin that one mistake of your brother rather than your own beam or which is the word qarath in the Aramaic. Qarath does mean a board or plank but has a secondary meaning of a foundation, a board or plank or anything used to build a foundation. It is even used for a spider’s web, the foundation of his home which is a trap. A foundation is made up of many different things, stone, dirt, wood etc. It is an accumulation of many little things that form a foundation. In this case it is an accumulation of many little sins that form a foundation of pride and arrogance in you such that you do not even see it. Yet, you will pounce upon a brother who has a weak moment and commits adultery or some other noticeable sin but ignore the many little sins in your own life.
What Jesus is saying in the Aramaic is that you focus on the big and obvious sins while ignoring the subtle little sins in your own life that begin to build a foundation of arrogance in you. No maybe you are not an adulterer, a fornicator, extortionist or an unjust person. You may be a good loving person who always tries to do the right thing and help others while overlooking little white lies, petty jealousies, minor thefts of borrowing and never returning or moments of anger, etc. These are little things, no one gets hurt, not like the drug addict or adulterer, no we are not that bad. Maybe not but all the time we are letting the enemy build his little qarath foundation or spider web in our lives which will eventually trap us.
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