Meeting a decent guy after her ex walked out on her and their 10-month-old daughter kept Madison from unravelling. She didn’t know how long she could afford to keep baby Isla in childcare. She was juggling two part-time jobs and sweating over a never-ending cycle of bills.
Having Bryan in her life after her profile matched with his on eHarmony was a gift from above.
She was sceptical at first over the whole dating platform thing, but Bryan’s sense of humour and empathy changed all that. He was recovering from a broken heart himself. His previous girlfriend was taken from him by an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. That was two years ago, and he was gently emerging from that deep, dark abyss of grief.
Soon, Madison and Bryan were texting and sending photos back and forth like a couple of infatuated teenagers. It was thrilling to find love again when she was so certain that no one would have her, a 37-year-old woman with a baby thrown in the mix.
And now, here was a man who was interested in what was going on in her life, what she thought about, right down to the silly panda reels on TikTok that made her snort so hard she’d collapse with laughter. He would also ask deep questions whenever she shared with him about her future ambitions—no matter how far-fetched.
They often shared photos of what they were eating or cooking, and there was none of that sleazy business of Bryan asking for an inappropriate photo. He was one of the good guys—stable, and a hardworking electrician. More serious texts led them to talk about building a life together.
They planned a face to face meet up at a café in Parramatta, but Bryan couldn’t make it. He had to take a quick flight out to Queensland to help his elderly mum who had had a nasty fall.
A few weeks later, Bryan offered to help Madison earn some money in the comfort of her own home. This was perfect since she was on the verge of pulling Isla out of childcare. He told her that in one day of trading in Bitcoin, he made close to $5000. With her approval, Bryan set her up with a legitimate Australian cryptocurrency exchange and a cryptocurrency trading platform.
In the first week, Madison made a tidy $7,500, so she borrowed money from family and friends to invest more funds into Bitcoin.
However, it all came crashing down in the third week. The cryptocurrency trading platform Bryan had set up for her was a hoax. She was scammed out of $16,000.
Bryan was not the real deal. Bryan was a fake persona created to lure and manipulate women like Madison into a ‘Romance Baiting’ scam. And there never was a previous girlfriend who had passed away from cancer.
It was a carefully crafted lie to make Madison feel more sympathetic towards him.
An uglier name for this type of fraud is ‘Pig butchering’. The idea being to fatten up a ‘pig’, or the victim for slaughter.
It is reminiscent of the underhanded schemes adopted by the scribes and Pharisees—but in their day, the victims were women who had lost their husbands. Jesus rebuked their callous activities, stating that they were devouring widows’ houses.
Had they been nobler, they would have provided comfort, a listening ear, money to alleviate financial stress, and meals for these widows in their time of great need.
Servanthood and sacrifice
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Matt 23:11,12.
Christ wants us to serve the people in our families, our churches, and our communities with love and humility, unlike the self-seeking and self-promoting religious elite in his day.
Jesus lived with authenticity. He served. He healed. He loved. By his sacrificial and atoning death on the cross, his burial and resurrection, he paved the way for us to be reconciled with God. And he did it all with a humble spirit.
Sin separates us from God. Yet, Jesus bore our sins on the cross, took our punishment so that God’s demands for justice were satisfied. Christ endured agonizing torture, public ridicule, and alienation from God, to reveal the depth of his love for us.
No wonder Jesus was angry at those that twisted the gospel—the true path to God.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Matt 23:13
The Great Pretenders
A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be someone that they are not. The scribes and Pharisees were skilled at acting morally before an audience, but Jesus knew that their displays of supposed goodness and righteousness were for ulterior motives—to appear very upright and to gain the approval of men.
“ . . . And for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Matt 22:14b
Christ was blatant about their lost condition.
They were not part of God’s kingdom and were leading many away from the Lord and eternal life. Had they received the truth, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the chosen one, the Saviour, there may have been hundreds, even thousands embracing the good news based on their testimony.
False messages
Their false teaching, traditions and legalistic ways led those they recruited further away from God.
“ . . ., ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” Matt 22:15c
Jesus called them blind guides. In this state of spiritual darkness, they would lead their converts on the path of eternal damnation.
Their perversions also extended to the rules they created concerning oaths. If a man swore by the temple, or the altar, or heaven, his promise was not considered binding. In other words, he did not have to carry out his vow.
However, if he swore by the gold of the temple, or the gift on the altar then he was bound to keep his promise. By this false doctrine a man could justify lying without facing consequences by simply making a vow by the temple or the altar.
Jesus called them fools.
In our Lord’s mind, all vows were equally binding. Swearing by those things was equivalent to swearing by God himself as witness to the promise.
And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Matt 23:21,22
Matters of the Law
God expected the Jews to tithe. This was an offering to the Lord that was ten percent of what they earned or harvested. Jesus observed that the scribes and Pharisees were tithing of their herbs used for seasoning food.
They were painstakingly weighing out each batch of garden herbs or counting anise seeds one by one to ensure they were obedient to God’s commands.
However, their focus on these matters kept them distracted from observing more important aspects of God’s laws. Tithing was good and commended, but they should not have neglected the moral pillars of the law.
And have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith: these ought ye have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matt 23:23b
What’s important in God’s eyes is a heart that does what is just, a heart that loves mercy, and a heart that is totally devoted to Him.
At this point, we can imagine Jesus shaking his head as he declared, “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” Matt 23:24
Some Pharisees strained their drinks through a fine cloth which served as a sieve to ensure that an unclean insect wouldn’t contaminate what they drank.
But, instead of accidentally drinking down a dirty gnat, they swallowed a filthier creature—a camel, which was the largest unclean animal in the region at the time.
Did the religious leaders grasp Christ’s pointed accusation? Did commoners smirk or suppress their laughter over Christ’s vivid illustration? Their religious instructors were living the wrong way, making monumental blunders before God, and were now being told off for it.
Exposing hypocrisy again!
Jesus called out the scribes and the Pharisees time after time for their pretention, and their hyperfocus on maintaining the appearance of spiritual maturity and holiness. Though they looked good at face value, on closer inspection they were polluted.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matt 23:24
They needed spiritual cleansing. They needed to be saved from their sins like the rest of fallen humanity.
Jesus knows all our secrets, our inner longings, and our true motives. He calls out our nonsense and lays it all out on the table.
His invitation stands—repent and believe the gospel. Place your faith on Christ alone.
Bibliography
The Archaeology Study Bible, 2017, Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois.
Dervisevic, H. 2024, ‘Vida thought ‘Graeme’ was a real, genuine man. She lost $32,000 in an elaborate romance baiting ‘pig butchering’ scam’, ABC news. Retrieved 20 May 2024 from
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-12/pig-butchering-romance-crypto-scam/103400910
Henry, M. 1961, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Zondervan, Michigan.
Macarthur, J. 2019, The Macarthur Study Bible 2nd Edition, Thomas Nelson Publishers, China.
Pawson, D. 2015, Unlocking the Bible, William Collins, UK.
Pfeiffer C,F. 1990, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Moody Publishers, Illinois.
The Quest Study Bible, 1994, Zondervan Publishing House, Michigan.
Keener, C.1993, The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament, IVP Academic, Illinois.
