In the wrestling ring it is understood that no-one is
actually supposed to get hurt. It looks
like they would. But it is supposed to
be only how it looks, not how it really is.
When delivering a spiritual smack down, the intent was not to seriously
hurt the people targeted. Only their
prides would actually be wounded. The
intent was to “get in their faces” enough to cause them to re-think what they
were saying, and in opposition, what they were doing. A professional wrestler is truly professional
about how they make what is otherwise a pretend fight - look so real. If you let yourself, you can easily get lost
in the spectacle and allow your imagination to make it real. When you do this, you blur the line between intent
and reality until that line gets harder and harder to see. It is no different in the spiritual
realm. Those who “talk a good game”
sometimes believe what they say to be the truth. And for as much as their minds believe it,
their feet and hands still tell a different story. The words sound right. But the body does not follow, or at least it
does not follow the words, it still follows the desires of the heart.
This is the basic problem with any religion that embraces
“legalism”. Legalism declares that you
can earn your way into paradise based on what you do. Feed the poor, visit those in prison, shelter
the homeless and you are in fact “doing” what Christ asked you to do. So do it, and you should be saved right? The problem for the legalist becomes …
exactly how much of this do we have to do, to get into heaven? Can I feed the poor 3-4 times and tick that
checkmark off of Jesus’ list? Or do I
have to do it 3-4 times a year in order to stay current with the Lord. When I was a child, I once visited my uncle
in prison for bank robbery in Massachusetts.
Does that count? He was family,
and it was my mom who actually took me, so does that go under her list or can I
count it as one of my own. Outside of
that, I don’t believe I have ever been inside of any prison myself for any
reason. Not so much a scared straight
situation as just one of those places you don’t pick over Disneyland. The legalist must ponder the question how
much is enough. I figured out a loophole
for myself; I just support prison ministries financially, and call it a day. 😊
But this is the basic flaw in any kind of religion that asks
you to “do” things to “earn” favor. And
every false religion on planet earth has this tenant at its core. To do, without the motive to do, may still
provide benefit to the audience, but not so much a change inside of who you
remain. Jesus is the only deity offering
to change what you want, how you love, and therefore why you do what you
do. Which essentially means, Jesus
offers the only form of religion that has a shot at working. The others offer a life of self-sacrifice,
but not much of a life of real change.
When Jesus changes how you think, and how you love. Your passion for others drives you to do what
you do. And the question “how much is
enough” just does not come up. Because
the answer is, there is no limit to it, no upper end, no amount of tick marks
on any contrived list that would ever be enough. After that kind of transformation, you begin
to love like He loves, and find that you cannot rest while need exists within
your reach. That kind of walking the
walk is not a natural state for most of us.
It is only one that happens AFTER He transforms who you are, NOT before
it. It is the painful difference between
the words, and the deeds.
My Pharisee forefathers did not understand this. They believed in balance. They believed there must be a balance between
what is good for “me”, and what is good for “others”. They believed love should not be lopsided,
with all of ours poured out on someone else, and never any of it reserved for
ourselves. And nearly ALL of modern
Christianity would seem to agree with them.
This is why when Jesus appears, and lives a life that reveals an
entirely different way to love. It is a
silent rebuke to what they believe. And
for Jesus, it is not just about words, but about constant unyielding demonstrations
of God’s love, that has no limit for you or me.
Loving like God loves, is not a trivial thing, or a natural one. It defies human limits of exhaustion, and
keeps going anyway, even for only the littlest opportunity. My Pharisee forefathers thought this
impossible to do. As again, nearly all
of modern Christianity would agree. And
they are both right. If you look for the
strength to love this way within yourself.
That kind of love can ONLY happen through His transformation of “who”
you are – effectively saving you from you.
Hypocrisy then, is an expression of lost hope. It is the human recognition that we just have
no more within us, to pretend to love the way God loves. And if His tick mark list is truly infinite,
there is no way we will ever fill it.
Backwards thinking about how a change in motives works. And if shock-and-awe was needed to wake us up
to the reality of how salvation should work, then so be it. Jesus would call out the hypocrisy we have all
become numb to. Jesus would offer a series
of “woes” to those who claim to represent “His” church, but still depend on
human strength to get anything done. You
will note these stinging rebukes did not go out to “sinners”. They went out to “saints”. Leaders in the faith had adopted this false thinking,
and the practice, and the teachings needed to stop. If it took a spiritual smack-down to see it
done, the get ready for one that happens to accomplish that feat.
Matthew picks the story back up in chapter twenty-three of
his gospel to the Hebrews, beginning in verse 13 Jesus says … “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.” Ouch! Here Jesus offers a frank assessment of the
effect of this self-reliance within His church.
It prevents both the teacher, and the parishioner from entering the
Kingdom of Heaven. Let that sink in for
a minute. It is your self-reliance that
keeps you OUT of the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is these doctrines you spread to others that is keeping them out as
well. Christians worry about being a
stumbling block to others. They cite
this premise when considering what to eat, or what entertainment venue they
frequent. But in truth, the stumbling
block is far more meaty and more relevant.
Self-reliance is what keeps us away from transformation. When you teach others that “they” have the
power over sin, you block up the doors, and cause them to stumble into a life
that leads only to hypocrisy and lost hope.
Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence
make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Here is where evidence of the hypocrisy
presents itself. How someone professing
the religion of Jesus would have no problem making financial gains on top of
the backs of others, even when those others are already disadvantaged. The strong prey on the weak. No different within the church than outside
of it. Industries spring up designed to
take money from people who can scarcely afford to lose it. Yet countless “Christian” employees fill
their ranks and perform whatever duties are asked without question. Even when it is the people in need who must
suffer to see these industries succeed.
My Pharisee forefathers were willing to “devour” the widow’s house. That is not just a casual lack of empathy. It is a purposeful state of intent, emulating
the lion in his hunt. Have we come round
to this behavior again? Do I fund prison
ministries and then vote to make sentences 3 times longer without the
possibility of mercy by a judge, instead forcing them to impose a sentence that
is stern, and lacking mercy of any kind.
Myself, all the gleeful, feeling vindicated when the amendments are
approved in the state legislatures.
Or has the modern version of hypocrisy descended into creating
a cottage industry out of Christianity itself.
Asking for donations to earn favor from God, to fund the leaders of a
church to levels of excess that would make Donald Trump blush. Despite the need of the membership, donations
are solicited without regard for the church family; giving back to those in
need within its ranks. Our religious
systems seem very adept at funneling money up; but only reach down in times of
natural disasters of an epic scale.
Sometimes the disaster is very personal, and it is epic to the fathers,
mothers, and children who bare its weight in silence – all while being
solicited for donations under the guise of earning favor of God, the
implication being that to withhold would be to incite His wrath. Christian leaders in our modern age should
know by now, giving is not done to curry favor.
Giving is done as a blessing to the giver, an opportunity, a privilege to
extend love. If we present it any other
way, or imply demand, we dishonor Christ and ingrain hypocrisy in yet another
generation of believers.
Jesus continues in verse 15 saying … “Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,
and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than
yourselves.” Aarrg! We pride ourselves on our church missionary
endeavors. We cross sea and land,
bringing translated copies of our Bibles.
But then only to teach doctrines of “choice” as it relates to the
cessation of sin, and self-reliance as it relates to salvation. We teach a stern doctrine that judges others who
like the new convert need our love, and the witness of our lives, to have the
motivation to even seek a change. We
make the new convert as hard as we are to sin, and more specifically to the
sinners who are still enslaved to it. We
neither free them from the evil of their sin, nor see them reform others in any
way. We give them the doctrine of
“forgiveness” and call that enough. Two
times the child of hell than we are, and turn them loose on their communities,
spreading a message of judgement, not of redemptive love that has the power to
really bring change.
Jesus continues in verse 16 saying … “Woe unto you, ye blind
guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but
whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! [verse 17] Ye
fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that
sanctifieth the gold? [verse 18] And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is
nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. [verse
19] Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that
sanctifieth the gift? [verse 20] Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar,
sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. [verse 21] And whoso shall swear by
the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. [verse 22] And he
that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that
sitteth thereon.” Technicalities. The weapon of the legalist is to find obscure
technicalities upon which the values of the law can be circumvented.
It is better for men not to swear by anything. To make solemn vows, is to presume we are
capable of keeping those vows. It
implies we have the strength within us to do what we say. When in truth, none of us know the future, or
have the least influence on controlling it.
What we say in health, we may fully regret when sitting in cancer. What we value in greed, may cause us absolute
pain when we see what it truly costs.
Swearing, or vowing, or making promises and commitments we think are
absolute – imply a self-reliance that is no different from the self-reliance
that keeps us out of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus came to show us what absolute dependence upon God looks like. He prayed every day bending His own will to
the will of His Father, every single day, every single moment. When the mother of His disciples asked for
position for her sons, Jesus did not commit to it. Instead He deferred to the will of His
Father. He made no vow. His only promises to us are based in the same
promises His Father has made to us. He
needed no technicalities to keep up His end.
Does the scribe technically obey the law, if they observe
all the technicalities and adhere strictly to the letter of the law? Do you?
The Commandments state not to commit adultery. But what about Pre-Marital sex? What about Marital Rape? Incest?
Cultural forced abstinence and/or genital mutilation upon children. Masturbation.
One can avoid having sex with a married partner and technically keep the
letter of the law, but what about the values of the law? When you truly love another, you do not think
to hurt them, in any way, ever. When you
value others, you do not think to violate them even if only in your mind in
order to bring you self-gratification.
For when you truly love others, your own gratification comes from how
you love them, not in what you do, to stimulate the baser instincts of your own
selfish passions. When you treasure
another, you would not humiliate or devalue them, by not offering them the
protective commitment of marriage before attempting an intimacy with them that
is best when done as God originally outlined. Finding technicalities, or omissions, within
the law, dishonors the law, and dishonors the Author of the law. But worse, it reveals how far from harmony
you are from the law, and how little you understand about truly loving others
more than yourself. Hypocrisy branded in
yet another way.
A “woe” is no small thing.
It is a term decrying great sadness.
It is a term that when employed allows the person saying it to
understand how bad their condition has become.
And Jesus is making a series of “woes” to us, His saints, because of our
hypocrisy, our lost hope, our failed self-reliance that keeps us out of the
Kingdom of Heaven. But the list of woes
in this smack down was not to be ended just yet …
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