Take Their Place (If You Dare)

I have often wondered how I would have responded to Jesus if I had been there at the time. If I had been brought up as a devout Jew would I have embraced Jesus as the Messiah or would he have offended me?

Let’s cut the Pharisees a little slack and imagine what it must have been like for them. These guys took their religion seriously; they did their best to try to honor God and teach others how they should live. Granted they were legalistic, but that’s all they knew.

One day they observed Jesus disciples breaking the law; the disciples were eating with ceremonial unclean hands. Because the disciples did not wash their hands according to the law they were unclean; this made them sinners and unacceptable to God in the minds of the Pharisees. Now how could Jesus be of God if He did not condemn the disciples for breaking the law; if Jesus were really a teacher showing the people the way to God, then He should point out such obvious hypocrisy. Jesus pointed out the hypocrites, but he was pointing at the Pharisees!

[7] Frauds! Isaiah's prophecy of you hit the bull's-eye: [8] These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn't in it. [9] They act like they're worshiping me, but they don't mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy."
Matthew 15:7-9 (MsgB)

The Pharisees were offended (and rightly so in their eyes). Jesus went on to explain their faulty thinking and expose their false teaching. It wasn’t what someone ate (or how they ate it) that would make someone unclean; instead it was what came out of their mouth—what they said and did that made them unclean. Could I have ‘stomached’ Jesus’ teaching if I had been one of those Pharisees?

Now let’s stop play acting. Do I really hear what Jesus is saying? Do his words apply to my life today? Am I guilty of saying what I think people want to hear so they are impressed with how spiritual I am? Do I pretend to live my life for God when people are watching but do my own thing whenever I get the chance? Do I just use Jesus to make me a ‘spiritual big shot’ in the eyes of others?

These are heart piercing questions. If they offend you then maybe you need to let Jesus examine your heart a little more closely. How else might we be offended, or will we repent instead?