Woe...whoa

First a little background. Back in college I did one of those "read through the Bible in a year" programs. When I got to the four gospels, my normally slow reading got even slower. I'm a movie fan, and as I read about Jesus' life I found myself picturing everything as if I were directing a movie about it all. I always found myself frustrated that the movie versions of Jesus were so wimpy or sullen or bland. I just knew that the person these actors/directors were portraying would never draw crowds of people wherever he went or inspire people by "teaching with authority" as the Book says.

But what exactly was Jesus like? Back in those college years, I think I imagined Him as sort of this charismatic, funny youth pastor guy, only slightly more mature(!) Because, hey, that's what would draw me! But over the last couple decades since then, I've come back to the gospels many times, and the more I read the harder it gets for me to know how to direct my lead actor in my movie.

That's because there are chapters in the gospels like Matthew 23, which I read last night. Let me set the scene. Chapter 21 begins with the triumphal entry, and if you know the story, that means (a) the religious leaders there in Jerusalem are ticked off that the crowds are praising Him as king and (b) Jesus' death is only a few days away. What happens at the end of the Palm Parade? Jesus storms the temple area and overturns the tables of those profiting from the temple worship. For the rest of chapters 21 and 22 Jesus and these leaders are sparring, the latter are testing Him to try and trip Him up, and Jesus is telling some pointed parables that obviously paint these corrupt religiosos in a bad light.

Then comes chapter 23, where Jesus turns to His followers and essentially goes off on the "teachers of the law and Pharisees." See if this excerpt gives you a flavor of his message:

13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

And then Jesus begins His closing thoughts with:

33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

(To read the whole chapter, click here.)

After I read these blistering words from Jesus I closed my Bible and just sort of sat there for a while. What do I take away from all this? This isn’t exactly how my charismatic-funny-youth-pastor-Jesus would address people. In fact, if my church’s youth pastor gave a talk like this, I’m sure I’d frown on it! If I’m supposed to be like Jesus, should I be this blunt and forceful in my speech, too?

I don’t really know the answer to that question. I do know that Jesus had the advantage of knowing men’s hearts (e.g. Matt. 9:4), and that I need to be a little careful when I judge people’s motives. Still, there must be room in the church for some straight talk, and those of us who are shepherds especially need to be prayerfully ready to speak it when necessary.

Anyway, here are two thoughts I had as I sought to understand what Matthew 23 means for me.

First, as I look at all four Gospels it’s apparent to me that Jesus never spoke this way to “sinners”, but only to the “religious” people who were acting hypocritically. His rebukes were strongest toward the ones who claimed to be godly but did everything for show and status. Jesus describes the scribes and Pharisees in verses 3 and 5:

But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach…Everything they do is done for men to see…

But Jesus had compassion and kindness for those who needed God. He challenged them to live righteously, but never in a harsh way. That means to me that there is no good reason for Christ-followers to scream “baby-killer!” outside an abortion clinic or preach fire and brimstone at a gay pride parade. Angrily yelling at “sinners” downtown is just not what Jesus would do.

Second, I think the main message for me is loud and clear: Don’t be a hypocrite! My religion, or more accurately, my relationship with Jesus better be just as real on Tuesday night at 9:37 as it is on Sunday morning at 11:00. Christ called us to be disciples, not actors.

We all have to deal with this temptation. Maybe for you it’s tough to maintain your spiritual integrity because the people you work with drag you into the muck. Maybe for me it’s tough to avoid hypocrisy because I’m actually paid to be a “spiritual guy” up front! But we each have to ask ourselves if we’re putting on a show in front of people. Is Sunday morning the only time we pray? Then aren’t we doing it for show? Is our language different in front of other believers? Do we treat our family different when we’re at church?

I want to be a 7-day, 24-hour Christian! How awful would it be to hear from Jesus, “Woe to you, Brian, you hypocrite!” I’m want to strive for the opposite, found two chapters later in Matthew 25: “Well done, good and faithful servant... Come and share your master's happiness!”

So now that you’re done reading this long blog entry, how can you make sure the next hour of your life (and the rest of this week) is honoring to Christ?