I am fascinated and more than a little convicted when I look at the behaviors that caused Jesus to react with harsh words. Jesus often responded to sinners with grace and no condemnation.
A woman caught in adultery was dragged before Jesus with the demand that he condone the law that she should be killed for her sin. His reaction? Jesus knelt down, wrote in the sand, and challenged the persons without any sin to hurl the first rock.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8, NLT)
Jesus had compassion on a person who was deeply shamed and in need of forgiveness for sin. He did not excuse her transgression. He commanded her to go and change her behavior but He did not condemn or lecture.
Jesus dined with people who clearly violated His moral teachings. He recruited a tax collector who had betrayed and financially oppressed his own people. He allowed a woman of questionable reputation to anoint His feet with perfume. He violated every cultural standard by talking to and sharing the hope of salvation with a woman who had lived with multiple men. These acts brought condemnation from the religious leaders who saw religion as a performance based keeping of rules.
Jesus did not demand groveling repentance before the person was worthy to win forgiveness. He looked on the heart of the person in sin and responded with healing grace.
But one sin did trigger Jesus on a consistent basis. The most harsh words from Jesus were usually directed at hypocrites.
The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hyprokrites, meaning one who plays a part, an actor. Probably no word is more destructively used in describing Christians than hypocrite. André Gide once defined a true hypocrite as the “one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.”
One of Christ’s severest rebukes concerned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matthew 6). These religious leaders liked to be seen and heard when praying, recognized when giving, and pitied when fasting.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (All texts from NLT)
Is it any wonder that Jesus was so reviled by the religious establishment? Jesus came to fulfill the law and provide a way for me (and you) to be reconciled to God. Jesus provides the opportunity for a relationship with God through faith and grace. The Pharisees, like many of the religious leaders that our culture criticizes, controlled by demanding legalistic works and by fear of punishment. Today the church condemns those who live immoral lives while we churchgoers too often engage in gossip and selfishness and bigotry. The unchurched stand by in amazed, bemused, cynical, or angry observance of our hypocrisy. And they lose respect for our message.
So why don’t the followers of Jesus communicate the grace of God more effectively? That is too often the heartbreaking shortcoming of the church.
Tim Keller writes brilliantly about how we confuse righteousness with moralism.
“Sin and evil are self-centeredness and pride that lead to oppression against others, but there are two forms of this. One form is being very bad and breaking all the rules, and the other form is being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous.”
My righteousness can only be because of Christ. I am sobered that Jesus was consistently triggered by hypocrisy. If I am going to be a light to others I need to focus on my heart and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate my areas of hypocrisy. I don’t want to just look good on the outside. I want my heart to be clean by the redeeming power of God’s gift of redemptive grace.
One Sin That Triggered Jesus
Dave BurchettI am fascinated and more than a little convicted when I look at the behaviors that caused Jesus to react with harsh words. Jesus often responded to sinners with grace and no condemnation.
A woman caught in adultery was dragged before Jesus with the demand that he condone the law that she should be killed for her sin. His reaction? Jesus knelt down, wrote in the sand, and challenged the persons without any sin to hurl the first rock.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8, NLT)
Jesus had compassion on a person who was deeply shamed and in need of forgiveness for sin. He did not excuse her transgression. He commanded her to go and change her behavior but He did not condemn or lecture.
Jesus dined with people who clearly violated His moral teachings. He recruited a tax collector who had betrayed and financially oppressed his own people. He allowed a woman of questionable reputation to anoint His feet with perfume. He violated every cultural standard by talking to and sharing the hope of salvation with a woman who had lived with multiple men. These acts brought condemnation from the religious leaders who saw religion as a performance based keeping of rules.
Jesus did not demand groveling repentance before the person was worthy to win forgiveness. He looked on the heart of the person in sin and responded with healing grace.
But one sin did trigger Jesus on a consistent basis. The most harsh words from Jesus were usually directed at hypocrites.
The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hyprokrites, meaning one who plays a part, an actor. Probably no word is more destructively used in describing Christians than hypocrite. André Gide once defined a true hypocrite as the “one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.”
One of Christ’s severest rebukes concerned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matthew 6). These religious leaders liked to be seen and heard when praying, recognized when giving, and pitied when fasting.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (All texts from NLT)
Is it any wonder that Jesus was so reviled by the religious establishment? Jesus came to fulfill the law and provide a way for me (and you) to be reconciled to God. Jesus provides the opportunity for a relationship with God through faith and grace. The Pharisees, like many of the religious leaders that our culture criticizes, controlled by demanding legalistic works and by fear of punishment.
Today the church condemns those who live immoral lives while we churchgoers too often engage in gossip and selfishness and bigotry. The unchurched stand by in amazed, bemused, cynical, or angry observance of our hypocrisy. And they lose respect for our message.
So why don’t the followers of Jesus communicate the grace of God more effectively? That is too often the heartbreaking shortcoming of the church.
Tim Keller writes brilliantly about how we confuse righteousness with moralism.
“Sin and evil are self-centeredness and pride that lead to oppression against others, but there are two forms of this. One form is being very bad and breaking all the rules, and the other form is being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous.”
My righteousness can only be because of Christ. I am sobered that Jesus was consistently triggered by hypocrisy. If I am going to be a light to others I need to focus on my heart and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate my areas of hypocrisy. I don’t want to just look good on the outside. I want my heart to be clean by the redeeming power of God’s gift of redemptive grace.