Jeremiah 40-42
Hebrews 4
“Then the disciples came to [Jesus] and asked, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” Matthew 15:12
How would we feel if someone publicly humiliated us? This is what Jesus did to the Pharisees when they tried to confront Him about His disciples. Jesus responded sharply, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (Matthew 15:7-9).
Jesus not only publicly exposed the Pharisees; He also did something peculiar. He called the crowd toward Him and loudly proclaimed: “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Watching what Jesus was doing to the Pharisees, the disciples pulled Jesus aside and asked, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” (Matthew 15:10-12).
Why did it matter that the Pharisees were offended? The Pharisees were the power brokers, the prestigious and respected. Knowing the status of the Pharisees, the disciples were worried about possible repercussions from the Pharisees and wanted to make sure Jesus was aware of what He did. Like the disciples, we can sometimes approach God, carrying the offense of the culture around us to His rebuke, and talk to God as though He should apologize for offending someone’s sensibilities. But what if God was not worried about offending someone’s sensibilities? What if God was not concerned about confronting the contradictions in someone’s life? What if He actually needed to do it?
Have we considered what Jesus may be doing in His rebuke? What if Jesus was offending the Pharisees on purpose so that they might go and reinspect what they believed? Like a genius chess player, Jesus used their tradition to teach the Pharisees that they were contradicting God’s law and hurting people in the process. Hence, we need to be careful when we pick an offense on behalf of others because it may be us who are offending God in doing so.
The disciples were more concerned about the Pharisees being offended than God being offended. In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:13-14). What the disciples failed to understand was that the Pharisees were blind to their faults, and if the disciples chose to follow the Pharisees, they would all end up in a pit. Will we choose to follow Jesus even though it may be offensive to the culture around us?
Dear God, humble me when I think I know better than You. Help me to reinspect the truth behind Your teachings when I feel offended by You. Thank You, Lord.
Hebrews 4
“Then the disciples came to [Jesus] and asked, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” Matthew 15:12
How would we feel if someone publicly humiliated us? This is what Jesus did to the Pharisees when they tried to confront Him about His disciples. Jesus responded sharply, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (Matthew 15:7-9).
Jesus not only publicly exposed the Pharisees; He also did something peculiar. He called the crowd toward Him and loudly proclaimed: “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Watching what Jesus was doing to the Pharisees, the disciples pulled Jesus aside and asked, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” (Matthew 15:10-12).
Why did it matter that the Pharisees were offended? The Pharisees were the power brokers, the prestigious and respected. Knowing the status of the Pharisees, the disciples were worried about possible repercussions from the Pharisees and wanted to make sure Jesus was aware of what He did. Like the disciples, we can sometimes approach God, carrying the offense of the culture around us to His rebuke, and talk to God as though He should apologize for offending someone’s sensibilities. But what if God was not worried about offending someone’s sensibilities? What if God was not concerned about confronting the contradictions in someone’s life? What if He actually needed to do it?
Have we considered what Jesus may be doing in His rebuke? What if Jesus was offending the Pharisees on purpose so that they might go and reinspect what they believed? Like a genius chess player, Jesus used their tradition to teach the Pharisees that they were contradicting God’s law and hurting people in the process. Hence, we need to be careful when we pick an offense on behalf of others because it may be us who are offending God in doing so.
The disciples were more concerned about the Pharisees being offended than God being offended. In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:13-14). What the disciples failed to understand was that the Pharisees were blind to their faults, and if the disciples chose to follow the Pharisees, they would all end up in a pit. Will we choose to follow Jesus even though it may be offensive to the culture around us?
Dear God, humble me when I think I know better than You. Help me to reinspect the truth behind Your teachings when I feel offended by You. Thank You, Lord.
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