God's truth is greater than man's power
This week's Bible study is on Matthew 15:12-14:
I like the conversations in the Gospels between Jesus and his disciples. There is not only wisdom but freedom being proclaimed. People don't even know they're held captive by things sometimes until Jesus sets them free.
In these verses, Jesus had gotten done teaching something provocative that threatened the hold the Pharisees had on power. The disciples were afraid, because the Pharisees were the religious leaders of society. They were thought-leaders in the same way that our media and government are now. They decided what was politically correct, what was dangerous or safe, what was right or wrong. Being offended at things added to their power. They told people what to say, what to believe, and how to act and people complied because the consequences of not doing so were serious.
If the Pharisees were offended at your behavior, you were shamed in society. We don't have much of a concept of shame in western society anymore, but imagine being called a "racist" or a sex offender, and you can sort of picture the kind of shunning that would take place if you crossed them. So imagine the fear the disciples had, when Jesus said a bunch of shocking politically incorrect stuff!
The disciples were like "Be careful! The Pharisees will be offended and they'll make us suffer!" But it was too late to stop him! The sorts of things they'd prefer to have whispered in the hallways or said in private conversations had just been proclaimed in public by Jesus. Now the storm of condemnation was coming: "Jesus, do you realize that you've offended the Pharisees!? Nooooo!"
Jesus' response was basically "They're nothing. They have no power." Imagine the disciples cowering from a tiny spider crawling towards them and Jesus taking his sandal off to crush it. "You're afraid of that? Look, now it's a stain." The Pharisees were no threat. Their power was only as strong as mankind's power. God's power is greater.
Every plant that isn't planted by God will be pulled up by the roots. The Pharisees were firmly entrenched in Jewish society in Roman Palestine. They had deep roots. But Jesus was saying "Hey, I didn't tell them to be like that. They're not going to get in the way." It was probably unimaginable to the disciples that there would be a time when the Pharisees were no longer in power or even relevant, but look at Israel today. Is it ruled by orthodox rabbis? Are the religious authorities a part of people's daily lives? No!
Jesus calls them blind guides leading the blind. These people the disciples feared as authorities were not rightly-guided authorities after all. They were just a bunch of misguided dudes telling other people how to live based on their own ideas, rooted in their limited understanding of the world. Imagine someone who doesn't know where they are and can't see where they're going. Imagine how arrogant and ridiculous they'd have to be to tell everyone where to go like they knew. They don't even know where they are, let alone where everyone else is!
Jesus told his disciples how to be free. If they were to follow the Pharisees, they'd end up in the pit. Think about that for a minute. Is there anyone whose opinion you fear? "If I say such and such, or if I act in a certain way, so and so will be offended and angry at me?!" If you base your behavior on that, you'll end up stumbling trying to stay in their good graces! You'll end up in a pit!
Jesus told his disciples that they were free. They no longer had to tiptoe around what the Pharisees thought. Jesus was killed because they were offended at him, but even that didn't matter because God is more powerful. It was all part of the plan. They could speak the truth, in public, to anyone, and things would still go according to God's plan. No more fear.
When it was a matter of God's truth going head to head with the Pharisees' power, only one was left standing. We can still read what Jesus said to his disciples, but where are the religious authorities of Jesus' day now? In the same way that it was stupid for the disciples to fear the powers of their day, it's stupid for us to fear it now. Why should we follow their recipes if they don't know how to cook? Why plot a course around them when they're going to be uprooted if they're in the way? We're free.
Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
He replied, “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.”
I like the conversations in the Gospels between Jesus and his disciples. There is not only wisdom but freedom being proclaimed. People don't even know they're held captive by things sometimes until Jesus sets them free.
In these verses, Jesus had gotten done teaching something provocative that threatened the hold the Pharisees had on power. The disciples were afraid, because the Pharisees were the religious leaders of society. They were thought-leaders in the same way that our media and government are now. They decided what was politically correct, what was dangerous or safe, what was right or wrong. Being offended at things added to their power. They told people what to say, what to believe, and how to act and people complied because the consequences of not doing so were serious.
If the Pharisees were offended at your behavior, you were shamed in society. We don't have much of a concept of shame in western society anymore, but imagine being called a "racist" or a sex offender, and you can sort of picture the kind of shunning that would take place if you crossed them. So imagine the fear the disciples had, when Jesus said a bunch of shocking politically incorrect stuff!
The disciples were like "Be careful! The Pharisees will be offended and they'll make us suffer!" But it was too late to stop him! The sorts of things they'd prefer to have whispered in the hallways or said in private conversations had just been proclaimed in public by Jesus. Now the storm of condemnation was coming: "Jesus, do you realize that you've offended the Pharisees!? Nooooo!"
Jesus' response was basically "They're nothing. They have no power." Imagine the disciples cowering from a tiny spider crawling towards them and Jesus taking his sandal off to crush it. "You're afraid of that? Look, now it's a stain." The Pharisees were no threat. Their power was only as strong as mankind's power. God's power is greater.
Every plant that isn't planted by God will be pulled up by the roots. The Pharisees were firmly entrenched in Jewish society in Roman Palestine. They had deep roots. But Jesus was saying "Hey, I didn't tell them to be like that. They're not going to get in the way." It was probably unimaginable to the disciples that there would be a time when the Pharisees were no longer in power or even relevant, but look at Israel today. Is it ruled by orthodox rabbis? Are the religious authorities a part of people's daily lives? No!
Jesus calls them blind guides leading the blind. These people the disciples feared as authorities were not rightly-guided authorities after all. They were just a bunch of misguided dudes telling other people how to live based on their own ideas, rooted in their limited understanding of the world. Imagine someone who doesn't know where they are and can't see where they're going. Imagine how arrogant and ridiculous they'd have to be to tell everyone where to go like they knew. They don't even know where they are, let alone where everyone else is!
Jesus told his disciples how to be free. If they were to follow the Pharisees, they'd end up in the pit. Think about that for a minute. Is there anyone whose opinion you fear? "If I say such and such, or if I act in a certain way, so and so will be offended and angry at me?!" If you base your behavior on that, you'll end up stumbling trying to stay in their good graces! You'll end up in a pit!
Jesus told his disciples that they were free. They no longer had to tiptoe around what the Pharisees thought. Jesus was killed because they were offended at him, but even that didn't matter because God is more powerful. It was all part of the plan. They could speak the truth, in public, to anyone, and things would still go according to God's plan. No more fear.
When it was a matter of God's truth going head to head with the Pharisees' power, only one was left standing. We can still read what Jesus said to his disciples, but where are the religious authorities of Jesus' day now? In the same way that it was stupid for the disciples to fear the powers of their day, it's stupid for us to fear it now. Why should we follow their recipes if they don't know how to cook? Why plot a course around them when they're going to be uprooted if they're in the way? We're free.
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