Tuesday, July 13
Studying the last week of Jesus’ ministry on earth prior to His crucifixion is always a source of encouragement and inspiration. It also offers a snapshot of how restlessness and ambition drive people to do and say ill-advised things.
Read Luke 22:14-30 and think about Jesus’ emotions as He hears His disciples argue during this solemn meal over who among them should be considered the greatest (Luke 22:24). Why did the disciples get sidetracked from this momentous occasion and focus on human greatness?
We seldom discuss with others who is the greatest in our church, our family, or our workplace. We may think about it a lot, but who, really, openly talks about it?
This was not the first time that this question was raised in the community of Jesus’ followers. Matthew 18:1 reports the disciples’ bringing the question to Jesus and framing it in a more abstract way: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”. Jesus’ answer involves an object lesson. After calling a child, he sets the child in the center of the group. Eyes are opened wide; eyebrows are raised. Jesus’ action requires an explanation, and in Matthew 18:3 the Master offers that, too: “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”.
Conversion is foundational for finding true rest in Jesus. We recognize that we need outside help. We suddenly realize that we cannot depend on ourselves but need to rely on Jesus. We experience a transformation of our values and ambitions. Jesus tells His disciples: Trust Me and rely on Me like this child. True greatness is giving up your rights and embracing kingdom values.
Unfortunately, it seems that the disciples had not yet learned this lesson by the time Jesus ate the last supper with them. Their bickering and infighting ruined a moment of perfect communion that was never to be repeated.
All this, even after years of being with Jesus, ministering with Jesus, and hearing and learning at His feet? What a sad example of just how corrupt the human heart remains! On the more positive side, however, think about the ever-present reality of the Lord’s grace, that despite this pathetic discussion among His followers, Jesus didn’t give up on them.
Why should keeping our focus on Jesus on the cross be a powerful remedy against the desire for self-exaltation, which, as fallen human beings, all of us are prey to?
Wednesday, July 14
A hypocrite is somebody who play-acts, who wants to appear to be somebody who he or she is not. The term is used seven times in Matthew 23 in a discourse in which Jesus publicly shames the scribes and Pharisees, the very center of Jewish religious leadership (Matthew 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). The Gospels show us Jesus offering grace and forgiveness to adulterers, tax collectors, prostitutes, and even murderers, but He demonstrated little tolerance for hypocrites (see the many additional references in Matthew 6:2, 5, 16; 7:5; 15:7-9; 22:18).
Read Matthew 23:1-13 and list four main characteristics of a hypocrite mentioned by Jesus.
Jesus associates four characteristics with the scribes and Pharisees. In the spectrum of Judaism in the first century A.D., the Pharisees represented the conservative religious right. They were interested in the written and oral law and emphasized ritual purity. On the other side of the spectrum were the Sadducees, a group of mostly wealthy leaders, often associated with the elite priestly class. They were highly Hellenized (i.e., they spoke Greek and were at home in Greek philosophy) and did not believe in a judgment or an afterlife. We would describe them as liberals. Both groups were guilty of hypocrisy.
According to Jesus, we are hypocrites if we don’t do what we say, when we make religion harder for others without applying the same standards to ourselves, when we want others to applaud our religious fervor, and when we require honor and recognition that belongs only to our heavenly Father.
No matter how sharp and to-the-point His words, Jesus’ engagement with those He called hypocrites was nevertheless full of love and concern, even for these hypocrites.
“Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’” Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 620.
Why do you not need to be a religious leader to be guilty of the kind of hypocrisy that Jesus so soundly condemns here? How can we learn to see any such hypocrisy in ourselves if it exists, and how can we get rid of it?
