I hope this op-ed finds you well. God bless each and every one of you this week in the name of Christ. 

I have mentioned before that the Bible was not written for us – it was written for the people of that time. But it still works for us because it contains some universal truths that are timeless because people are people. And there are some things in the Bible that are very specific to their time. In Matthew 21, Jesus is preaching in the temple and the chief priests came and asked him what authority did he have to do “these things”? What were “these things”? It was Jesus messing around with their operations where they were cheating the people. 

If you go back to the beginning of the chapter, Jesus is entering Jerusalem for the last time and he overturns the money-changer’s tables and drive all of the sacrificial animals out of the temple courtyard. These things were under the control of the chief priests, and so they’re asking what authority Jesus has to mess with their property and money-making venture? But Jesus asks them a question about John the Baptist. They say, “we don’t know” because there’s no answer that works for them. 

But then Jesus tells the story of the two sons. Both are asked to go work in “the vineyard”. This was a very specific message directed only to the Pharisees. This story from Jesus forces the Pharisees to confront their hypocrisy. We all suffer from hypocrisy from time to time, but some people seem to turn it into an art form… into a science. They say they’re concerned about people but their true concerns, their priorities, their lives are all about staying in power. The Pharisees didn’t suffer the poor. They gave alms out of obligation to the law – to look good, but they didn’t pity the poor. The poor were getting what God gave them because they messed up at some point and were on God’s bad side. This story was aimed specifically at the Pharisees, but this behavior is alive and well today. 

In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were consumed by applying “the law” (what we can call the “correct way to live”) to others, but not thinking that it applied to them. They were the ones that always said what people expected and dressed to impress and always made sure people saw them doing goods when in public. Pharisees could be good people and some were faithful, but most weren’t followers of God. We have many Pharisees today. They think others need to be godly when they are only godly when it benefits them. And many may be good people, but they are not worthy to call themselves Christian. Being Christian is not about presenting a godly façade while clinging to power at the expense of others. Again, all of us have moments when we’re vey pharisaical, but it should never be a lifestyle if we really want to be considered Christian. 

Let me know what your thinking or send me a question to pastordaveumc@gmail.com

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