When it
was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Yeshua went up to Jerusalem .
In the
temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others
sitting at
tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all
from the
temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money
changers
and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves He said, “Get these
out of
here! How dare you turn My Father's house into a market!” – Joh 2:13-16
In today's Christian society this kind of Holy outrage
would be considered "unloving". We would isolate the individual,
label them unacceptable and seriously advise them to repent from their
“obvious” lack of love. This is partially because we have mentally separated
this incident from the rest of Scripture, categorizing it as merely “zeal for
His Father's house”. Indeed, it was zeal, but the thing we need to realize is
that it had a purpose. It wasn't just included in Scripture as an interesting
side note. It was included to point out that even in the meekness of Christ the
holiness of God is something to contend with. And there other
areas where this holy fire is revealed.
The entire 23rd Chapter of Matthew is devoted to the Lord's
rebuke of the religious teachers of the day. He doesn't make one gentle remark
in the entire discourse. He does not waltz around their duplicity or attempt to
cajole them into agreeing with Him. No, He nails them to the wall with precise
clarity:
“But woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the
allow those who are entering to go
in.”
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you devour widows
houses, even while for a pretense
you make long prayers; therefore you shall
receive greater condemnation.”
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you travel about on sea
and land to make one proselyte; and
when he becomes one, you make him twice
as much a son of hell as
yourselves.”
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is
nothing; but whoever swears by the
gold of the temple, he is obligated.'”
"You fools and blind men, which
is more important, the gold or the temple that
sanctified the gold?”
“And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar,
that is nothing, but whoever swears by
the offering that is on it, he is
obligated.’”
“You blind men, which is more
important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the
offering?” – Mat 23:13-19
And that’s the abbreviated version. Lest we imagine He was
alone in this approach, John the Baptist refuses to even baptize them until
their repentance can be verified by their actions:
But when
he saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to where
he was
baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the
coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with your repentance. And do
not think
you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you
that out
of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already
at the
root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut
down and
thrown into the fire.” – Mat 3:7-12
Again, today if we were to speak as clearly, we would be
ostracized. Does anyone refuse to baptize or accept someone no matter how
grievous their lifestyle or obvious their lack of regard? I don’t know of many
who would even consider it. And yet, it was exactly what these hypocrites
needed to hear. More importantly, it was what those coming in earnest needed to
hear, as well, because there truly is a difference in the lifestyle of the
saved and those who only feign repentance.
Here's the thing: the Lord was not crucified because people
found what He said pleasing. No, He was crucified because He seriously offended
the religious leaders of the day. Just in case you missed it, the same can be
said for many Christian martyrs. Just look at the disciples. The fear that
Christianity would overturn the government did play a part; but it was what
came out of their mouths that moved their abusers to action.
Living in a “free” society we often fail to relate to the
reality of a society where the leaders consider themselves “gods”. His truth
cuts like a sword. That is its purpose (Heb 4:12 ) and it is what the Disciples were sharing. So, people
were offended then and people are offended now. Yet, where would we be if our Biblical
examples had not considered the truth so much more important than ‘feelings’?
I went off on a man yesterday. I don't usually do that, but
he was defending the need to be nice over speaking the truth and I let him have
both barrels. My spirit was just so offended that the rebuke just poured out.
So, I was pondering that this morning – chastising myself really – and I asked
the Lord, "What made me so adamant? What made it seem so important?"
And He began to remind me of the things I have shared with you here.
Here's the thing: when we choose “nice” over truth,
we act like there was no offense to the cross. Yet, it was the most degrading
and socially unacceptable way to die of the time. People weren't standing
around saying, “Oh, isn't that nice.” No, they were repulsed and offended. The
Son of God gave His life for their sins and they loathed Him for it.
I tell you the truth we are worse than them. Our need to
insist everything be approached with complete civility and preference for everyone’s
feelings has caused us – who claim to love Him – to remain silent when we absolutely
should be speaking. Heaven and hell weigh in the balance and we are focused on
feelings. Our Lord hung on the cross in full view of the contempt of those He sought to save, and we are consumed with the fear of offending.
While I admit I was surprised at my outburst, I still think it far
better to offend you in the hope of reaching you for the Lord, rather than placate
you all the way to hell. And if we’re really honest about it, so did the Lord.
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