Dead on arrival!
That’s the only way to describe a religion that claims to speak for God and yet is completely godless. Jesus simply doesn’t give them a chance.
He doesn’t even call for repentance. He just says - Woe to you! And He says it perfectly – seven times!
When religion isn’t interested in justice, mercy and faithfulness, it’s DOA!
If instead, religion focuses on insignificant things – strains out the gnats but swallows a camel – it’s beyond resuscitation!
When religious leaders are greedy and self-indulgent, it’s over!
When everything is calculated to look good but the reality is hypocrisy and wicked lives, CPR is futile!
When everything is put on for show and public consumption, it’s dead!
Where is this spiritual point of no return?
For sure, when Jesus is present and the heart is unmoved by His love and wisdom!
That’s DOA!
The scribews and Pharisees would spend hours debating whether one command was greater than another, and in the end fall back on their belief that all commands were equally important. Thus the trap they tried to ensnare Jesus in back in chapter 22 - their petty argument - "WHICH IS THE GREATESTS COMMANDMENT?"
ReplyDeleteJesus answered "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and prophets hang on these two commandments." (Mt 22:37-40)
Here, Jesus again brings up that there are "weightier" or "more important" matters. If you follow the little things and neglect the bigger, weightier, more important things... what kind of religion do you really have? Hypocrisy.
It is so easy to point fingers at the Pharisees... how do we do when we turn the question on self?
How may we follow the small things and miss the bigger things?
Do we understand grace? Mercy? Faithfulness (really?) Are we truly Just?
Not that it's bad to do the small things - just lets not neglect the weightier first.