Matthew 23:13-22
Woe to you, teachers of the law…you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you, blind guides!
Why does the Teacher unleash this ruthless attack on the religious leaders? He is never this hard even on the worst sinners!
Perhaps because sinners don’t claim to speak for God! Appoint themselves as guardians of God’s truth. Then present to the world a distorted picture of God.
No wonder Jesus condemns them. They’re misrepresenting God! Running roughshod where even angels fear to tread!
Today, many people might be surprised to discover the Jesus they know – the Jesus presented by religion – only partially resembles the real Person and His teaching.
This is because what people know about Jesus still often comes through the filters of religious leaders. And they tend to interpret Jesus in a way that justifies their own practices.
Rather than allowing Jesus to shape the church, the church sometimes markets a re-packaged Jesus to the world.
Paradoxically, it may be the modern church that most obscures the effective genius and power of Jesus as Teacher. Ignores His more inconvenient teachings!
For example: When was the last time in church you heard anyone pray for their enemies, sincerely asking God to bless them? Where are the practical lessons on how to love our enemies?
Bypass the false gatekeepers! Listen to the voice of Jesus! Don’t settle for less than a personal relationship with the Teacher who can change hearts to be more like His.
"....what people know about Jesus still often comes through the filters of religious leaders. And they tend to interpret Jesus in a way that justified their own practics."
ReplyDeleteWhat an insightful statement - one worth repeating.
Denny wrote: "Today, many people might be surprised to discover the Jesus they know – the Jesus presented by religion – only partially resembles the real Person and His teaching.
ReplyDeleteThis is because what people know about Jesus still often comes through the filters of religious leaders. And they tend to interpret Jesus in a way that justifies their own practices."
How true this is - and how hard it is to read and not "justify" or to read with "filters" of our previous teachings and thoughts. Some of these are good, yet some may not be.
A few trhings that might help:
1. Pray for wisdom before your ead
2. When you read something familiar, read it more carefully rather than skimming over it
3. When you read something that supports your beliefs, question wether the text really is saying what you think it says
4. When you come across something different than what is normally discussed, pay incredibly close attention. Study the things not often talked about.
Any more hints to reading without preconceived ideas or reading to justify self?