A First Century Story

Imagine that you're a Jew living in Jerusalem during the ministry and life of Christ. You've been captivated by Jesus and His message for almost three years now, always making it a point to go and hear Him speak whenever He's in Jerusalem or Judea. You know that He's the Messiah and you long for the kingdom He repeatedly says is immenent.

Now imagine with me that you have a friend who has always been partial to the Pharisees. Because the Pharisees haven't been supportive of Jesus, your friend has never really been willing to give Jesus a fair hearing. Until now.

After Jesus successfully answered the ill-motived questions of the Pharisees, Sadducees and even a single lawyer (Mt. 22), your friend agrees to go with you to hear Jesus speak. You're beyond thrilled! Finally, your friend will listen to the Lord with an open mind, and you're convinced that he will finally become a follower of Christ.

You and your friend show up. There is quite a crowd as usual, but you and your friend find a place where you can both see the Master. Then...after a brief lull, Jesus begins His message. But this time something is different. You can see both sadness and frustration in Jesus' face and can tell that this message will be different.

Jesus begins by telling the multitudes that "The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do..." (Mt. 23:2-3).

Given Jesus' ongoing conflict with the sect of the Pharisees, you're a little shocked by this statement, but you realize that your friend, who is partial to the Pharisees, will appreciate this olive branch that's being extended by the Prince of Peace. You nudge your friend and he nods in return.

But then Jesus says the following, "...that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men..." (Mt. 23:3-5). As Jesus continues to enumerate the various forms of Pharisaical hypocrisy, you swallow nervously and glance over at your friend whose jaw is suddenly set and his brow furrowed. Oh no, you think to yourself. My friend is going to be offended to his core.

These thoughts are running through your mind as Jesus continues His message. There are gasps from the audience and folks are looking at each other and whispering among themselves. This is not one of Jesus' sermons on the kingdom, or about His role as Shepherd. Sure, you've heard Jesus preach some very controversial sermons, but now...now it's different because you have your friend with you...who has finally agreed to hear Jesus and who is partial to the Pharisees. 

You are shaken from your thoughts when suddenly, Jesus raises his voice and speaks with renewed conviction. He pounds his right fist into his left palm and even though there is obvious frustration in His voice, you can see the tears in your Master's eyes as He cries out, "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" (vs. 13).

Your heart stops. By this point, you don't want to look at your friend. You're sure that he's infuriated and you're just waiting for him to turn his back and walk away, his heart forever closed to the Messiah.

Jesus repeats this seven more times. "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." He calls them blind guides, fools, and says that despite their good appearance that they are "full of dead men's bones" (vs. 27). He even calls them, "Serpents, brood of vipers" and asks them, "How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" (vs. 33).

Jesus begins to conclude His message. He lowers His voice and pauses momentarily as he scans the audience with pleading eyes. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," Jesus concludes, tears now streaming forth, "the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (vs. 37).

And that's what bothers you so much! You know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and that He is so full of love and compassion. You've seen it time and time again. And you know that this message, as poignant as it was, was rooted in love and concern for souls being led astray. But your friend won't see it that way. He won't see the Savior's tears. He won't read between the lines and recognize the obvious love in the Master's voice. He won't take into account the fact that for almost three years now, Jesus has been so patient with the Pharisees' constant efforts to undermine His ministry and teachings. All your friend will hear is the shrill, hateful voice of a man who has been dividing the Jewish people and stirring up trouble for years now.

And sure enough, when you do finally turn around, you see your friend's back as he walks away.

Jesus and His disciples head in the direction of the Temple. The crowd dissipates. And you are left standing there in the middle of a street in Jerusalem, with feelings that you never thought you'd feel about the Messiah. Not only do you find yourself wishing that you hadn't brought your friend to hear Jesus speak, but you find yourself resenting Jesus for having chosen this day above all days to speak this particular message. The timing couldn't have been worse!

With gritted teeth and conflicting thoughts, you finally decide that you'd better return to work. You'll deal with your friend later.

***

I'd like for us to reflect briefly upon this story...

I intentionally didn't reveal how the friend in this story eventually reacted to Jesus' message. We know that he was offended by it initially and walked away. But in the end, did the friend remain angry? Was he forever embittered against Jesus, and for this reason would he be one of those many Jews who would soon thereafter cry out "Cruify Him! Crucify Him!"? Or is it possible that such an honest and straightforward message is what was necessary to break through this man's shell? Despite being initially offended, perhaps the friend, upon deeper reflection, realized that Jesus was right after all.

The point is, the man could've reacted positively or negatively to Jesus' message. I'm sure that among those who were actually present that day to hear Jesus speak, there were mixed reactions.

But the reason I left the man's eventual conclusion out of the story is because ultimately, it has no bearing on whether Jesus' message was appropriate or not. A positive reaction wouldn't have validated Jesus' message, but neither would a negative reaction have invalidated His message. Right?

So the main question is this: what should the main character in the story have done?

Was he right for feeling resentful? For being upset that Jesus named names and apparently lacked any sense of diplomacy or tact? For thinking that the timing was poor? Should he perhaps have gone and apologized to his friend? Should he have tried to smooth things over with his friend? Would he have been right if he had concluded that he should be much more careful about who he invited to hear Jesus preach from that point forward?

Or should he have had implicit trust in Jesus? Should he have trusted in God's providence and thought that perhaps God had actually timed it this way for a reason? Should he have understood that the truth is the truth and that the power is in the message? Instead of blaming Jesus, should he have blamed his friend's hardness of heart? Should he simply have prayed that his friend would have an open heart to reconsider and to mediate upon these hard sayings? Should he have been thankful that finally his friend heard the truth about the Pharisees?

What do you think? How would you have reacted?