I
have heard people say of politicians, “Look at him! He’s lying!”
When asked how they know, the response is, “His lips are moving.” It’s a statement of disdain and
distrust.
This
is where the Pharisees were in regard to Jesus.
As far as they were concerned, there was nothing that He could do
right. He challenged their sense of
right and wrong, and undermined all their preconceived notions about who God is
and what He desires.
Truth
be told; Jesus does the same to us. As
sinful people we have a fallen concept of right and wrong. Some have said, “People want black and white,
but all there is, is gray.” Jesus,
however, calls sin, “sin,” and holy, “holy.”
We don’t like that. We imagine
God in our own image: winking at our wrongdoing, agreeing with our politics,
accepting our mores, and “loving” to the point that He accepts everyone and
calls no one to repentance (which really is not love). Jesus blows that image out of the water,
declaring Himself, “the lord of the Sabbath,” and asking, “Why do you call me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”
Jesus
confronts our sin in every circumstance.
He does not tolerate it. It is a
mess that must be cleaned up, and rather than leave it to us to straighten
(because we will not and cannot), Jesus takes it upon Himself and atones for it
with His death and resurrection.
When
we find ourselves confronted by God’s Word, what should we do?
How
you answer that question will depend on where you see the authority for your
life. If it is in yourself, you’ll
reject God’s Word for your own ideas. If
it is in God’s Word, you’ll reject your ideas, repent, live in forgiveness, and
be comforted by God’s Spirit.
Father
in Heaven, help me to hear and believe Your Word. Forgive me for not trusting You, and help me
build my life on Your Word because I have been saved through Jesus’ suffering,
death, and new life. Amen.
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