A TIMELY WARNING

As He taught, Jesus said, ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.’ (Mark 12: 38-40).

Jesus issued a warning which it would be well for Christian leaders to heed today. What was the problem? Was it wrong for the religious leaders to be treated with respect? No, everyone should be treated with respect regardless of their station in life. What these men were demanding was preferential treatment because they thought they were better than everyone else.

They had elevated themselves to privileged positions in society because they felt they deserved it. They were the custodians of the Torah, the Law of Moses, upon which the rest of Scripture was based. They had to ensure that the people adhered to the yoke of the rabbis with authority – s’mikhah. They were, in a sense, the watchdogs of the law, which would have meant that they, too, were under its authority, a fact they conveniently forgot.

Jesus did not have a problem with their function as far as it was fulfilled in the spirit of Torah, applying the law as God intended – with mercy and compassion, but these men has carried their position to extremes. They thought that their “learning” had made them a cut above everyone else. They expected the riffraff – the ordinary people whom they despised, especially the ones they regarded as “sinners” – to defer to them because they deserved it.

Jesus warned His disciples to watch out for them. These men had power. Many of them were part of the ruling party and the ruling authority in Israel and were hand-in-glove with the Romans. Fall foul of them and they would act ruthlessly as they were soon to find out. But Jesus’ warning was not so much to stay in their good books as it was not to be like them.

Jesus was not afraid of them. He used the weapon of truth to expose their hypocrisy and to stand up to their accusations and their intimidation. With masterful insight, He stripped away their actions to expose their motives. They were utterly self-absorbed. They did not use their learning or position to benefit the people. They used the people to benefit themselves. They wanted the admiration and accolades and they demanded it by preening and strutting like peacocks among the people.

Their attitude was contrary to the attitude of a true servant of God. Jesus insisted, time and again as He taught His disciples, that true greatness came from stepping down, not climbing up. Every time He caught the disciples bickering over positions in His coming kingdom, He took the opportunity to teach them about leadership. Greatness, like happiness is the result of something, not the goal to be sought at all costs.

Happiness is the outcome of a life lived for doing the right thing. Jesus congratulated those who gave themselves away to serve the needs of others, which brings a sense of peace and wellbeing because it is the right thing to do. Happiness follows selfless service just as night follows day. In the same way, greatness is the result of humble and self-forgetful service in the kingdom of God. Take Mother Teresa as a human example. She did not seek greatness but the world honoured her as a great woman because of her mercy and compassion to the dying beggars of Calcutta.

The religious leaders demanded to be treated as though they were great where, in fact their attitude and behaviour were despicable. They expected others to serve them instead of serving others. Their self-awareness was so great that it blew their egos out of all proportion.

What is the antidote to pathological self-awareness? We all suffer from its effects because we inherited it from Adam. The writer to the Hebrews gives us the answer:

. . . Fixing our eyes on Jesus . . . (Heb. 12: 2).

Paul put it like this:

And we all who, with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3: 18).

Whether we achieve greatness or not is not our business. Our task is to view ourselves realistically as God sees us; sons and daughters of God, yes; holy and beloved, yes; but not self-made or any better than others. Before God we all stand on level ground.

How reprehensible it is that some spiritual leaders in the church today have not heeded Jesus’ words. Unlisted phone numbers; unreachable to those in need; demanding preferential treatment; a cut above everyone else in the church – this is not the spirit of Jesus but the spirit of the Pharisees and their punishment will be great.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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