In Mark 12 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 they have important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely."
In Matthew 23 Jesus also said "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."
In these two verses Jesus tells the religious leaders of the day that they are a "child of hell" and that they will be "punished most severely."
There are some things that Jesus said that we can debate over whether we are to take literally or not, like when he said to put a millstone around our neck and throw oursleves in the middle of the sea... but this is pretty hard to debate. Jesus is simply not a fan of the religious people in the gospels.
Does Jesus like us?
To answer that we have to look at why Jesus didn't like the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were all about self glorification. They like sitting in places of honor and being treated with respect, being a Pharisee was a pretty good gig. They had the best education and made a good living. They wore special clothes and people really believed what they said... They had a place of power, prestige, and influence... and like most humans would do, they abused their power, but they did it in the name of God.
I'm finding more and more that being a pastor means that I get to sit in some honorable places. Last week I attended a luncheon with the mayors of both Dallas and Fort Worth. Next week I will meet with the mayor of Southlake because I am a member of his advisory committee... I have special access to important politicians. Is Jesus talking about me?
On Tuesday I gave the prayer of invocation at the Southlake City Council meeting. There were a couple hundred people there so I gave a really good prayer, hoping that because my prayer was so awesome people would come to Abiding Grace, because we are awesome too! Is Jesus talking about me?
Being a pastor is a scary job. People look to me for my advice, thinking that it is coming from God. The problem is that sometimes my ego jumps in too.
What does God want from religious leaders?
That is a good question and I think I know part of the answer. God wants religious leaders to spread the message of love, which is shown most beautifully on the cross. God wants us to challenge people to live a more loving life, a life of service not of self-glorification. God wants us to check our egos at the door and work for the glorification of God and the kingdom of Heaven.
God wants us to be more like Jesus...
Lord knows I'm trying, because I don't want to be punished most severely.
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