If Jesus were running our church, what would his priorities be?  What values would be at the top of the list if Jesus were running the show?  And how would our priorities compare to His?

Today, I’m wrapping up my study of Jesus’ criticisms of the religious leaders of his day in Matthew 23.  I’ve been shocked by the directness of his rebukes over the past few weeks, and today’s words are no less harsh.  In Matthew 23:23-24, he deals with the contrast between the priorities of the religious leaders of his day and those of God, and in the process I think Jesus has a lot to teach today’s church about what it means to follow God:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices– mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law– justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

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“The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable” – Brennan Manning

I am sure there are plenty of people in this world who look to philosophical and theological arguments to account for their rejection of God, but I believe that the biggest cause for people giving up on God, Jesus, or the church can be summed up in one word:  hypocrisy (with unjust suffering a close second).  There is no greater opponent to God than hypocritical Christians, no bigger turn-off to the world than a church who claims to follow Jesus but shows no love for their neighbor. 

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The controversial rapper Eminem and the Galilean carpenter/teacher Jesus may not seem to have much in common at first glance, but as I’ve been meditating on Jesus’ challenging words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23, it almost feels like I’m reading a first century Palestinian version of a freestyle rap battle.  In this jaw-dropping passage, Jesus slams the religious leaders and what they call spirituality in pointed putdown after putdown, and if you listen closely you can almost hear the crowd yelling “oh, snap!” (or whatever the Aramaic equivalent would be).

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Pop quiz:  What famous religious leader is quoted as calling the other religious leaders of his day the following:

“Hypocrites”
“Sons of Hell”
“Blind fools”
“Full of hypocrisy and wickedness”
“Snakes and a brood of vipers”

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As I look back on the last few months of posts, I’ve written a lot of words about many difficult subjects, from Biblical interpretation to sexism in the church, from religious tolerance to homosexuality.  This week, I’m feeling the need to return to a verse in the Bible that has resonated with me more than any other, for some reason.  It’s found in the Old Testament, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verse 2, and in my unauthorized “Eric Stillman Version” (ESV), it says this:

Do not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so SHUT UP.

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