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).

Last week I quoted Jesus’ criticisms in verse 13, where he took the Pharisees and teachers of the law to task for, as he put it, “shutting the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces,” arrogantly deciding who did and did not deserve God’s grace and favor.  Jesus even went so far as to proclaim that because of this, the religious leaders themselves would not enter the kingdom of heaven.  In verse 15, Jesus continues with another “diss”:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15)

Can’t you just see his disciples jumping up, saying “Ohhh!” and high-fiving each other?

First of all, I continue to be astonished that Jesus actually spoke like this to those who were considered the religious elite of his day.  So many of us have been conditioned to see Jesus as meek and mild, holding the little children tenderly on his knee and carrying sheep safely home on his shoulders.  Sure, there was that time he overturned the tables in the temple and drove the money changers out with a whip (John 2:13-17), but by and large he was sort of like Mr. Rogers, teaching people to be good boys and girls and to love their neighbors, right?  Certainly Matthew 23 puts that myth to rest.  As tender and welcoming as Jesus could be to the people on the margins – the prostitutes, the lepers, the blind, etc. – he was just as demanding and harsh towards those who claimed to speak for God.  James, the brother of Jesus, recognized this when he wrote “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).  As a pastor, I hear in this chapter a warning to be very careful in my desire to be faithful to God not to become a self-righteous Pharisee, the very people for whom Jesus reserved his harshest words. 

Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:15 teach us that it’s not just conversion that matters – it’s what you’re converting someone into.  It’s not enough to lead a person to turn from living for themselves to living for God, or to turn someone from doubt to faith in God – it’s critical to understand what kind of disciple you’re actually making.  Jesus’ words in this verse are such an incredible slam of the Pharisees.  It’s like he’s saying “You’re so willing to go anywhere in order to convert people, and you think that God is pleased with that, but the problem is that you’re converting people into disciples who are even more arrogant, judgmental, and evil than even you are.”  Can’t you just see the Pharisees’ jaws hit the floor on that one?  Jesus excoriates the Pharisees for turning each of their converts into “twice as much a son of hell” as they are without even flinching.  No gentleness, no “affirmation sandwich” – just strong words of judgment.   Incredible.

I’ve been fortunate through my work as a pastor to be in contact with leaders of many excellent churches who are seeing tens or even hundreds of people come to faith in Jesus in a given week.  Jesus’ words in this verse remind us that even more important than conversion numbers are what kind of converts you are producing.  The Pharisees may have celebrated the number of converts their efforts were producing, but in Jesus’ eyes all of their efforts were useless because they were only succeeding in producing more “sons of Hell.”  The obvious truth is that the church or ministry in which someone is converted is going to have a huge impact on the kind of Christian he or she becomes.  Churches who concentrate on the needs of the individual seeker run the risk of creating disciples who think that Christianity is all about God making him or her feel good.  Churches who teach that God wants us to be healthy and wealthy will produce Christians who believe that faithfulness to God is the best route to worldly success.  Loving churches concerned with works of mercy and compassion are going to produce Christians who think that being a Christian means serving the poor and needy.  And churches who believe that they are the keepers of the only true way to God and are able to judge who does and does not deserve God’s grace are sure to produce a nice big church of Pharisees

If you are involved in any sort of church or ministry leadership, ask yourself this question:  What kind of disciples are you producing?  Do those who come to faith in Jesus under your leadership or witness know the cost of discipleship, or do they think God exists to meet their needs?  Are you producing arrogant, self-righteous Pharisees who believe they are right and everyone else can go to Hell, or are you producing humble, Christ-like disciples who seek to serve and love their neighbor in the same way God has loved them? 

May God give us the wisdom to create disciples who are Christ-like, so that we might be spared Jesus’ words of judgment.  When it comes to battles, you can be sure that Jesus never loses.

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