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.”

I love the visual in that last line… two weeks ago it was Jesus Christ, freestyle rapper, and this week it’s Jesus Christ, stand-up comic.  But Jesus’ point is clear, isn’t it?  The Pharisees were so concerned about obeying every minute detail of the law, but in the process were missing out on the bigger, more important matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  The motives of the Pharisees were good – in their desire for God to send the Messiah, the warrior-king who would liberate them from Roman oppression, they wanted the Jewish people to be as pure and holy as possible – but their desire for purity was causing them to act unmercifully towards those who did not live up to their standards. 

There are so many implications for us today that it’s hard to know where to begin.  I think that Jesus’ words raise two very crucial questions for us:

- What matters of lesser importance are occupying too much of our attention as a church?
- What are the more important priorities, according to God?

Let’s deal with the second question first.  Fortunately for us, Jesus tells us what God’s priorities are – justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  By saying this, he would have brought to mind Micah 6:8, a verse familiar to any Jew of Jesus’ day:  He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Justice, mercy, and humble faithfulness to God – that is what He requires of us.  I think it’s crucial for the American church, especially evangelical churches like our own, to pay close attention to these priorities.  What is the first priority listed by both Micah and Jesus?  Justice.  Maybe you’re surprised that the top priority given by Jesus is that His followers would work and live for what is right.  Perhaps you expected Jesus to say “salvation” as a 21st century evangelical would understand it, that Jesus’ priority for the Pharisees would be to save souls.  But he doesn’t say that – he asks the religious leaders of his day to make their lives about justice.

This past weekend we had two book discussions about Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, an excellent and thought-provoking book.  One thing that he wrote, which I’ve been hearing more and more from Christian theologians and speakers, is this: “The point of the cross isn’t(just) forgiveness.  Forgiveness leads to something much bigger:  restoration.  God isn’t just interested in covering over our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally created to be.”  Bell’s point is that the gospel is more than just the Four Spiritual Laws, more than just God forgiving our sins so that we can go to heaven.  The gospel is about God’s kingdom breaking into our world, about God calling people to be a part of bringing His justice, peace, love, and salvation to this world.  This is why when Jesus began his ministry, he said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2).  Jesus was telling the people to rethink the way they were living and to enter into a way of life defined by the rule and love of God. 

Why do I bring this up?  Because Jesus’ list of priorities should tell us that the gospel is more than just personal salvation – it involves justice, mercy, and faithfulness. There is one theological school of thought that sees the world as a sinking ship, and the job of the Christian as one who rescues as many people off of the ship before it is destroyed.  This approach teaches that personal salvation is all that really matters, and that things like justice, peace, creation care, etc. only matter if they bring people to personal salvation.  I think Jesus’ words to the Pharisees and the rest of His teaching would say otherwise; God’s priorities include justice, mercy, and faithfulness because the gospel is not only about forgiveness but about restoration of both people and creation.  When God’s people work for justice and show mercy, they are living out the gospel, bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth, making right what has gone wrong. 

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus takes the Pharisees to task for focusing too heavily on the minute aspects of the law while neglecting the most important matters.  Is there any doubt that Jesus could easily level the same criticism against many churches today?  For example, in a previous youth ministry which I led, I inherited a list of rules that had been set up in order to protect the purity of the teens.  Among the rules were restrictions on what the girls could wear – how long their shorts or skirts had to be, how much skin needed to be covered – as well as restrictions on boys’ dress (i.e. how low their pants could sag).  Having come from a previous youth ministry that was very outreach-focused, I was used to kids showing up who might have broken the dress code but were there to seek out God.  I understood this church’s desire to protect the purity of their children, but I could see how such rules would either prevent outsiders from joining or cause them to feel immoral and condemned because they didn’t live up to the dress code.  If Jesus had been present, I believe he would have told the leaders of that ministry to practice modesty without neglecting the more important matters of justice and mercy, in order to not exclude those who did not meet their standards of purity.

It’s important to note that Jesus does not condemn the Pharisees for tithing; he is simply upset that they focus on purity issues while neglecting issues of justice, mercy, and humble faithfulness.  In the same way, we need to be sure that in our desire to be faithful to God, we don’t forget that Jesus’ priorities are extending justice and mercy to those who likely do not pass our purity tests.

I’d be interested in hearing what you think about this.  Do you see the church focusing heavily on matters of lesser importance and neglecting the more important matters of justice, mercy, and humble faithfulness?  What might Jesus use as examples today instead of tithing?  If you have any thoughts, please post a comment so that we might live out God’s priorities.

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