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 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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Maybe you can relate to me when I say that I’ve never understood the whole “second coming” thing.  I mean, I have to admit that I have been motivated to greater faithfulness by God’s love, by the challenge of reflecting Him to this world, and even by His discipline, but the reality of the second coming has never motivated me to do anything.  Now, it is clear from the teaching of Jesus and other New Testament writers that Jesus will one day return to this world, bringing history to its consummation and the kingdom of heaven completely to earth, so that, as the author of Revelation says, “the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them” (Revelation 21:3).  That part I understand.  The part I don’t get is the language of urgency and watchfulness that Jesus uses when discussing how we should live in light of his second coming.  After all, shouldn’t we always be living in the light of God’s truth and judgment?  Why do we need the second coming to convince us that we need to be consistent in our faith?

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Last week I ended my post by promising to deal this week with how Jesus used Hell in his teaching.  I’m not sure what I was thinking.  I mean, what made me think I could possibly do justice to this massive and excruciatingly important/touchy/difficult subject in one blog post?  So, instead of attempting to write the next great book on Hell, I think that the best thing I can do today is to share some observations on Jesus’ use of Hell that you may not have considered.  I think these observations will help us as we continue to look at how evangelical Christians use manipulation and urgency in order to scare people into the kingdom of God and motivate believers to action. 

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Sometimes it’s hard work to find humor in everyday situations.  And sometimes the humor just jumps into your lap like Tom Cruise onto Oprah’s couch.

Did anyone happen to read last week that apparently some leaders of the Church of Scientology  have decided that Tom Cruise is going to become the new “Christ” of their religion?  According to news reports, Cruise has been chosen to spread the word of Scientology and, as one leader said, “like Jesus Christ, he’s been criticized for his views.  But future generations will realize he was right.” 

Oh my God, where do I begin???

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Jesus loves you.

Is there any other statement in the English language that is at once so profound yet so utterly overused and meaningless to the majority of the people who hear it (including many Christians) than “Jesus loves you”?  I mean, as far as much of the world is concerned, you might as well be telling them “Barney the purple dinosaur loves you.”  What’s the big deal about Jesus loving me?

And while we’re at it, don’t forget the other one – “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”

So… that’s supposed to make me feel what exactly???

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