Authenticity

Authenticity:

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He was speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders of the day in Jerusalem and they were also Jesus’ greatest opposition.

The Pharisees thought they had it all together. As Jews, they concluded that their place in heaven was secured because they were the “true” descendants of Abraham. But just beneath that thin veil of self-righteousness Jesus saw them for who they truly were - sinners.

In 9:13 Jesus wasn’t excluding the Pharisees, in fact Jesus wasn’t excluding anyone. That’s why He went to the Cross. But in saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” Jesus was telling us that He can’t do anything for those of us who think we’re okay already.

Later, in Matthew 23:2-6, Jesus points out the “heart issue” with the religious leaders in saying, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces…”

Things haven’t changed much.

Today we don’t wear phylacteries (little boxes with Scripture tied to your head) and prayer shawls, but we still love places of honor and to make everything about us. We still like to wear a mask that covers up the sickness of our hearts. We, like the Pharisees, often think we’ve got it all together when in reality - we’re the sickest of the lot. We’re the ones who need Jesus the most.

As long as you keep up the act there is nothing God can do for you. In Matthew 23:15 Jesus said, “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites!” It wasn’t out of hatred or malice, but out of pure and holy love.

Jesus’ heart went out to those same men at the Cross when He said, “Father, forgive them.”

Drop the act at home. Drop the act at work. Please drop it at church. Stop hiding behind the masks of independence, self-sufficiency, personal holiness, and “having it all together” because you don’t. Nobody does. That’s why He came, suffered, died, rose, ascended, and promised to return soon.

We can keep pretending and fall into the category of “hypocrite,” or we can listen to His words “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” and invite the Spirit of God to come in and radically transform and redeem our world and lives.

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com