But What About So And So?
It’s actually not new to this election cycle. It’s definitely more visible in our digital world that allows instant, looping images of those who are called out for their comments and behaviors. But long before modern politics, it seems that it has been the deflection tactic used for centuries. We tend to want to question and point out others’ behaviors much more quickly than evaluating our own – particularly when we don’t like how someone might be disruptive to our preferences and beliefs. We pretty quickly label them as a hypocrite.
It Happened to Jesus, Too
Jesus experienced this type of questioning and finger-pointing quite regularly. The scribes and Pharisees didn’t have iPhones and cameras everywhere to catch something Jesus or his disciples did, so they had to travel and be there in person if they wanted to question him. Mark 7 suggests that some delegates from Jerusalem were sent to basically observe, if not interrogate, Jesus about hand washing. It was a “what about so-and-so?” conversation. What about your disciples, Jesus... why don’t they follow our ceremonial procedures?
There was an ever-expanding list of rules created by the religious authorities that would support their preferences and keep them in control of orthodoxy. These rules were not God’s rules; they were manmade, but enforced as if they were from God. When Jesus heard their question, he turned around and asked His own question: “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written...”
Ouch. Jesus didn’t mince words; he just blatantly called them hypocrites, then followed with a quote from the revered prophet Isaiah: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
Before they knew what hit them, Jesus made it personal: “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”
Jesus didn’t mince words. He just blatantly called his accusers hypocrites. He made the prophet’s words a personal issue.
This wasn’t just a vague suggestion Jesus made. He gave them a specific example from their current practice. The scribes and Pharisees were in cahoots with some families in their community regarding the care of elderly parents. (This might feel a little close to home for those in the middle of elder care.) Some Jewish leaders were telling dear old Mom or Dad they would help them out, and certainly wanted to honor them as the good book says. But they had just made a pledge to the synagogue, and therefore couldn’t help. The Jewish leaders agreed to this, probably to keep their donors happy and hopefully increase loyalty for their authority.
It seems like politics have been in with religious folks for a long time. Jesus called them out for interpreting Scripture so that they felt good, but they didn’t actually follow God’s intent – and certainly not His heart.
Politics have been in with religious folks for a long time. See Mark 7.
Three Audiences, One Message
Jesus spoke to three different audiences that day, making sure everyone understood his point. The message was clear: outward expressions of faith must align with God’s Word and heart, and not simply with our desires and preferences. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and scribes. Then he addressed the crowd, and finally, he answered questions from his regular, slow-learning disciples. If you read through the Gospels, these guys were always needing a lot of clarification on what Jesus said and did.
Outward expressions of faith must align with God’s Word and heart, and not simply with our desires and preferences.
Jesus put the cookies on the bottom shelf for the disciples. I’m glad he did. Sometimes we just need a simple and clear answer. Are we supposed to play along with appearances and protocols if we follow Jesus? What exactly makes us align with God’s heart and Word? What makes us clean and right with God? How do we make sure we aren’t hypocrites who claim to live right but then live wrong?
Well, for the disciples, here is what Jesus said:
“Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
In this encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus was pretty quick to call them out for their hypocrisy. Maybe one takeaway for us is that we should focus less on what other people are doing or not doing. This would include our obsession with pointing out other people’s and politicians’ flaws on social media. And we should focus on making sure that from our mouths and hearts, we aren’t thinking or wishing evil for others, thinking of and/or participating in sexual immorality, coveting others or their stuff, being deceitful, envious, slandering others, being prideful or foolish. Unfortunately, these are the things we watch for in others and want to point out.
Jesus basically said, stop it, and get your own selves right with God.
Maybe we should focus on ourselves during the rest of the election and pandemic, instead of attempting to point out everyone else’s flaws. Once we do that, then instead of talking about old so-and-so and what they did, we can simply love them and offer to help them, even pray for them.
Maybe we should focus on ourselves during the rest of the election and pandemic, instead of attempting to point out everyone else’s flaws.
What a beautiful world this could be.
God’s Word for You
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Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash
