judgment

Of figs and doves

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“…He went to see if he could find anything on it…” Mark 11:12-19

The picture is of a fig tree in my back yard. It was difficult to take a photo without showing any fruit. This tree always has loads of fruit on it, which start forming as soon as it begins leafing out. Some say the small buds that are first to form are particularly desirable. Maybe that is what Jesus expected to find. As a country boy, he would know when to find figs. As the Son of God, he would also know without looking that this particular tree was barren of fruit. So why bother?

To focus on the fig tree and its fruit-bearing habits is to miss the point. To focus on the apparent self-centeredness of Jesus at this moment and on his seemingly unreasonable response also misses the point. If Jesus expected to find fruit, I won’t argue. So, what was he trying to say?

The fig tree has long been a symbol of the nation Israel. Jesus has just made his grand entry into Jerusalem as King. As any earthly king would, he expects his subjects to bring forth the fruits of his kingdom when he appears. There will be none. As king he must act in judgment; hence the tree is cursed and subsequently withers away.

He continues on into Jerusalem and goes to the temple. He finds the situation there to be wholly unacceptable. Instead of finding priests welcoming Jew and Gentile to prayer, he sees corrupt profiteering, bilking the pilgrims out of their hard-earned money. He responds in immediate judgment by overturning the tables of the money changers and driving out the sellers of doves for sacrifice.

Some may have thought that Jesus was finally showing some muscle. He was becoming the political revolutionary they thought they needed. Certainly the Jewish leaders feared he would upset the cautious balance they had crafted with the brutal Romans (and managed to make a tidy profit at the same time, which Rome no doubt shared).

They now set about on a tricky and treacherous course. The crowds loved Jesus and his teaching. They thronged him wherever he went and stood in awe of him. To the chief priests and scribes there was only one answer: kill him before Rome raised its armored boot and squashed them. The hard part? Getting the crowds to go along with their plan.

No wonder Jesus continued his nightly retreat to Bethany.

Copyright 2020 David J. Cooley

Ins and outs

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“Why do your disciples not walk according to…” Mark 7:1-8

The scribes and Pharisees again come out from Jerusalem to take another look at Jesus and his teachings. They readily observed that the disciples were eating with unwashed hands. And their implication was that Jesus was negligent for not requiring them to do so.

This time their complaint seems incredibly picky to us, but to them it was of tremendous importance. They do not mean that the disciples were eating with dirty hands, but that they had not followed the prescribed ritual to rid themselves of all unholy contamination caused by contact with the outside world. The Jews were well known for their slavish devotion to this tradition, which not only including washing their hands up to the wrists but extended also to cups, pots and pans. And tradition it was. The Law never required such cleansing. But their traditions were held in such regard that they even superseded the law of God.

Jesus is quick to point this out. He quotes from the respected prophet Isaiah, saying that these religious leaders were hypocrites (play actors), portraying themselves as something they were not. They knew which words to say about just about everything, but their hearts were not in tune with God and the intent of His word. Further, their worship was self-serving and of no worth to God because they exalted the ideas and commands of men above even what God had to say.

We may wonder what all the fuss was about, but then we have enjoyed a couple of thousand years of freedom in Christ. But that does not mean our lives as Christians have not been impacted by the pronouncements of religious leaders and organizations above and beyond what God requires. The pressure to define who’s “in” and who’s “out” permeates even our Christian society. However, we humans lack the resources to judge even those most like ourselves.

The trick is to keep in mind who you are trying to please. If it is a person, the rules may well change with every person you happen to meet. If it is God, rest assured He will look past your outward appearance and actions and examine your heart, seeing what you are really about.

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

It is time

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“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God…”

Wait a minute… Don’t we get out of this sort of thing? Doesn’t God pull us out of here before any of that gets started?

Sorry. We begin to feel the fire of God’s judgment the moment we are saved. Not the judgment that leads to condemnation – thankfully we won’t face that! But God begins purifying us and making us holy right away. The unbeliever waits, perhaps in self deceit, thinking he will escape judgment since he hasn’t got caught – yet.

If we think it’s tough for us, then it will be so much more terrible for the lost and disobedient. It is much better to surrender to God now, while there is still time, than it is to refuse and then be taken captive.

But we have hope. We can entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator. Though we may suffer a little for a little while for doing what is right, we know He will bring us through it all, stronger and better for it.

For more, see 1 Peter 4:17-19

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley