Tainted Joy and True Greatness

Introduction

There have been a few occasions over the course of my life where I have had to be a part of an intervention in the life of someone I love. And, for those of you who have had to be in to be a part of similar experiences, you know that these are among the most painful and excruciating moments that you could ever have to go through with a friend or a family member or member of your church family. Because you have to look across the table or across the room to a man or a woman that you love, and wound them. You have to have a love for them that is so strong, so selfless, so sacrificial that it is compelled to say devastating things to the person that you love, even if it means that person may be angry with you or even hate you for it, because you know that it is the only hope that person has. It is the truth they have to hear, even though it is the truth they angrily have refused to hear.

As we come to , this is the tone with which we should understand Jesus to be speaking. This is an intervention. These are going to be hard words for the leaders of Israel. The Great Prophet has come, and his message is one of judgement. But, as hard as these words are, it is a compassionate lamentation, words of a brokenhearted God, that desires for his people to hear them and be broken and delivered from their hopelessness. Though many will ignore them and hate him all the more for saying them, Jesus is calling Israel away from her own self-destruction and into hope and life.

God’s Word

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A Climax

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples” Chapter 23 is really the climax of the what’s been happening in chapter 22. We’ve been witnessing Jesus under the scrutiny of Israel’s leaders as they’ve come to him with a series of riddles and challenges attempting to turn the crowds against him. But, Jesus has not backed down one iota. In fact, Jesus has given them far more than they bargained for, and by the time chapter 22 ends it says that ‘no one was able to answer him a word, nor did they dare to ask him any more questions.’

A Credible Savior

Now, Jesus turns to his disciples and the listening crowd after facing his interrogation to further apply and explain what they've just witnessed. If you'll remember what we said, we said that it was the accusation of the leaders of Isreal and their goal to show that Jesus was seeking to abolish the law of Moses. But, as Jesus had showed them, especially in his answer about the Great Commandment, He had not at all come to abolish the law. In fact, He had come to fulfill the Law. He was the Law, the Word incarnate, in human flesh. So now, I want you to notice how Jesus drives this home to his disciples, first and foremost, and then to the rest of the crowd as they listen in. He says, "These are the teachers and leaders of Israel. They sit on Moses' seat, and they have been delegated a great and mighty responsibility by God. They stand before you and teach you what is in the Law of God and all that God has stipulated to you in his gracious and loving covenant, and you should listen to them." Now, I'm not sure this is what we expect to hear from Jesus at this point. They are seeking to turn the crowd against Jesus. They are seeking to tarnish Jesus' reputation and to have Jesus arrested and ultimately murdered, a feat they will accomplish in just three short days. They have done nothing but make Jesus' life miserable, and Jesus has not exactly hidden his displeasure for the mockery they had made of God's temple, and yet here He was telling them to obey the things they were teaching.

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you” Now, Jesus turns to his disciples and the listening crowd after facing his interrogation to further apply and explain what they've just witnessed. If you'll remember what we said, we said that it was the accusation of the leaders of Isreal and their goal to show that Jesus was seeking to abolish the law of Moses. But, as Jesus had showed them, especially in his answer about the Great Commandment, He had not at all come to abolish the law. In fact, He had come to fulfill the Law. He was the Law, the Word incarnate, in human flesh. So now, I want you to notice how Jesus drives this home to his disciples, first and foremost, and then to the rest of the crowd as they listen in. He says, "These are the teachers and leaders of Israel. They sit on Moses' seat, and they have been delegated a great and mighty responsibility by God. They stand before you and teach you what is in the Law of God and all that God has stipulated to you in his gracious and loving covenant, and you should listen to them." Now, I'm not sure this is what we expect to hear from Jesus at this point. They are seeking to turn the crowd against Jesus. They are seeking to tarnish Jesus' reputation and to have Jesus arrested and ultimately murdered, a feat they will accomplish in just three short days. They have done nothing but make Jesus' life miserable, and Jesus has not exactly hidden his displeasure for the mockery they had made of God's temple, and yet here He was telling them to obey the things they were teaching.

Now, I want you to think about that. All talked we’ve about for the last two months is the scribes and Pharisees conspiring to undermine the teaching and authority and credibility of Jesus to the crowds. They’ve tried to trick Jesus and humiliate Jesus and undermine Jesus so that the crowds will stop listening to Jesus as a credible and authoritative teacher. And, how does Jesus respond to them? What is his very first instruction to his disciples and to the crowd that has watched on as Jesus has proven himself the superior teacher of the Law? “You should listen to them as they teach you the Law of God.” Now, He’s not telling them to listen to the additions to God’s law or to the corruptions of God’s Law, but as far as they teach you God’s Law, you should listen to them and obey them. You see, Matthew is laying the character of our Savior next to the character of the rulers of Israel so that we can clearly see that it is no contest. They are filled with pride and ostentation and arrogance, and Jesus is filled with a humility that is so superior that He can have faced off against men who have wanted to humiliate him and then instruct his disciples to listen to them. Brothers and sisters, it’s important that you know that your Savior is no hypocrite. He is a credible Savior. He doesn’t tell you to turn the other cheek all while He himself is unwilling. He doesn’t call you to self-denial while He lives in self-indulgence. He doesn’t call you to carry the armor of your enemy two miles when He is unwilling to honor his own. No, brothers and sisters, in the face of his own humiliation and in the face of men who seek to embarrass and then murder him, Jesus makes himself last, and says, “Listen to them. Observe what they say. For they are in the seat of Moses.”

Don’t Copy the Pharisees

“but not the works they do” So, Jesus tells them to do what the Pharisees say, but He tells them not to do as the Pharisees do. You've heard parents that say this, haven't you? Do as I say, not as I do. And, I tell you, there is no parenting method more ineffective than that. And, there is no leadership more ineffective than that, but this was the leaders of Israel. They loved to teach God's law, but they weren't as good to live by it. They loved to place people beneath its weight, but they found ways to wriggle out from beneath it themselves. The Pharisees knew the Law so well that they could find all of the loopholes; loopholes that they only allowed for themselves. They oppressed others, while they set themselves free. They were constantly adding to the Law and adding to the burden of others, all while finding ways to ease their own burden. They were teachers, but not practitioners. You see this was the wickedness of the Pharisees. We often like to think of them as these guys who were always living by the letter of the law and being really stuffy, religious guy. But, Jesus is telling us that's not really the picture. They are the ones who like to APPEAR that they are living by the letter of the law to everyone else, when they're really not. They like to make sure that you're living by all of their rules all while they're really doing whatever they want to because they know all of the loopholes. Their religion has no integrity. It's all a show for the world to see, and when the world isn't there to see it, it all goes away.

Copy Jesus

APPLICATION: And so, Jesus uses them as an illustration to his disciples as the ultimate illustration of the type of hypocrisy that is not tolerated in the Kingdom of God. Jesus has no place in his community for a professing, but not practicing, Christian. For the call to be a Christian is the call to come and follow after Jesus. It is the call to go where Jesus goes and do what Jesus does by Jesus’ strength and for Jesus’ glory. In the NT, there is no other definition of Christianity. And so, brothers and sisters, if we are going to follow Jesus, if we are going to go where He goes and do what He does, again and again, what we see is that Jesus internally loves God and externally lives like it. Jesus’ teachings and Jesus’ life are never out of alignment. Now, of course, ours will be. That’s why we need Jesus. That’s why we need Jesus’ strength. That’s why we need Jesus’ church. But, we cannot stay that way, we won’t be able to stand it. As often as we find hypocrisy, as often as we find hypocrisy, as often as we find misalignment between what is internal and what is external, we will repent and seek help. Why? Because we’re following after Christ! He is our passion, and He is our King, and He is our love, and it is our joy! So, don’t copy the Pharisees; copy Jesus! Copy Jesus!

Slaves to Reaction

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” Jesus says that they do all that they do to be noticed and seen by others. This is the essence of Pharisaism. You see, the Pharisee is no good if he or she isn't noticed. That's why when left alone the Pharisee will totally ignore and disregard the things of God, but when others are around they suddenly snap into order and sit up straight and put on their godliest face. There is no secret, hidden, internal, unseen passion for God with the Pharisee. It has to be manufactured. It has to be created. As a Pharisee, my joy comes from being thought of as godly, not from being godly. My delight comes from others judging that I love God, not from loving God. My heart is exhilarated from the praises of my peers, not from my secret praises of God.

You see, the Pharisee is a slave to the reactions of men. Because they do all of their deeds to be seen by others they require the adoration and the approval and the right reaction of others. They cannot consider themselves honorable men unless other men esteem them. They cannot consider themselves successful men unless other people tell them they are successful. They cannot consider themselves insightful men unless other people approve of their insight. Their piety is pointless unless others can react to it and appreciate it, and so they reserve their prayers for the street corners and the temple settings so that they will be publicly appreciated. Remember this is why Jesus hasn't already been arrested! It's because they don't want the crowd to react against them! And, this is the main issue they have taken with Jesus since the beginning of his ministry. The crowds love him and listen to him and celebrate him and know He is from God, when they are supposed to be the influencers and they have the seminary training and they are supposed to be the ones speaking on behalf of God. They do what they do for the reactions of men and are slaves to those reactions, and brothers and sisters, I find the same thing to be true of us.

You see, the Pharisee is a slave to the reactions of men. Because they do all of their deeds to be seen by others they require the adoration and the approval and the right reaction of others. They cannot consider themselves honorable men unless other men esteem them. They cannot consider themselves successful men unless other people tell them they are successful. They cannot consider themselves insightful men unless other people approve of their insight. Their piety is pointless unless others can react to it and appreciate it, and so they reserve their prayers for the street corners and the temple settings so that they will be publicly appreciated. Remember this is why Jesus hasn't already been arrested! It's because they don't want the crowd to react against them! And, this is the main issue they have taken with Jesus since the beginning of his ministry. The crowds love him and listen to him and celebrate him and know He is from God, when they are supposed to be the influencers and they have the seminary training and they are supposed to be the ones speaking on behalf of God. They do what they do for the reactions of men and are slaves to those reactions, and brothers and sisters, I find the same thing to be true of us.APPLICATION: We live our lives as though we have to manage 7.5 billion different reactions and different judgments, and from the time that we wake up every, single morning, we concern ourselves with the reactions of men and women and teenagers and teachers, and we seek to please others with our lives rather than pleasing God. And, what this reveals in our hearts is that we have the Pharisaical tendency to find the approval of others in place of joy in God, and it is a forsaking of the Great Commandment! You see, the Great Commandment, this great duty that Jesus highlights to the Pharisees and for his disciples and for us, He's bringing it to bear in their hearts again right here. And, what we see is that what is so glorious about this duty, this commandment, this responsibility before God to love him and to obey him with totality of who we are with all of our hearts and all of our souls and all of our minds, so much so, that we aren't concerned with the reactions of men and women, peers and coworkers, is that it sets us free from harsh master. It sets us free from our slavery to the reactions of men!

APPLICATION: We live our lives as though we have to manage 7.5 billion different reactions and different judgments, and from the time that we wake up every, single morning, we concern ourselves with the reactions of men and women and teenagers and teachers, and we seek to please others with our lives rather than pleasing God. And, what this reveals in our hearts is that we have the Pharisaical tendency to find the approval of others in place of joy in God, and it is a forsaking of the Great Commandment! You see, the Great Commandment, this great duty that Jesus highlights to the Pharisees and for his disciples and for us, He's bringing it to bear in their hearts again right here. And, what we see is that what is so glorious about this duty, this commandment, this responsibility before God to love him and to obey him with totality of who we are with all of our hearts and all of our souls and all of our minds, so much so, that we aren't concerned with the reactions of men and women, peers and coworkers, is that it sets us free from harsh master. It sets us free from our slavery to the reactions of men!

Honor Loving

“And they love the place of honor at feasts” The Pharisees, they don't love God and find their pleasure in God and their delight in God and their exhilaration in God and their passion in God. Jesus tells us what they love, doesn't He? They love their 'place of honor.' They love the 'best seats in the synagogues.' They love the 'greetings in the marketplaces.' They love 'being called rabbi by others.' They don't love God with all of their hearts and with all of their souls and with all of their minds; they love themselves! And, they camouflage their self-love as God-love because by appearing to love God it causes others to love them. God has become nothing more than a means to a status-seeking, self-promoting end to them. Their prayers and their worship and their spiritual language is nothing more than a politician wearing a hard-hat for a photo-op. He doesn't know how to build a house, and they don't know God. They simply want to be identified as people who know God so that other people will honor them and adore them and lift them as people of honor. God is a means to the accomplishment of their own selfish ambition.

Aim LOWER

“But you are not to be called rabbi....” And so, Jesus looks to his disciples and He says to them, don’t follow after them. Don’t be like them. Don’t seek titles like them. Don’t seek applause like them. Don’t run after the tainted joy of men’s approval like them. Don’t seek the fleeting exhilaration of the crowds love like them. Aim higher! And, aim higher by aiming lower! Go the way that I am going. Go the way of the servant to the hill of the cross!

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” Don't you want to be great? Daddy's, don't you want your boys to be great? Mommas, don't you want your babies to be great? Young women and young men, don't you want to be great? Jesus is not a means to an end. Lets not tell our children and ourselves that if we do things right and honor God everything will just work out. Because in this broken world, you might end up in a wheel chair or you might end up at a funeral home beside the casket of your soul mate at 28 or you might end up losing the sole income of your family of four at 35 or you might lose all sense of purpose of living at 42 or your children may completely lose their way at 60. It may not all work out in this broken world. So, don't convince yourself or your children or your church or your friends that Jesus is not a means to end that will allow things to ultimately end up at the ambitious destination that you've charted for yourself. But, that's not greatness anyway! Because Jesus is the end, in and of himself, and you can be great! And, daddy you can teach your sons what it means to be great, and mommas you can show your babies what it means to find greatness and young men and women you must, by all means pursue greatness with your lives, not by using Jesus, but by following Jesus down the pathway of the cross, down the way of servanthood. By again and again, deflecting your gaze from the sparkle of this world to the glory of the next life. By laying down your life now and forsaking the tainted joy now and the fleeting applause of men now for the abiding never-ending, unbreakable love of God forever, by living out the two Greatest commandments at all costs, you will realize a joy and a greatness that bring dividends that you will never regret! Because these crowns fade, and these robes wear out, but the crowns of the next life, the crowns that come through an obedient life, the robes that come from a life of faithful servanthood they will never be tarnished, and brothers and sisters, that is greatness! That is greatness! Be great! Be ambitious! Set your aim high! Set your ambitions high! Set them higher than cars! Set them higher than the applause of men! Set them higher than career ladders! Set them on greatness! Set them on greatness!