Raw Hypocrisy ~ Day 32

November 18, 2006 - Day 32

Mark 11:20-33

Passage: The chief priests, scribes (experts of Jewish law), and the elders were supposed to be the cream of the religious crop in Jesus’ day. They were supposed to be men of God. But Jesus exposes the raw hypocrisy and unrepentance that controlled their lives. A group of these men approach Jesus to challenge Him. Just the day before Jesus was turning over tables and driving ungodly men from the temple. Now Jesus is back in the temple and these men want to know who he thinks He is. They ask Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them? Jesus very easily could have responded that His Father in Heaven gave Him authority, but instead Jesus uses this opportunity to expose their hard hearts. He asks them a question they cannot answer, or rather, a question they fear to answer. He asks, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” In other words, Jesus wanted them to say whether or not John the Baptist was a true prophet of God. They huddle together to figure out their answer. Their discussion between themselves reveals their utter hypocrisy and unrepentant hearts. It goes like this, “If we say, “From heaven,” he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?” Mark then notes, “they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.” Then their answer comes, “We do not know.” Jesus then responds to their original question, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Application: In these days I find myself and other Christians in the very same situation that this group of men were in. The question that everyone must answer is, “Was Jesus from heaven or from man?” And we are all faced with the same consequences of answering this question. If Jesus is truly God, sent from His Father in Heaven, then we should believe in Him and submit to His will. If we say that He was merely a man then we must face the discipline of the church. To answer with an “I don’t know” is cowardly and unacceptable. This has been the response of many in the post-modern church. They are not willing to say that Jesus is the only way. They are not willing to say that the Bible is the inspired word of God. I must guard myself from turning cold as these men did. I must believe that Jesus is the Christ and I must be willing to repent of my sins before Him and submit to His will as it is revealed in the Bible.