Jesus Calls The Leaders "Snakes"
Psalm 36
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Check out Third Day’s rendition of this Song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTXP3bSnad0
Exodus 20:22-21:27
1 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. 7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Matthew 23:33-39
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Reflections: Lest we think Jesus was “just a nice guy”, today he called the Pharisees and teachers of the laws “snakes”. Jesus rarely got angry, but here is an instance where the hypocrisy of the religious leaders is so distasteful to him that he calls them on the carpet for it. Interestingly Jesus has compassion on the sinners who come to him looking for forgiveness, but has no tolerance for self-righteousness in those who should know better.
We see God’s principles of justice also laid out in the book of Exodus, as in addition to the Ten Commandments, God lays out laws on how we should treat each other. In regard to the Hebrew servants, God gives stipulations for properly treating the servants including, a 7th year of jubilee where they can leave if they want, or stay of if the owner is willing. Notice this is far cry from the slavery of black people we have seen in our own country that dehumanized them and made them like property.
In chapter 21, we see principles of retribution for injuries inflicted. If someone kills someone they are to be put to death. If someone injures someone where they can’t work, the offending party must pay for loss of time until the person is healed. Some call this an “eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth”, but we clearly see that God advocates personal responsibility and consequences for one’s actions. This does not preclude the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation that Jesus will advocate in the New Testament.
What does this mean for us today? There are times when we will be called to confront inequalities and injustice. And like in Jesus’ days, there are times it will not go well with those we confront. While God calls us to compassionate and merciful to those in need and those looking to repent, there are times when the Church needs to call people into account for their actions. We will need to discern the difference between these two in prayer and being led by the Holy Spirit.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'" Exodus 10:3
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5
Gracious God, give us the courage and the strength today to stand up to the powers of evil in our lives. These can walk all over the powerless and sometimes close their ears and eyes to cries for help. Pour your power into us to act. Amen.
5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Check out Third Day’s rendition of this Song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTXP3bSnad0
Exodus 20:22-21:27
1 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. 7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Matthew 23:33-39
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Reflections: Lest we think Jesus was “just a nice guy”, today he called the Pharisees and teachers of the laws “snakes”. Jesus rarely got angry, but here is an instance where the hypocrisy of the religious leaders is so distasteful to him that he calls them on the carpet for it. Interestingly Jesus has compassion on the sinners who come to him looking for forgiveness, but has no tolerance for self-righteousness in those who should know better.
We see God’s principles of justice also laid out in the book of Exodus, as in addition to the Ten Commandments, God lays out laws on how we should treat each other. In regard to the Hebrew servants, God gives stipulations for properly treating the servants including, a 7th year of jubilee where they can leave if they want, or stay of if the owner is willing. Notice this is far cry from the slavery of black people we have seen in our own country that dehumanized them and made them like property.
In chapter 21, we see principles of retribution for injuries inflicted. If someone kills someone they are to be put to death. If someone injures someone where they can’t work, the offending party must pay for loss of time until the person is healed. Some call this an “eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth”, but we clearly see that God advocates personal responsibility and consequences for one’s actions. This does not preclude the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation that Jesus will advocate in the New Testament.
What does this mean for us today? There are times when we will be called to confront inequalities and injustice. And like in Jesus’ days, there are times it will not go well with those we confront. While God calls us to compassionate and merciful to those in need and those looking to repent, there are times when the Church needs to call people into account for their actions. We will need to discern the difference between these two in prayer and being led by the Holy Spirit.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'" Exodus 10:3
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5
Gracious God, give us the courage and the strength today to stand up to the powers of evil in our lives. These can walk all over the powerless and sometimes close their ears and eyes to cries for help. Pour your power into us to act. Amen.
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