Christians Pointing the Finger.
I’ve often been disheartened by
Christians in the news media pointing their fingers at those they deem, “Sinners.”
Of course, it’s never about greedy people or those who are oppressing the poor,
no it’s usually sexual sins they are
worried about.
But what did Jesus say about that? Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and
prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. For
John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent
and believe him. Matthew 21:31,32
I once heard someone say, “Some
Christians would criticize the Lord Himself if they went to heaven.” I believe
that because Jesus was criticized constantly when he was here on earth. I’m
going to give examples of the finger-pointing towards Jesus. I will also record
his replies.
As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax
collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And
when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your
teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he
said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:10-13
Going
on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a
man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges
against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls
into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How
much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do
good on the Sabbath.”
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So, he stretched it out and it was
completely restored, just as sound as the other. But
the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
At a different
time:
But the synagogue leader was indignant
that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told
the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
“You hypocrites!” the
Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey
from the stall and lead it to water? Then, should not this
daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be
released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
When Jesus said this, all His adversaries were humiliated.
And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing. Luke 13:14-17
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from
Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, “Why is it that your disciples disobey the
teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the
proper way before they eat!” Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's
command and follow your own teaching? For God said, ‘Respect your father and
your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to
death.’ But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his
father or mother, but says, ‘This belongs to God,’ he does not need to honor
his father.” Matthew 15
As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed
man who was mute was brought to him. And when the
demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled,
saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the
Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” Matthew 9
When
Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for fI must stay at your house today.” So, he hurried and came
down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it,
they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a
sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and
said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.
And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to
him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man
came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19
There
were times when the believers in Jesus pointed the finger at other believers:
Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying,
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not
fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom
cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days
will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will
fast. Mark 12
While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the
home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive
perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’
head.
Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation
to one another: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been
sold for over three hundred denarii (a years wages) and the money given to
the poor.” And they scolded her.
But Jesus said, “Leave her alone;
why are you bothering her?
She has done a beautiful deed to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and
you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the
world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Mark 14:3-9
In
Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, the people there hated what Jesus was saying so
much they tried to kill him. “When they heard these
things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove
him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town
was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But walking through their midst, he
went away.” Luke 4
Jesus was criticized even while he hung on the
cross, suffering physical and mental pain:
The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying,
“He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the
Chosen One.”
The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour
wine. “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save
Yourself!” Luke 23:35-37
As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they
shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find
no basis for a charge against Him.”
“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and
according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of
God.” John 19
Seeing how many people hated Jesus, pointing their
judgmental fingers at him, do you think this is something believers in God
should dare to do? It shows how completely wrong their judgement was and how
they hated that which is good.
Did Jesus criticize the Romans? Never. But he did criticize
those who, instead of loving people, pointed the finger of hate at people. Jesus
drew people to himself with his love. I’m sure everyone could see the love in
his face and words. Yes, he asked people to repent. We need to see how much we
need Jesus, and if we think we are okay, why would we need him?
We are all capable of great sin. We all sin, we all hurt
people. We may not even want to, but we do. With Jesus in our lives, he will whisper
to our hearts and change us. We won’t be perfect in this world. I think God
does not make us perfect in this world or we would become proud. We would take
credit for it and our souls would be ruined. St. Paul said he was not perfect,
but it was something to strive for.
I loathe the way Christians in power want to force the whole
country to become Christian. This is not possible. God wants a willing heart. I
think he is capable of knowing if someone is faking it. If Christians had lived
like Jesus, many would have been drawn to God. As it is, we have pushed them
away.
If people study history any longer, they would know the
result of religious force and the uniting of Church and State. It always ends
in persecution and death. But this is where we are heading. Gays, news
reporters and anyone who doesn’t go along with their brand of religion will be
persecuted and eventually be put to death.
This is coming, but we can have hope if we cling to God. He
will walk through the fire with us. He will give to us eternal life in a place
we were created for. Do we feel so comfortable in this world? That’s because we
were made for a better world where there is peace, goodness and love. We will
be part of a family with God as our father
and Jesus as our brother.
