Church People

I had a friend whose son had a girlfriend when he was in 7th grade. According to him she was absolutely drop dead gorgeous, stunning. There were not enough words to describe the incredible attributes of this young lady or his professed love for the very ground she walked on.

He missed a day of school because he was sick so Drop Dead offered to bring his homework by their house. Not knowing when she would come, he was in the shower when she arrived so mom went to the door. There stood a girl who easily could have been a first string high school offensive lineman if they allowed girls to play . Letter jacket, baggy gym shorts, high top unlaced tennis shoes and stringy hair completed the look. She dwarfed this friend’s son.

Mute, mouth rounded to an O, mom took the books and managed a thank you before she left. Son comes flying out of the bathroom when he’s done saying, “Did she come? Did she come?” “Yep,” she nodded. “Wasn’t she just ….(deep sigh) something else?” “Yep….something else, she sure was!”

She just wasn’t what Mom had expected. Jesus…. was not what the Pharisees had expected.

The Pharisees were a small legalistic sect of the Jews whom we first encounter in Mark 2. They were known for their rigid adherence to the ceremonial fine points of the law. In other words, they not only followed the law given to Moses to the letter, but just in case God missed anything, they wrote their own and followed those too. They colored within the lines. They did not deviate for any reason, not even if God Himself showed up. They were highly critical of anyone who broke their rules or God’s. (And people say this is an old book not applicable to today?) Jesus absolutely was not what they expected when he appeared on the scene, claiming to be Messiah, God incarnate.

Jesus looked beyond the law to its intent. Not the Pharisees. They looked at rules kind of like some people look at savings accounts. They are so rigid about the exact amount they budget to put into savings each month, they miss the intent of the account and drive around on bald tires.

One incident in particular stands out in this chapter. Jesus calls Levi to follow him which is striking because Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were despised by Jews because they were viewed as traitors. They were allowed to keep any amount of money collected beyond what Rome required so many became wealthy at the expense of their own people. If I were a Jew, asking a bunch of guys to join my group because I had a message to give to the Jewish people and then to the world, I don’t believe this guy would have been on my list.

The man throws a feast and invites Jesus. Jesus accepts. The Pharisees were appalled because the guests were not “church people”, they were “tax gatherers and sinners!” What was the man thinking? The obvious question was, “Why?” which they ask in verse 16. This is comical as we look at this passage with our 20/20 hindsight. Like, who needed him?

Do the Pharisees in this chapter mirror some church people, who show up at church every time the door opens, check all the little boxes on their offering envelopes which contains precisely 10% of their net, not gross income, serve on all the committees, sing in the choir, teach the classes, drive around the visiting missionaries, donate their casseroles and time, quote scripture….but miss the whole point? And the world, standing outside the building gazing in at these incredibly busy, untarnished people…. walks away?

Jesus responds to their question, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Heck no the Pharisees didn’t need him, they were doing just fine thank you. Missed the boat, but doing just fine. In fact, they didn’t even know there was a boat.

And the boat was God and they missed him! Waited for centuries…he shows up and they miss him because he did not fit in their box. He was not what they expected.

For years and years, prophet after prophet had said there was a Messiah coming who would save people from their sins which would allow them to have a relationship with the God they worshipped. It would be personal, one on one. Unheard of. There would not need a mediator because the mediator would pay the ultimate price once for all so they could become children of God and relate to him as Father.

Jesus shows up and announces,” I AM.” I am the Messiah.

"Tax gatherers and sinners” show up for the feast. Stepping all over their own people to accumulate wealth had not brought peace to their hearts and deep seated joy to their lives so they come to meet the man Levi had been talking about. Jesus sits down with them, puts his feet up and enjoys the meal and the conversation.

My husband was raised in a church with an exclusive lock on becoming a Christian and it was only attainable if you were a member of that particular church. We had a problem because I was not and I was pretty verbal (imagine that) about my reasons for not. Long story short, we ended up together in his church for awhile and came to know one of the ministers well. He called one day and asked if I’d come by, he had some questions for me. Turns out, the more he studied, the more he realized the doctrine of the church did not conform to truth he was learning in the Bible. He wanted to know what I thought. So we met once a week and studied the book of Romans. We came to the end, where all had been said that could be said. It was decision time, fish or cut bait. What’s your conclusion…what are you going to do with what you’ve learned when all you’ve learned opposes church teaching you’ve been struggling with.

He chose the church. He chose their box.

Isn’t that what we do? If Jesus doesn’t fit in our closely guarded box we choose …the box?

A friend and I were talking about a football player who is coming out of college this year. He’s won every award, broken every record in the weight room and on the field, is praised for his leadership as well as excellence at his position. The only thing that doesn’t fit is that he is as openly passionate about his love for Jesus as he is about his love for football. I asked her if she thought he’d go to the NFL. She said no because they play on Sunday.

Is that a box?!

Let’s move from famous people to you and me. You’re flying home, the terminal is full. You have a choice of two unoccupied seats to settle in and await your plane. One is next to a businessman hammering away on his laptop. The other is next to a woman whose breasts are falling out of her tight, halfway unbuttoned blouse. Her skirt is so short, you pray she covers her lap before she stands up. Awful hair. She looks hung over from the night before. Which seat do you choose? Which seat do you choose when God’s saying, “Go sit by her, I’ll tell you what to say.” You don’t want to say anything thank you!

You do not look like this woman. None of your friends look like this woman. You do not relate. What would people say if they saw you deep in conversation with her…that you’re hooking too but your clientele is just classier?

Jesus said the rules do not stand alone... they relate to the underlying need of people and how he came to meet that need. They were not given so you could check off your list. Laws are valuable…but if you only focus on the rules, you’ll miss their intent.

Jesus’ underlying purpose was to meet people where they were, show people God and draw them to him. Are we so rigid, following our rules, that we miss the still small voice of God saying, “She needs me. Tell her what I mean to you.” Not tell her to go to church. Tell her what he means to you, how he fills your heart with joy, how he meets your needs, how he is your security which you’ve not found in a job or money or health or a man, but him. Show her the hope that is within you now and forever. Tell her you love her because of the love that fills your heart.

The Pharisees’ fatal flaw was tunnel vision. Even if you are not a “church person”, is that your fatal flaw? Have you boxed up Jesus as well? Stuffed accumulated bits of information gathered from lots of different sources and now, years later, you have tunnel vision as well and it’s limited to the little box you’ve placed him in?

If, as Mark says, Jesus is God, I’d give this book a shot, let it stand alone and ask him to prove it. If he’s God, that shouldn’t be too hard.