Rant, Resist, Rebel
Matthew 23:27-39
When we come to the end of our road, we have an opportunity to give it our all.
Photo by Danny Greenberg on Unsplash
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’” - Matt. 23:27-39
In today’s reading, Jesus gives it his all.
It is three days before his crucifixion, and he wants the leaders of the faith to know what he thinks of them.
This is his last visit to the Temple during Passover Week, when the largest number of people have gathered, so the crowds are huge. What better time to give your message? But how many will listen to the rants of a madman?
He would be considered a madman today, don’t you think? Or maybe not, since ranting and protesting against authority has become commonplace. Either we resist or rebel.
Jesus begins with a rant and ends with a lament. He is angry because the city of God has turned against God once again, and another of God’s messengers will be killed for telling the truth.
Why does God continue to put up with us?
We believe we are in the right and so we act accordingly, but what if we are not? What if we are the hypocrites, the ones who see ourselves as righteous and the rest of the world as insane and vile?
It takes a lot to look at oneself honestly. But maybe that is what we all need to do.
It is true that literacy rates are dropping, and people are spending too much time listening to influencers, not knowing what is happening around them. We are becoming dumber, and that makes us easy targets for those who seek to control us.
Before we set out to rant, resist, and rebel, we need to take a moment and assess the situation honestly, without the noise.
Can we even do that anymore?
Maybe it isn’t too late to try.
More to come...