I was listening to a young speaker last Sunday as he explained the difference between fearing God and fearing man, and the dangers of the latter.
It pops back into my mind as I consider the Pharisees in this chapter. They really aren’t interested in simply speaking the truth, they want to say whatever keeps them in power. In their mind truth is secondary to “staying on top”. When Jesus asked them about John’s authority to baptize they propose two different answers, however the Scripture never says which one they believed. Did they truly believe John was a prophet? And if they did, then why wouldn’t they believe what he said? And if he wasn’t a prophet, then why didn’t they speak up and call attention to his false teaching….after all, that’s one of the things that spiritual leaders are supposed to do. I suspect they didn’t believe John was legitimate…because inside they weren’t legitimate either, and you generally see in others the faults in yourself. John was absolutely legitimate, but these corrupt Pharisees couldn’t recognize it. They probably saw someone like themselves…speaking in a compelling way and gathering disciples to themselves. They saw a man accumulating power. But John was anything but that, he was a man calling attention to the authority of another.
Missing this all important point is the pitfall of “fearing men”, or “fearing the opinions and actions of others”. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with being considerate of others, but when we allow our fear to change our message, we have succumbed to unhealthy “fear of man”. This was the plight of the Pharisees.
Jesus never addresses it, really. He simply says “I am not going to explain myself to you”. I think that’s because the religious leaders were double minded. Since they didn’t really know what they believed in (other than their quest for power), Jesus wasn’t going to try and convince them. On the other hand, Jesus spends a fair amount of time explaining what He said (in parables) to His disciples. Probably because they weren’t double minded. They had made up their mind about who Jesus was and what they believed, and in return Jesus spends His time teaching and explaining to them. And, when the Holy Spirit came He continued to teach them the mysteries of heaven.
Those who haven’t made a decision to follow Christ don’t receive the explanations. Those who are more worried about what man has to say than they are about what God has to say don’t receive them either. Genuine conversion and growth begin 0nly when we choose to follow Christ regardless of what the crowd says or thinks of us. In the words of Joshua “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.
Serving with heart, mind and strength,
PR