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Dear Immanuel Christians,
Our scripture this week is Matthew 22: 34-46, containing one of the most well know interactions with Jesus in all of scripture, and is followed by one of the most obscure. Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment; I don’t need to type it, you already know both of them.
But don’t skip over verse 34 which starts with, “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees…” Jesus doesn’t mince words. He has angered the Elders and chief priests of the temple, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and now the Pharisees again.
In Jesus time on earth he called people, and I quote, “evil, wicked, adulterous, unbelieving, perverse, sinful, sinners, hypocrites, serpents, a brood of vipers, children of the devil, children of hell, blind fools, lost, whitewashed tombs, ignorant, dogs, pigs, ravenous wolves, worse than Baal, worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, faithless, twisted, robbers, thieves, liars, Jezebel, wretched, pitiable, poor, naked, prostitutes, Satan, Synagogue of Satan, and Throne of Satan.”
And these aren’t one-offs, either. Jesus calls people hypocrites, depending on the translation, at least 12 times in Matthew’s gospel account. And in this same gospel, Jesus levels no less than 42 insults in just 28 chapters; 16 of those insults in Matthew 23 alone; the chapter immediately following our above scripture.
Now for the good news… or not. In the Revised Common Lectionary, the teaching scriptures laid out by the church, most will teach Matthew 23:1-12 on November 1, 2026, which does not contain a single harsh word by Jesus. And, which the PC(USA) has omitted from this year’s teachings. The remainder of Matthew 23 is omitted entirely from the teaching schedule of the revised common lectionary, universally.
So, asking for a friend, what’s wrong with the church today? I offer at least two honest answers. First, I am concerned that we as Christians cannot truly know the love of Christ if we skip the uncomfortable things he said and did. Because often enough in scripture, Jesus’ love looks like brutal honesty. And second, the avoidance Christians have for what Jesus really said illumines what he means when he refers to the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs. Clean and white on the outside, and rotting on the inside.
Jesus also said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38
Let me encourage the saints, keep reading scripture. God is inconvenient; then again, life without God is much, much worse. It is hard, but so is love. To paraphrase The Princess Bride, “Life is pain…” [true for Christians, too!] “… anyone who says differently is selling something.”
The way toward God’s love, and obeying these two greatest commandments, is through Jesus’ teachings, not around them. For Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Yours in this Shared Love of Christ,
Pastor Duane
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