Jesus never tried to win over His haters

Jesus never once kowtowed to the Pharisees.  They were who they were.  And He didn't mince words about who they really were when He spoke to them!  

The Pharisees appeared to have it all together.  They knew the law inside and out, and they let everyone know that they did!

Only problem for them was that when Jesus came into their sphere, He embodied and fulfilled the very law which they took so much pride in knowing.  But He embodied it in such a way so as to get their goat - with true authority.

After all, they were the know-it-alls, so who was this Jesus (from Nazareth, of all places) to tell them what was what?  How dare He?

He dared.  And they hated Him for it.

How does this apply to us for our lives today? 

There will always be those who are opposed to the Gospel.  Get used to it.  

But if you ask me, I would rather go head to head with an atheist any day than a Pharisee.  It is sooooo much harder talking with someone who thinks they know God but is really only a rule-keeper.  They have all the answers.  They are smug.  They have no interest in the real Jesus, only in either keeping the rules, or demanding that others keep them.  They keep track of their own (perfect) behavior, as well as your (not-so-perfect) behavior.  

They are the ones that like to look good to others.   

"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels."  Matthew 23:5.

Jesus' only concern was pleasing His Father in heaven.  Only problem was that in so doing, he ruffled some feathers.  The irony is that the very ones who should have known better, should have recognized Him as their Messiah, were the very ones whose feathers were ruffled by Him!  They knew all about religion - the rituals, rules, and regulations - but their hearts were far from God.

Jesus told the Pharisees plainly that He was the Son of God.  Now if that were not true, then they were correct in calling Him a blasphemer.  

But Jesus was and is and always will be the Son of God.  Why couldn't they accept this truth?

When we hold too tightly to "the way things have always be done," we miss out.  

Jesus embodied the New Covenant.  The religious teachers were stuck in the old covenant.  It's not that they could not understand what Jesus was saying, it's that they did not want to understand.

This had to hurt Jesus' feelings.  Yet He never once tried to win them over to Himself.  He already knew their wicked hearts and how stubborn they were.  So why bother?

There is a huge takeaway in this for us.

When we belong to Christ, we automatically draw a line in the sand.  This is not being divisive.  This is simply how it is.  Paul told us flat out that light has nothing in common with darkness.  So no surprise that the world hates us, as it did Jesus.

So if the world - those apart from God, walking in the flesh - hates the real Jesus, then why did the Pharisees also hate Him?  The question is the answer.

The Pharisees were supposedly "of God," but they were living in the flesh.  Spirit calls to spirit.  Those who were open to receiving and believing Jesus allowed their spirits to "get it."  

But the flesh is full of pride.  That is its number one characteristic.  

So those living in pride, whether Pharisees or out-and-out heathen, will not accept Christ and Who He really is.  

Jesus never begged people to believe in Him.  He never manipulated, or cajoled, or forced.  He simply was.  And that drove some people to hate Him!

How could anyone dislike a person so full of love and peace and joy and forgiveness?

Because Jesus was so much more.  

Though Jesus was and is certainly all of those things, He is also all-powerful.  And when He spoke, He spoke with authority.  And not just any authority, but the authority of God Almighty.  Because He is God!  

Those who heard Him speak felt it.  They could feel that His wisdom and knowledge were not any old wisdom and knowledge.  It was backed by power.

Since the Pharisees were all about power and control, when the One who came along who actually possessed the power they so badly wanted, they hated Him for it.  

It is never easy to feel the sting of rejection.  And although Jesus knew that the Pharisees would reject Him, He simply moved on.

Can we move on from rejection?  Can we move on from the haters who hate us simply because we believe in and stand for Christ?

If Jesus moved on without the need to defend Himself, then we can, too.  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives inside of us.  

So let the haters and naysayers do their thing.  Some haters are offended because they love their sin and "rights" so much that when we have the guts to call it sin, they hate us.  And when we come across haters even in the church setting, remember that Jesus' haters were religious people, too.

We need not defend ourselves.  We need not try to "win them" to the real Jesus.  As Jesus told us, let the dead bury the dead.

Ahhhh.  I love the real Jesus.  No pulled punches there.  He spoke truth no matter who it offended; not for the sake of offending anyone, but because He was simply being Who He was.  The Truth.

There is only one way I know to return love for hate.  Leaning into Jesus.  Allowing Him to love through us.  But do not mistake love for weakness.  Jesus spoke truth with authority.  Jesus is love.  Ergo, we can love others and still speak God's truth to them.

Oh Lord.  Yes, You are the wonderful Prince of Peace.  But You told us flat out that You did not come to bring peace but a sword.  You will rule as the Prince of Peace one day.  And Your peace rules in our hearts, when we let You.  But for now, when we bring the real You into the conversation, there will be division.  Help us to not try to win over those who simply do not want to believe in You.  Instead, empower us to move on and keep sharing Your love and truth and let You move in the hearts of those who would believe in You.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.