Who would Jesus condemn?

What if Jesus came to “visit” today? I’m not talking about His awaited coming, the time when He will come in as a conquering king and deal once and for all with evil. I’m talking about a little “check-in visit” just to provide a little divine input. Who would Jesus have the harshest words for?

Well, you might think, since the church is the body of Christ and His presence in the world today, that He would condemn those whom the church condemns. This week, I was small-talking with a fellow who is in leadership in a local church. I guess he assumed that he knew how I felt about Christian issues because he rather boldly told me that he was offended and outraged that he heard a radio commercial for a church that accepted “anyone, regardless of your past.” He went on to say that such a church doesn’t believe in anything. Then he elaborated, saying that his church throws people out who cannot lead pure lives.

OK, let’s not get into my thoughts on this matter, not at first anyway. Let’s look at the first time Jesus dropped in for a little visit. His ministry lasted about three years and He encountered a vast variety of folks during that time. There were traitors, invaders, the ritually unclean, the socially outcast, the ethnically unclean, thieves, and whores. But all these He did not condemn.

So, are the “lovey dovey Jesus” people right? Was Jesus’ ministry syrupy sweet to everyone? Hardly! Have you read the gospels? Let me give you one little example:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” Matthew 23:13-33

Woe! This isn’t lovey dovey talk. And who is it directed at? Not the “sinners” but the religious leaders. And why? Well, it should be clear from reading through this passage. He repeatedly calls them hypocrites, but look at their hypocrisy. They claimed to understand the fine details of the Law, but were actually misleading the people. They were building a religious system rather than calling people to faith in God. In fact, they set up barriers to faith before people, all in order to establish their power and authority in Israel. These are the people who suffered the condemnation of Christ 2000 years ago.

So, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Jesus, if He came for a little visit today, wouldn’t condemn those who are trapped in their sins. He would spend time with them and call them into a relationship based on trust in Him. But to the religious people, especially the leaders, who are more interested in building their own kingdoms of power and position while using His name (in vain), to those people He would say, “Woe to you, hypocrites. How will you escape being condemned to hell?”