Dangerous Judaism – Luke 20:45-47

There has recently arisen a “new perspective” on the Judaism of Jesus’ day, challenging the New Testament perspective on Judaism.

“New Perspective” scholars such as E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, and Krister Stendahl put forward ideas that questioned the Christian characterization of Second Temple-era Judaism as a religion filled with self-righteousness and thinking that one could earn salvation through good works. New Perspective scholars found little evidence for these ideas in ancient Jewish sources. Rather, the New Perspective helped New Testament studies to recover an idea that Judaism always knew. Namely, Judaism is a religion based on grace. [First Fruits of Zion]

No doubt, Judaism as Biblically accurate, was grace-based.  But Jesus had found the Judaism of his day had departed from that Biblical perspective.  And we are just as capable of making that same kind of departure.

And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”  (Luke 20:45-47 ESV)

You can be sued in our legal system for defamation of character in an oral manner, called slander (versus libel, which is written defamation).  If you can’t prove your defamation in court you are liable to penalty.  Jesus said what he said in the full hearing of the crowds and his disciples, but he would have had little trouble proving his allegations in court.

When Jesus speaks of the scribes he in essence includes the Pharisees, who frequently employed scribes in researching and developing their prescribed practices for making sure they kept the law.  As a whole they had developed an external religion, and being acknowledged publicly, therefore, as “holy” was their pride and joy.  But they found ways to skirt the law that, to them, allowed them to do injustices to those who could not fend for themselves.  God hates that more than anything.

What injustice are we permitting ourselves in God’s name?  Has pride become our master?