“I am the LORD, and there is no other. I publicly proclaim bold promises...I did not tell the people of Israel to ask me for something I did not plan to give. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and right.” Isaiah 45:18-19
Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do, or been called a liar when you were telling the truth? If you have, you know how much the false accusations of others can sting. It’s an interesting jumble of emotions. On the one hand you’re angry and know others are lying, but on the other, you’re left with a shameful feeling, like you actually did something wrong even though you didn’t.
Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do, or been called a liar when you were telling the truth? If you have, you know how much the false accusations of others can sting. It’s an interesting jumble of emotions. On the one hand you’re angry and know others are lying, but on the other, you’re left with a shameful feeling, like you actually did something wrong even though you didn’t.
I had this happen to me recently, and I’ve had it happen in the past. It’s painful. It leaves me feeling hurt and violated. It puts me in a position of having to defend myself with no real way of doing so. It’s my word against a liar. It’s the truth verses the skewed thinking, or evil intent, of someone else.
I was comforted this week by some strong words Jesus speaks in Matthew 12:34. He is speaking to the Pharisees and says, “You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” His words point out an important truth: even though evil words are spoken against me, the evil is not in my heart, but rather in those who accuse me of it. And Jesus knows exactly how I feel.
Jesus was often confrontational with the religious elite of the day, but speaking harsh words to them was uncharacteristic of His usual, more subtle way of directing them toward spiritual truth. He often used stories or illustrations or questions designed to make them think about how they were living. But to call them a “brood of snakes” was telling them exactly how He felt!
I wondered why, and as I looked back to what had led Him to make this statement, I saw it stemmed from the Pharisees falsely accusing Jesus of something. In Matthew 12:22, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. The people are amazed and begin to wonder if Jesus is the Messiah. I can imagine Jesus having a feeling of elation and joy because their eyes were being opened, and Jesus wanted nothing more for them. He wanted them to have eyes to see and ears to hear the truth of God’s kingdom arriving among them.
But then the Pharisees start mumbling and rain on His parade. “No wonder he can cast out demons, he gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”
Ouch!
I can feel His heart breaking. For these prestigious, religious men to not recognize Him as the Messiah is one thing. But to actually call Him a servant of Satan? A liar sent on a mission from the father of lies?
At first His argument is logical. He points out the error of their thinking. “Any kingdom at war with itself is doomed.” Their theory didn’t hold water and He points this out to them. “A tree is identified by its fruit.” Good fruit comes from a good tree. Bad fruit comes from a bad tree.
They were aware of all the good He was doing, yet they accuse Him of being evil at heart. In contrast, Jesus knew the no-good they were up to and how their actions were proof of what was really going on inside their hearts: Just a bunch of religious piety, not true faith.
This is where He lets the words fly and turns the tables on them. “You brood of snakes!” He goes beyond saying they are simply mistaken or aren’t thinking clearly--something forgivable. He calls what they are doing “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”. They were speaking against the truth. They were calling God a liar.
I’d like to be able to say I have never done this, but I can’t. I know how much it hurts to be falsely accused. I know the heartbreak of being called a liar when I’m only speaking the truth. But I’ve done the same thing to God many times. Every time I doubt Him. Every time I don’t believe His promises. Every time I choose to go my own way instead of taking the path of goodness.
Do you have a reason to doubt God right now? You may think you do, but you don’t because God doesn’t lie. Whatever He has promised, you can believe Him. Be still and know that He is God.
*Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment