Holy Boldness

Then Jesus followed up by offering a stunning challenge , “But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ for the Son of man did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (v. 13) The Pharisees were the unofficial religious authority in Palestine. For Jesus to suggest that they did not understand what a prominent, well-known scripture (Hosea 6:6) meant was a stunning challenge to their claim to authority. But Jesus was not just challenging the leaders but was further defining His purpose. “…for the son of man did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Jesus’ purpose was not to create a religious movement. He was not in competition with the religious authorities. He was pursuing the will of His Father and the Father’s will was to seek out those who had been lost to Him. In calling Matthew to be one of His disciples, Jesus gained access to an entire sector of the community that He might not otherwise have. He did not dispute the idea that the people He was eating with were sinners, but that it was they who were the reason for His ministry. Do I need to point out that it was the fear of the Lord that gave Jesus such singleness of purpose and caused Him to be able to address the criticism of the Pharisees with such simple but profound clarity? When the fear of the Lord is the foundation of your ministry, it is relatively easy to stay on point and clarify the issues with those who are in opposition? With a single sentence, Jesus exposed the fallacy of the Pharisee’s criticism and clarified the focus of His own ministry. In the first century, different Rabbis established schools and would gather a group of disciples who would follow strict protocols established by the leader. The followers of most all Rabbis were very particular about certain laws including fasting and prayer. Jesus, also considered a Rabbi with a group of disciples, consistently broke accepted norms and social protocols as did His followers. This was not by accident. Jesus was extraordinarily intentional. His actions as well as His words carried meaning, always. Predictably, the words and ways of Jesus created a lot of questions. These questions were often directed towards Jesus’ disciples but on one occasion the disciples of John came directly to Jesus and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Matt. 9:14) Fasting While the Bridegroom is present

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