Hammer on Anvil '

Let’s face it, Jesus is a jerk.  Who else would say “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30)?  That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?  At times, he even sounds like a politician with a series of attack ads, calling his opponents a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 12:34), “blind guides” (Matthew 15:14), and “hypocrites” (Luke 13:15).

This hardly fits with the vision of Jesus that most of us have in our minds.  We picture Jesus helping the poor, the widow, and the orphan, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick.  So where is the disconnect?  How does the Jesus who loves everyone coexist with the Jesus who is a jerk?

To answer that, we have to look at who Jesus is talking to when he is being a jerk and who he is talking to when he is displaying love.

In each of the examples of name-calling above, Jesus is speaking with the Pharisees.  They have clearly demonstrated that they love God only through outward appearance and not with their hearts.  When Jesus calls them hypocrites, he isn’t name-calling; he’s stating the truth.  He tells them, ““You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.  What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15).

One of Christ’s biggest pet peeves is when people who claim to follow God do so only with their lips.  With these people, who know the way they should go, but still do not, Jesus is a jerk.  He tells them plainly, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Christ is kinder to the sinners than he is to the saints.  He even says, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).  To the sinners, Jesus continually demonstrates love.  He heals the sick (Matthew 15:28, Luke 9:11, Matthew 8:16-17), he feeds the hungry (John 6:1-14), and he extends grace (John 8:1-11).

Christ shows us that he gives the law to the proud and grace to the humble.  Therefore, “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).  Look into your own heart and make sure that you haven’t simply accepted Jesus as your savior; make sure you have accepted him as your Lord.  If not, you may face him on Judgment Day and find that he isn’t what you expected.  You might think he's a jerk when he tells you plainly "I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoer!" (Matthew 7:23).