The religious world is
filled with ideas and faiths. Different “holy books” offer differing
standards by which people should live. Some worship one god; others worship
many deities. Some emphasize the deity “inside of each of us.”
Multiplicities of religious beliefs are extremely confusing. Even in the
“Christian faith” there are conflicting denominational ideas that often
leave our heads spinning. How do we find our way out of this malaise and
back on the path toward God?
The answer is found in
Jesus’ life and teachings. In the first century, great religious divisions
existed among God’s people. Greek and Roman influences lay behind many of
these differences. Alexander The Great had spread Hellenistic customs,
practices, and religions over the world. Later, reaction to Rome’s rule and
its religions caused the Jews to splinter further in their unity of faith.
Many Jewish sects developed. Sadducees were willing to compromise some of
God’s teachings to save the temple and keep their position. They claimed to
believe the scriptures but denied that a spiritual realm existed and,
therefore, discounted the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees were
opposed to spiritual compromise. Originally, they were determined to
carefully keep God’s Word. This effort eventually turned into the exaltation
of human ideas and traditions – exalting them even above God’s revealed
Will. Jesus was hounded by Pharisees His entire life. Other groups such as
the Zealots, the Publicans, and the Herodians had political agendas as well
as religious disagreements. The Essenes avoided it all by withdrawing from
society and formed smaller religious communities. Confusion reigned!
How did Jesus deal with all
these differences? First, there are several things that He did not do. He
did not throw up His hands and say, “I give up! There are so many
contradictory concepts. Why should I try?” Secondly, He never implied that
truth was not essential. He did not suggest that one idea is as good as
another. Finally, though Jesus believed truths found in each of the groups
we have mentioned, He refused to join any of them.
Jesus continuously meditated
on God’s Word. A twelve year old Jesus discussed scripture with Jewish
religious scholars.
(Lk.2:45-47)
Years later, He astounded formally trained Jews with His knowledge of God’s
Law and His ability to properly use it. Jesus told them plainly, “My
doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
(Jn.7:15-16)
While denouncing the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees, our Lord
emphasized the necessity of listening to and obeying the Word of God that
they taught.
(Matt.23:2-3)
Like Jesus, we can make our way through the numerous false and confusing
ideas by holding to God’s Word, the Bible. We can help our family and
friends by teaching them to do the same.
