Don’t Choose Sides

Matthew 22:23-45

“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that he was speaking about them” (Matt. 21:45, NASB).

We are gathered in the church sanctuary for our Tuesday night bible study. Our city will vote for a mayor to complete the term of the previous mayor that resigned. Our pastor begins by talking to us about voting. He tells us that he will never tell us who to vote for. If we are learning the right things we will be able to make the right choice for ourselves. He warns against voting for a person based solely on race. Being an African American does not mean that the candidate stands for what is in the best interest of the African American community. Do not vote for a candidate just because she or he is of a particular political party. Thus, what the pastor is really saying is that we must make a decision based on principles instead of how a person is labeled. In this article we will discover that Jesus’ decisions are based on the truth of God. Jesus does not seek to enhance His human status because His purpose is to do the will of His Father. It is my hope that Christians that read this article will be more interested in God’s will for their lives than their human standing. Let us look at one example.

I have noticed that often people find everything wrong about the persons or groups that they oppose. Most African Americans Christians that I come into contact with oppose everything that republicans stand for. They uphold everything that democrats stand for, and they do not evaluate if the position taken on a given issue can be supported by the scriptures. It seems to me that often times what their political group says is more important than what the God they worship says. This is problematic because Christians depend on God. They pray to God, and they believe that God answers prayer. However, we must ask ourselves if we can expect God to answer our prayers when the things that we are praying for is contrary to the will of God. So, let us look briefly at how Jesus deals with the issues that arise from the position of groups that He encountered.

In the gospels Jesus encounters the Jewish religious leaders. The two most influential groups are the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Each group wants to be the most influential to determine how the Jews are supposed to live. Now, these two groups do not always share the same views on various issues. There is one thing that they agree upon. Jesus of Nazareth needs to be silenced. Jesus does not take sides with either group. Jesus must be silenced because His teachings lead the people to the truth about God’s love for them. Unlike the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Jesus includes the outcasts of society.

In the Gospel of Matthew there are two issues that most divide these two groups. The first is the resurrection from the dead. “On that same day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him” (Matt. 22:23). The second issue is the interpretation and keeping of the Law.

Now, here is the main point that I want to make in this article. Jesus does not choose sides based on His agreement or disagreement about a particular issue. Sometimes we favor one group over the other. This is not the case with Jesus. He favors not one group over the other. For example, Jesus believes in the resurrection, but He is not willing to join the Pharisees just because He agrees with them on this one issue. In fact, Jesus stands in direct contrast to the Pharisees because the Pharisees refuse to include sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes as citizens with rights. In their view God rejects these people and they should reject them also.

On the other hand, Jesus includes these rejects. The good news is for them also. God is willing to forgive them and include them in His kingdom. Jesus sits at the table with them and shares a meal (Matt. 9:10-13). Jesus heals the leper and the servant of a Roman official (Matt. 8:1-13). Jesus heals the ceremonially unclean woman with the issue of blood. He heals her just as He heals the daughter of the respected synagogue ruler (Matt. 9:18-25). The leper is not allowed to be among the people. He must announce his presence so that the people will not touch him. In like manner, the woman with the issue of blood cannot mingle with the people, because she too is unclean. The Roman centurion is a Gentile, and Gentiles are the enemies of the Jews. It is the belief of the religious leaders that the God of the Jews is not accessible to the Gentiles.

While the religious leaders look for ways to exclude people, Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector to be one of the twelve disciples that travel with Him. After calling Matthew Jesus socializes with many tax collectors and sinners along with His disciples (Matt. 9:9-10). “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘“Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’ But when Jesus heard this, He said: “It is not those who are sick who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:11-13, NASB). We can see that Jesus does not choose sides. Rather, He does the will of the Father, and this leads to conflict with the religious leaders. Here are some reasons that we must be careful about choosing to take sides with a group.

First, Christians are called to be holy. This means that Christians must be willing to separate themselves from the mainstream society if necessary. This does not mean that we cannot join with groups in efforts to serve others. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that how we treat others is how we treat Him. When we feed the hungry we feed Him. When we visit those in prison, we visit Him. When Jesus returns and He sits in judgment, He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous.

Secondly, groups discriminate based on human interest and goals. What advantage does the group gain by supporting some people while at the same time they reject others? For example, all life is sacred to God. Why do I support legislation to allow capital punishment and I support legislation that prevent abortion. At the same time I refuse to support programs that help to reduce crime, and I reject programs that support women that are unable to provide care for her child? Why is the life of persons in one category so sacred and valued, when the life of a person in another category is considered worthless?

Thirdly, it is often the case that a group will have some views that I agree with and some views that I disagree with. For example, I think that having a welfare program to help people who are at a disadvantage is a good thing. However, I do not think that the system help people to advance themselves. It’s like paying people to live in prison. On the other hand, there are some who think that welfare is totally wrong. They choose to believe that people are lazy and do not want to work. How can a person work if their welfare mother is not given enough money to give her child a good education that is needed to get job? If one thinks that it is wrong to have a welfare system they should read the book of Ruth in their bible. The reapers are instructed to leave grain so that the poor can glean the extras so that they have food to eat (Ruth 2).

Now, I am not talking about people in the secular world. I am talking about people that say that they are Christians. They can be so generous and supportive to some people while being so tight fisted and condemning of other people. This is not the example that Jesus set for His followers. Instead of committing ourselves to a group, we are to be committed to Jesus Christ. If we follow Him, learn of Him, and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are better able to discern the right thing to do in any and every circumstance.