Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 12-25-15 Edition

Sunday School
A Generous Gift (Matthew 23:2–12; Mark 12:38–44)
might have been noble, but the interpretation of Scrip- ture ended up being viewed as equal to Scripture. He did not like many of their teach- ings (Matthew 15:4-9). There is a word for when profession and practice are separated—hypocrisy (a theater term meaning “play actors”).
2. Jesus said that with ugly faith, freedom is re- placed with burden. The purest religion is one that liberates people to be every- thing God intended. The re- ligious leaders caused the commandments to become burdensome and anything but light and well-fitted (in contrast to 1 John 5:3; Matthew 11:28-30). There is a word for when burden wins over freedom— hypocrisy.
3. Jesus said that with ugly faith, theatrics substi- tute for genuine service. Everything they do is done for people to see. There is a word for when theatrics sub- stitute for genuine service—
hypocrisy.
Jesus took the occasion to
teach about grace and hu- mility. God is the revered one. He is the Rabbi, Teacher, Instructor, and Messiah. Grace means that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. No human is above another. The key verses in this section are re- ally 11 and 12. The greatest among you will be your ser- vant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Jesus had a strong warning and a disturbing promise to religious leaders: “Watch out,” and “These men will be punished most severely.” But Jesus was not angry. His heart broke for them as Matthew 23:37-39 shows.
In contrast to the religious leaders, was anyone a gen- uine, humble, gift-giving person? Yes, a simple widow. Jesus spent his pub- lic time at the temple during his final week. He sat down opposite the place where the
offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. This would un- nerve most of us.
Many rich people threw in large amounts. This was obvious. There was no paper or plastic to pay with in those days—only coins. When placed in those 13 trumpet-shaped offering re- ceptacles, there was plenty of noise. The richer the gift, the louder the offering. But Jesus focused in on a poor widow who gave two very small copper coins (a frac- tion of a day’s wage). Jesus sensed it to be a teachable moment, so he gave the dis- ciples a Stewardship 101 les- son. Percentage wise, the widow gave the most. She was generous because she trusted God to take care of her. Mark 12:41-44
Humility is not thinking ill of oneself; it is just not thinking of oneself. The best and most generous gifts are always given by the most humble people.
Generous gifts and hum- ble deeds sharply contrast with shrunken hearts and hypocritical actions. Today’s lesson shows that contrast in neon lights. The antagonists in the Gospels (the Phar- isees, who were actually greatly respected) contrast sharply with a humble widow who made a most generous gift at the temple. Having just come through the main gift-giving season ourselves, these contrasting texts will cause us to check our motives.
A church sign read: “Spir- itual sicknesses can’t be cured by religious quacks.” As Jesus warmed up to give
his final discourse in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 24, 25), he took the religion police and ex- posed their quackery. Before Jesus addressed the scribes and Pharisees directly (Matthew 23:13-36), he spoke to the crowds and his disciples (v. 1) about them, and he said three things: Matthew 23:2-12; Mark 12:38-4
1. Jesus said that with ugly faith, profession does not match practice. Unfortu- nately the religious leaders had devised an intricate sys- tem of protecting God’s law from being broken (“fenc- ing” the law). Their motives
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