False Honour
It's been a challenging week examining Jesus' stern words to the religious leaders of His day. I wonder if He would have similar things to say about us and our churches today? I hope not.
In Luke 11:47-51, we find Jesus addressing the experts in the law about their hollow way of honouring the prophets: "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in His wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all."
Empty Memorials vs Living Faith
These are tough words! Jesus condemns the Scribes because while they built impressive tombs to honour the prophets, they completely failed to live by these prophets' teachings. Even worse, they were about to reject and kill Jesus – not just another prophet, but the promised Messiah Himself.
We Christians can fall into a similar trap. We might construct beautiful buildings and monuments to honour Jesus while failing to truly live for Him. A few years ago Shereen and I visited Southwark Cathedral in London, a beautiful old building with a rich history. Walking around this church we saw elaborate tombstones and inscriptions honouring believers from centuries past. It was a humbling experience, standing in those spots where many faithful followers of Christ had stood before.
Living Monuments to God's Glory
There's certainly value in building memorials of this nature, but the truest way to honour God's faithful servants is to carry forward their legacy of living for Him and sharing His love with the world. Beautiful church buildings can certainly glorify God, but our lives speak far more powerfully than any structure ever could.
The experts in the law missed this crucial point. They built impressive memorials to the prophets while completely rejecting the spirit of their teaching. Let's not get caught up in the external trappings of religion while neglecting what really matters – the way we live our lives for God's glory.
My prayer is that Jesus wouldn't look at our modern churches and say "woe to you!" Instead, may we steer clear of all these false expressions of faith we've examined this week – false cleanliness, false generosity, false humility, false help, and false honour. Let's commit to living authentic Christian lives from the inside out, truly bringing honour and glory to our God as we do.
