Jesus was often criticized for His teaching. He was accused of lying, arrogance and harshness. They believed He lied when He claimed to be the Son of God (Jn. 19:7; 10:33; 8:58-59). They thought it was pretentious of Him to intimate He was greater than Abraham (Jn. 8:48-53). They felt His teaching was too hard and ended up rejecting it (Jn. 6:60-66). His critics even wanted to kill Him on several occasions and eventually succeeded (Lk. 4:24-30; Jn. 8:58-59; 19:30). Nevertheless, Jesus pressed on with teaching the truth.
Today, many would view Jesus’ actions as intolerable. He would be considered defensive as He verbally assaulted His detractors (Mk. 7:1-13). He would be thought of as mean-spirited as He attacked one group after another (Lk. 11:37-54). Indeed, Jesus would not be considered for hire in a number of churches because He angered and turned away many more than He pleased and drew in (Jn. 6:66).
If men follow the example of Jesus, will it be any different now than then? Do we intend to appease the world or save it? Are we going to honor God or disgrace Him?
Steven F. Deaton
