The Religious Leaders

Throughout the public ministry of Jesus, the Jewish religious leaders were ever-looming figures of disagreement and opposition. Direct debate and/or conflict between the religious leaders and Jesus was common, and at other times, they were watching Him closely.

These men belonged to different groups of Jewish religious scholarship and practice such as the well-known Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. They dedicated their lives to the study of what we now call the Old Testament and other important instructional writings and commentaries from rabbis and theologians. As we read in the Gospels, they were passionate for their knowledge and interpretation of the words and nature of God. These religious leaders had equal craving for maintaining their power and social status, while controlling who was considered included and welcomed by God.

Jesus warned the religious leaders many times about their hypocritical behavior. He rebuked them for their social elitism, legalism, and misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God. Luke 13 is a key instance of Jesus warning these religious elite.

In Luke 13:1-5, He warns that all need to repent of their sin, and then in verses 6-9, He alerts those who do not bear fruit in keeping with repentance and the Kingdom of God that they will be cut down like the fig tree that did not bear fruit.

Then, in verses 10-17, He has direct engagement with a religious leader who attempts to censure Jesus in the synagogue assembly for performing healing on the Sabbath of a woman who had been physically impaired for eighteen years. Jesus rebukes this religious leader for his lack of care and concern for someone who needed God’s provision the most.

The rebuke continues in Jesus’ next words in Luke 13:18-19, when he compares God’s Kingdom to a small mustard seed that has been thrown into a garden. Jesus is giving imagery not of a seed that was carefully planted, but a seed that was thrown on the ground carelessly. However, the seed grew and became a large tree. The warning to the religious elite was to not throw away the Kingdom of God.

Then, Jesus compares God’s Kingdom to the yeast hidden in the flour which, although hidden and not seen, causes the flour to rise. The ones who were to lead people toward God, instead determined to hide His Kingdom from those who needed it the most.

The religious leaders, the ones most knowledgeable of the words of God and the accounts of God’s action in the past, were guilty of these two actions. They had thrown the Kingdom of God to the side, and they were attempting to hide it from those who needed the most, as seen in the response to the woman healed on the Sabbath in verses 10-17.

Luke 13 continues with these admonitions to the religious establishment of Jesus’ day. Verses 22-35 talk of a narrow door to salvation, and as you read the context of chapter 13 and these fourteen verses, you decode that Jesus is talking about the religious elite not understanding the true values of the Kingdom of God and rejecting the promised Messiah.

During the final week of His earthly life, the conflict intensifies. Luke 22:1-2 demonstrates that the religious leaders were now ready for extreme action by saying, “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.”

The commoners loved Jesus, and the elite rejected Him. The outsiders believed, and the insiders rebuffed His message.

Jesus demonstrated the values of the Kingdom of God—the vulnerable will be welcomed, the hurt will receive care, the outcast will be accepted, the broken will be restored, injustice will stop, prejudice will cease, power will not corrupt, disparity and inequality will end, and the lost will be saved—values that were in stark opposition to the values of the Jewish religious leaders.

To consider the religious leaders during the final week of Jesus’ life may seem strange. However, their attitude, values, and actions are important for us to consider, and their ways can be quite attractive to us even today. Jesus disrupts the status quo, He challenges our assumptions, and He had a special care for those who were denied connection to God by the religious leaders of the day.

The religious leaders were successful at kingdom building. Even though they lived under the occupation of the Roman Empire, they created an elaborate religious kingdom that fit their assumptions and desire for control, wealth, comfort, and power.

As we ponder our response to Holy Week, do we associate more closely with the values of the religious leaders or the values of Jesus? Do we live the Kingdom values that Jesus lived?

Consider again that Jesus demonstrated the values of the Kingdom of God - the vulnerable will be welcomed, the hurt will receive care, the outcast will be accepted, the broken will be restored, injustice will stop, prejudice will cease, power will not corrupt, disparity and inequality will end, and the lost will be saved.

Throughout this week, may we see the practical ways to live Jesus’ Kingdom values and examine our own values. Do we live and act in ways that are more aligned with Jesus’ Kingdom values or the values of the religious leaders? Do we delight in building the Kingdom of God, or are we more concerned with building our own kingdoms?

Holy Week 2023 would be a powerful moment for us to begin to make changes to live Jesus’ kingdom values. How can we serve this week? How can we help someone who is broken or hurt? How can we show love to someone who is outcast? How can we share the Good News of Jesus with someone this week?

These simple practices will help us begin to reflect the humble character of Jesus and not the arrogance of the religious leaders.

Dr. Jay Harley serves as Vice President for Student Affairs at Dallas Baptist University.