Keeping Score

Matthew 11

“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Matthew 11)

It’s a good thing that Jesus didn’t keep score. If he had, I believe that he might have been overwhelmed with discouragement. I mean, he came to bring the Kingdom of God “near” as he said, and to call us to repent. And now, as he is turning toward Jerusalem from his time in Galilee, he must wonder if it is all worth it.

Let me explain.

First of all, I am a disciple of Jesus. I’m not a member of his inner circle, but just on the fringe of it. He preached in my town and I felt an attraction that I’d never before experienced. And so, for the past two years, I have followed as he has walked and taught and healed and preached all across Galilee. It has been a wonderful time and you must know that I feel blessed beyond measure.

I was aware of John the Baptizer, and of his strangeness. Despite that, his message was unmistakably clear: the Kingdom of God has come and we must repent. His ministry was spent along the Jordan, close to Jerusalem. Remaining in Galilee, I never heard John preach, and now, of course, as you probably know, he is dead, beheaded on the command of Herod Antipas.

John’s audience was mostly from the Judean countryside, and of course, also from Jerusalem. People came to hear him, crowds of them. And I am sure that he hoped that they, after listening to him, would, in fact, repent and turn toward our YHWH God.

But that didn’t happen. Of course, a few did take John seriously and they turned their lives around. But honestly, most folks just came to be entertained. And entertained they were! His preaching was highly energetic and he was evidently a very magnetic personality. I can almost picture John, dressed in his camel hair tunic, thundering away along the banks of the Jordan. Unfortunately, John proved to be little more than a curiosity, and he quickly aroused the opposition of our religious leaders. They are the ones who said John was demon-possessed.

And then, he was killed, his life snuffed out at the whim of Herod and his illicit wife. I can’t say there was much to show for John’s efforts. If there was, I couldn’t see it.

And what about Jesus? Honestly, I find it hard to understand why I am so attracted to him, while so many others seem unimpressed. Or maybe I should say that they are mildly impressed. Because, you see, Jesus has attracted large crowds. He performs miracles with literally hundreds of witnesses, and he teaches and preaches like no one ever has. And folks come away in awe of what they see and hear.

Sermon on the Mount

From the Sistine Chapel

But you know what? Many of them hear him and then simply go back to their old lives, mostly unchanged from before their encounter with Jesus.

I don’t understand. Speaking for myself, I am greatly changed. Jesus uses the term “born again” and maybe that’s what it is. Whatever, my life feels altogether different now that I have been touched by Jesus. Yes, there seems to be a clear difference between my life before him and now, after.

Don’t get me wrong, my life hasn’t been made perfect. And clearly, I have not been made perfect, either. But there is an energy, a vitality and a joy to my life that wasn’t there before. And too, I feel a stronger sense of purpose than I have ever felt before.

Maybe all of that is why it’s so hard for me to understand my friends and neighbors, the ones who, like me, heard Jesus, and who marveled at him, and then just went back to life as before. What happened to me that did not happen to them? Were they like the crowds who came to hear John? Were they simply looking for temporary inspiration? To be entertained by a charismatic speaker?

And then, there’s more. Because while some have reacted to Jesus with apathy, others actively oppose him.

Yes, some have taken the opinion that Jesus is a phony, a fake prophet. Their opposition has become fiercely passionate, and I fear where it may all end up. Why are they so opposed? Probably for several reasons, but most of all because Jesus has chosen to pay attention and to even care for people they reject: the poor, the sick, the outcasts and most of all, people whom they consider to be “sinners.”

You see, these people who oppose Jesus claim that the law is our highest authority, and that Jesus fails to respect it. They see him healing on the sabbath and allowing his followers to eat without washing their hands. In fact, Jesus has told us that there is a higher authority, that God requires us, as the prophet Micah has said,“to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6).

I fear what may await Jesus in Jerusalem. People in power do not like to feel threatened, and Jesus is clearly aiming at exposing their corruption and their hypocrisy.

I admire him for that, yes, I do. He is right: there is no shortage of corruption and hypocrisy in our religious leaders. But I also remember what happened to John and I fear for Jesus.

And I also wonder: is it all worth it? I mean, Jesus has never stopped drawing people to himself. But there is no denying the facts: most have not been “born again” and his faithful followers like me are few; he must be disappointed. I ask again; is it all worth it?

Jesus could easily keep score: he could ask what happened to all the people who heard him teach and preach. In the thousands, I imagine. And his miracles of feeding multitudes? What happened to all those people? Where are they now? Have they forgotten?

As I have said, it’s a good thing that Jesus has not been keeping score. You can re-read the passage of scripture above and get a sense of what Jesus is thinking.

 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

Maybe here is a clue to why Jesus keeps going in the face of discouragement:

 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11)

Jesus knows the father, our YHWH God. He knows God like no one else could. And he tells us that when we know him, we get a glimpse of his father.

So, as Jesus turns his attention to Jerusalem, he must have an idea of what will happen. In fact, he has told us that he will be killed and then, raised from the dead. I have to say that, for me, his fate is hard to believe.

Why? Because for me, and for the few souls like me who follow Jesus, it just wouldn’t be worth the sacrifice of a life, the sacrifice of his life. But I am not Jesus, and I can tell you, that in his mind, it is worth it, and he will obey his father no matter what!

And one more thing. Perhaps this, above all else, keeps Jesus going, and gives him no reason to keep score. That one thing is the Spirit of God.

I was present in Nazareth as Jesus introduced his ministry in the local synagogue. He quoted Isaiah as he announced what our YHWH God has called him to do:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4)

And again and again, Jesus told us of his love for his father and of “the Spirit of the Lord.” I didn’t think much about this at the time, but now, as I witness so much opposition to Jesus, I think I have the answer to what keeps him going.

It’s the literal Spirit of God, what you in your time call “the Holy Spirit.” All I can say as I reflect on this, is that God’s Spirit must be a powerful force in the life of Jesus. And my hope is for that Spirit to keep him going as he faces his journey to Jerusalem.

So, what do I admire so much in Jesus? It’s not just his power to heal, not just his teaching, or his miracles. More than that, I admire his obedience to our YHWH God. I admire his perseverance, his love for the forgotten people, his energy, and most of all, I admire his courage to accept the will of his father and to face what I fear will happen in Jerusalem.

And where does Jesus get such admirable qualities? As he himself says, it’s from the Spirit of the Lord, who keeps him going, and who never keeps score!

And so, in your time, I hope that that same Spirit gives you the power to face whatever opposition you find that challenges your faith. So, thanks be to God, we do not need to keep score!