“The Opinions of Men” Mark 12:35-40
SCRIPTURE INTRO: There’s an old joke:
What do most people have for Sunday lunch? Roast preacher.
In this passage Jesus has some roast preacher.
He severely criticizes the teachers of the law—who were the preachers of his day.
INTRO: My father is a minister.
A number of years ago bought a new Mustang.
It had a 5.0 liter, V-8 engine and he drove it every day.
He was once going to visit a widow who had started attending his church.
She had told him that her grown son lived with her.
And from her comments, sounded like he was a problem.
When Dad pulled up in her driveway, he noticed this shifty looking character
standing outside, smoking, and watching him.
Dad said: Hello, I’m
Ron Siegenthaler. Pastor of
I’m here to see Mrs. So-and-so, are you her son?
Man just looked him up and down with a sneer on his face and said:
5.0. 5.0 Mustang!
There’s nothing I hate worse than a preacher in a 5.0 Mustang!
That famous line has entered into Siegenthaler storytelling lore.
I’m not sure what it meant, but there was something about the combination
of a preacher and a 5.0 Mustang that this man did not like.
Well in this passage Jesus talks about the things he hated to see in preachers.
That’s sort of what the teachers of the law were.
In the synagogues in Jesus’ day there were different officers.
There was someone called the synagogue ruler—most prominent layman.
There were elders—like the ruling elders we have in our church.
And there were the teachers of the law, sometime called scribes.
They read, taught, preached, explained the Bible in the synagogue.
They were men who made their living in church work.
Jesus saw things in them that he hated.
He warned his disciples—Watch out for these men.
He didn’t say: Watch out for drunkards and prostitutes.
He said: Watch out for preachers, watch out for ministers.
Watch out for men who are in church work and do these things I hate.
Then he lists these things that he hates.
This is a tough passage for ministers to read.
I have not enjoyed studying this week.
It is no fun seeing Jesus point out the sins of ministers.
But do Jesus’ words here only apply to ministers?
Of course not.
If you thought I was going to let you off the hook this Sunday,
I’m sorry to disappoint.
Every confrontation Jesus had is also a confrontation with us.
When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, confronting the little Pharisee in all of us.
We are all self-righteous. We are all list-checkers—either proud or depressed.
When Jesus confronted the Sadducees, confronting little Sadducee in all of us.
We all doubt the power of God. Live as if no heaven, this life were all we have.
And when he confronted teachers of the law, confronting little preacher in all of us.
What is that deep sin the preacher that Jesus hates so much?
Being enslaved to the opinions and judgments of people.
Caring more about what people think about you, than what God’s Word says.
Jesus doesn’t conclude by saying—
Well, this is just a typical, irritating habit of ministers.
This is just a typical weakness of the ministerial personality.
He says: “Such men will be punished most severely.”
In other words—this is a sin.
Jesus hates what he sees.
But the good news is that Jesus wounds so that he can heal.
If you will listen to his words, let them sink in and convict you.
Then your life can be open to the forgiveness and deliverance of the Gospel.
So let’s look at this passage under two points.
1. The effects of slavery to the opinions of men.
2. How you get deliverance from that slavery.
MP#1 The effects of slavery to the opinions of men.
What spiritual pathologies develop in your life when you care
more about what people think about you than what God says?
1. One effect is an obsession with image.
The teachers of the law were obsessed with their image.
Had several strategies for maintaining that image.
“They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces,
and have the most important seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.”
I have to laugh when I read because Jesus’ comment about clothing.
Clothes are often part of the image that that ministers try present.
They sometimes use clothes to get people to look at them in certain ways.
In Jesus’ day it was flowing robes. Said I’m a man of books, a man of study.
I can’t milk a cow or plow a field in these things. I’m above that.
There have been arguments and debates about robes through the years.
In our time it might be a preacher dressing like a businessman—
so that the educated, wealthy people in his congregation will know
that he is a professional too. He’s educated. He’s a CEO of sorts.
Or if he wears blue jeans and Birkenstocks in the pulpit—
so people will know, he’s in touch with youth, and he doesn’t care
what people wear when they come to worship God.
And being greeted in the marketplace—Rabbi. Reverend. Pastor. Doctor. Titles.
And getting seats of honor at banquets—what friend calls preacher perks.
All these honors and titles and robes. Nothing wrong with them in themselves.
They are just a part of the office.
And you tried to get rid of them, the problem would still be in your heart.
But this Jesus’ point:
How much time and spiritual and emotional energy do you spend trying to
project the right image so that people will praise you and think well of you?
It might be clothes, or it might not. Might be projecting the image of a successful
parent, businessman. Or being cool or having it all together.
Jesus hates it when we work and worry to create an image that will impress people.
Because it shows that deep down we don’t care what God says about us—
we care mostly what people think and say.
2. Another effect is the neglect of certain
people.
Jesus said this about the teachers of the law:
“They devour widows houses.”
What did that mean?
I don’t think that it meant the teachers of the law were actually stealing
from widows. That kind of thing has certainly happened in the church.
You sometimes hear of cases where minister gains the trust of vulnerable people
in the congregation so he can steal their money.
Few years ago I met a man who told me a story about how his pastor had a little
investment company. Talked a widow into investing all of her money with him—
which he ended up losing. That’s devouring a widow’s house.
There are plenty of greedy ministers.
But I think Jesus was criticizing them for something more subtle.
Widows were socially insignificant people—often poor. Not important people.
I think he was saying—you are living off the tithes and offerings
of the widows and marginalized people in your congregation—
but you don’t care about them, because you don’t really care about their opinions.
The people who get the full attention of your pastoral services are those
who have something to offer you—those whose favorable judgments you crave.
It’s interesting that right after Jesus says this about devouring widows houses
Jesus points out a
widow putting her two copper coins in the offering at
The teachers of the law don’t even notice her—Jesus had to point her out.
Through thousands of small offerings like hers, the priests and teachers of the law
made their living. But one thing that you can’t help notice when you read that
story is how this poor widow is lost in the shuffle.
Here’s the point: If you care more about the opinions of people than God’s word,
you will end up neglecting, using the people God brings into your life,
who are lowly, whose opinions you don’t care about.
You’ll want to focus on important people who really matter.
Ministers do this—I’ve done it. I do it.
We do it at school, at work, church, in our families—people we neglect,
sometimes even after getting the benefits of their work or giving or love.
Because we care more about the opinions of people than God’s Word.
3. Another effect is a shallow spiritual life.
Jesus says: “And for a show (they) make lengthy prayers.”
When I was in college, a friend of mine invited me to a
and I went twice. This is how it went both times.
Leader prayed for 20 minutes, went around the room.
I tried my hardest, only prayed 2 minutes—all of us total of 15.
Then leader prayed for another 20 minutes.
I quit going because I went to sleep and was afraid I’d snore.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man who led that prayer meeting
was truly talking to God. He’s a spiritual giant. I admired him.
I’m sure he prayed for an hour by himself before we go there.
Jesus has nothing against long prayers. That’s not what he criticizes.
“For a show they make lengthy prayers.”
It’s putting on a show that Jesus criticizes.
Jesus’ point is that if the opinions of men control you, it will flow over
into what we might call your religious exercises—church attendance,
your public prayer, your conversations with fellow Christians.
You will become more and more comfortable with putting on a Christian show.
Talking the church lingo. Praying the prayers.
All because you want Christian people to think highly of you.
What happens is that you start to fool yourself.
So good at it that you think this is the Christian life.
Get better and better at impressing the Christians you want to impress—
but you aren’t getting any closer to God.
This is an incredible temptation for ministers—but it applies to all Christians.
One reason I know this is a temptation is because I never hear any of you cuss.
I’m glad I don’t—but know some of you cuss—but not around the preacher!
Why? Do you care more about my opinion than God’s Word?
How he says the same tongue should not praise God and curse men.
It’s almost a cliche but you have to ask yourself—
This is how I pray at church, in SS, Covenant Group—how do I pray in private?
This is how I talk when I’m at church—how do I talk when I’m at work?
If there is a disparity—it may be that you are enslaved to the opinions of men.
MP#2 So, how do you get deliverance from this slavery?
Four things you have to do.
First, you have to
listen to Jesus’ warning.
He told his disciples: “Watch out for the teachers of the law.”
What did he want them to do with this information? Actually avoid these men?
Possibly. But seems more likely that Jesus was saying:
Don’t be like them. Beware of falling into this sinful way of thinking.
Matthew tells us he addressed this specifically to his disciples.
These were the 12 who would be apostolic founders of the New Testament church.
All of these men would leave their vocations and pursue a new calling.
Peter, Andrew, James, John would leave fishing business.
Matthew would leave his tax collecting booth.
And they would all become, in a sense, teachers of the law.
They would go into the ministry—teach, preach, establish churches.
So Jesus was warning them—don’t be like these men.
Showing them how particularly ugly this is in a minister.
How can you be a man whose calling is to teach the Word of God,
but in your personal life, not motivated by what God says,
but by what people think of you?
This is not just true of ministers—all Christians.
Our calling is to be followers of Christ, not followers of people.
There is a verse in Proverbs that says:
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
That’s what Jesus is warning us about in this story.
This is a snare. It catches you in all sorts of sins. Avoid it.
So we all need to pay attention to Jesus’ warning.
Second, you have to
repent of your fear of man.
Have to ask God to forgive you for the importance you have placed
on the opinions and judgments of other people.
Peter heard Jesus say this. You would think that being there, and hearing
Jesus Christ express his hatred of this kind of life,
and his sober warnings to stay away from this sin, that Peter would have obeyed.
But we know from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, that Peter fell into this very sin.
While Peter was serving in the church in
about what the strict Jewish believers thought of him, do you remember what did?
He quit eating with the Gentile believers.
He started neglecting certain people in the church—fellow Christians.
These were perhaps even people who had come to faith under his ministry.
But Peter didn’t want to be seen with them because of how it would look
to the people whose opinions he really valued.
So Paul confronted him. This is not right. Not keeping in line with Gospel.
And Peter had to repent.
There are two things I find incredibly encouraging about that story.
First is that the heroes of the Bible are not perfect—living by faith as we do.
Second is that the first step of obedience to admit failed, ask forgiveness.
Out of that repentance, God strengthens us to follow him.
I don’t know how the fear of people, and craving for their good judgments
manifests itself in your life. I know where I see it in mine.
But I urge you to confront it and repent of it.
Third, you have to
embrace Christ’s righteousness.
Or, I could say that you have to preach the Gospel to yourself.
Those are both the same things.
The heart of the Gospel is that Christ’s perfect obedience
is credited to us by faith. It’s the great transfer.
Jesus got my sin. I get his obedience.
Theologians talk about Jesus’ active and passive obedience.
Passive obedience refers to his passion, his suffering.
His obedience in laying down his life on the cross.
So we get that obedience which covers the penalty for all our sins.
His active obedience is his perfect keeping of God’s law in thought, word, deed.
That is credited to us as well.
So the Good News is that God sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
The biblical image is being clothed in the white robes.
Isn’t that interesting. Teachers of the law tried to gain favorable judgments
by dressing in their flowing robes. Wow, look at him. He’s an educated man.
He’s a scholar. He’s someone important. And that was empty.
But God in his grace gives us the robes of his Son’s obedience.
If you believe that, it will go a long way toward helping you break free
of your enslavement to the opinions and judgments of other people.
You can say: I don’t know how other people see me,
But I know how God sees me. When he sees me in Christ he says:
“This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased.”
So you have to listen to Jesus’ warning, repent of your fear of man,
embrace Jesus’ righteousness and . . .
Fourth, step forward
in faith.
You have to look at those places and situations where you give in to this fear
and move ahead in faith.
You high school and middle school students—what this means is that
you should say, I’m going to go to school today and I’m not going to think
about myself all day—How do I look, how am I coming across to people
because Jesus warns me not to live that way.
If I panic or get depressed because of how I think people looking at me—
or if I say something that people think is stupid and feel dumb.
I’m going to repent right then there for being enslaved to what people think.
I’m going to remind myself that Jesus was perfect for me—
I am a beloved son or daughter of God.
And I’m going to be an encouragement to people God brings across my path.
All of you, in your various callings—wherever you are in the workplace,
and in your families, among your friends. You need to take the same steps.
Have to say to yourself: I don’t need to impress people.
I don’t live or die by their favorable judgments.
Jesus warns me not to fall for that lie. Not the way he wants me to live.
So when I do get fearful or paralyzed or even when I get overly happy
because someone who matters has recognized me—I’ll repent of those things.
Remind my self—there is only one judgment that matters—God’s judgment.
And then I’ll move ahead in obedience.
That’s the pattern of the Christian life. It’s a walk.
With one step we sin, and then with the other step we repent, embrace Christ.
And then take another step and sin, and another step and repent, embrace Christ.
And step by step—not by one perfect step after another—but by sin and repentance
we move ahead toward the life that Jesus has for us.
And one day we will find ourselves so completely confident in the
righteousness of Christ and the love of God that we will be free forever
from the fear of man, enslavement to opinions and judgments of people.