#DailyDevotion Why Everyone Sits In The Back Of Church
Mark 12:38–40
38As He taught, He said, “Beware of the Bible scholars who like to go around in long robes, be greeted in the marketplaces, 39sit in the front seats in synagogues, and have the places of honor at dinners. 40They swallow the houses of widows, and then, to cover up, make long prayers. They will be punished all the more.”
As one professor noted, the Bible scholars aka Scribes were very much honored in Jewish society in Jesus’ day. We can see this by the behavior Jesus seems to excoriate them on, i.e. wearing long robes, being greeted in the marketplace, sitting up front and having places of honor at dinners. The people honored them with these actions. They supposedly knew the Torah, the Law, as well as the traditions of the fathers and instructed others in these ways. There’s probably even a good chance some of these fellows Jesus may have even liked and found faithful.
But, from Jesus’ words here many, perhaps even a lot, while knowing the Bible and the traditions of the fathers, were using it to take advantage of people. Even worse, they were taking advantage of people they were supposed to be using the Law to protect from unscrupulous men. Unfortunately, they had become the unscrupulous men, apparently “swallowing the the houses of widows.” We don’t know exactly how they were doing it. Jesus doesn’t say and we don’t have records. However, I can certainly see religious men talking widows into giving up what little wealth they have to secure a good spot in the world to come. Some of the things they may have taught them may even have been correct. The problem was their motivation—to enrich themselves in this life from liberating wealth from these widows.
Even worse, Jesus accuses them of trying to cover up the wickedness of their actions with making long prayers. Were these the long prayers Jesus was condemning in the Sermon on the Mount. Probably. Perhaps they were long prayers offered up on behalf of the widows whose wealth they were in the process of swindling. Jesus tells us one thing for certain, they will be punished all the more.
There are several people or classes of people in particular in the Old Testament and they seem to be transferred to the New Testament for the most part who are close to the heart of God and identified with him, widows, orphans, the poor and the foreigner at the gate. How you treated these people is how you treated God. It is that direct of a relationship. The LORD promised, give to the poor and you are lending to God. He will repay. The opposite is also true. Despise these people and treat them harshly and you will face the wrath of God. Many times in the Old Testaments the LORD condemned the ancient Israelites for mistreating these people. Jesus accuses the religious leaders of his day of doing the same.
What shall we do with this? Don’t be like the Bible scholars et al. Feed the poor and clothe them. Take care of the widow and the orphan. Assist foreigners in your midst. Such things please God. Jesus himself has done these very things for you. His life, death and resurrection for you made you spiritually rich, an heir of God and a sojourner in this world waiting for the world to come.
Heavenly Father, grant that we may look upon the downcast upon the earth as you would have us treat them even as you have blessed us when we were spiritually bankrupt. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.