Matthew tells us that in a rare moment of righteous anger, Jesus began to condemn whole cities of people who had seen Him perform numerous great miracles, yet refused to see Him for who He was.....God incarnate. Savior. Messiah.
What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. (Matthew 11:21)
The miracles Jesus performed in Korazin and Bethsaida would have astounded less hard-hearted men and women, turning their hearts towards Him, and opening their eyes to the truth of their need for Him.
But the people of Korazin and Bethsaida were blind to the truth.....it was hidden from them.
A few verses later we see Jesus praying O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. (Matthew 11:25).
The people of Korazin and Bethsaida couldn't see their desperate need for Jesus, because of their own pride and self-proclaimed wisdom. They thought they knew God. They thought they had Him all figured out, wrapped up nicely in a box of dos and don'ts....sacrifices and rituals.
Jesus revealed Himself to them over and over, in every one of the multitude of miracles that He performed in their midst. Yet, they couldn't see Him. They couldn't see His glory. They couldn't see God's glory. Because they couldn't see past their own pride.
Pride blinds us. It blocks our ability to see God at work. It blocks our ability to see our desperate need for Jesus. It is a spiritual burden that keeps us wandering in darkness rather than walking in the light of truth.
In His prayer Jesus continued, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
God wants to replace our pride with humility. He wants to replace our burden with a light load. He wants to teach us who He is, and who He desires us to be.
But we have to come to Him willing to learn. We have to be willing to see God for who He is, not for who we think He is. We have to be open to the truth that He doesn't fit into our box.
Try as we may, we'll never have God all figured out. But He will reveal Himself to us over and over. He will show us truth, if we seek it with open hearts and minds. He will teach us His wisdom if we come to Him in humility.
There's no end to what God will do in our lives if we are willing to lay aside our pride and kneel at His feet in humility like the sinful woman who followed Jesus to the home of the Pharisee in Luke's gospel.
Scripture tells us that this woman knelt behind Jesus at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them (Luke 7:38).
This beautiful act of humility was embodied in a woman that scripture called sinful, and the prideful Pharisee, Simon, who witnessed it failed to see the beauty of the scene.
Jesus, in an effort to open the spiritually blind man's eyes told the story of a wealthy man who loaned to two people, 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 to the other, then forgave them both their debt. He asked the question, Who loved the wealthy man more after that?
Simon answered, I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt (Luke 7:43).
Jesus pointed out that the sinful woman loved Him more. She had washed His feet, when Simon refused the courtesy. She had kissed His feet repeatedly when Simon failed to greet Him with a kiss. She had anointed Him with perfume when Simon had failed to anoint His head with olive oil.
The self-righteous Simon loved himself. He loved his good clean life. He love the relative scarcity of his sins compared to hers. But he failed to show Jesus the love that the sinful woman so willingly poured over Him in tears.
Because he saw himself as only committing 50 sins next to the sinful woman's 500, Simon couldn't see his own desperate need for forgiveness. He couldn't see His own need for a savior.
The prideful count the number of sins committed and find comfort in the knowledge that others have sinned more than they have, but the humble are overwhelmed by the flood of mercy and grace flowing from God and find a peace that the prideful will never know.
And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).
I have a feeling that Simon pondered, and reasoned, and justified, and remained content to carry his burden of pride and the few sins that went with it, while the sinful woman did indeed, go in peace, with the weight of the world, and all her numerous sins, lifted from her shoulders.
Because that is the gift of faith.
(Journey: Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 7:36-50)
