One Hilarious Verse in the Bible

Imagine the scene with me. Jesus is yet again confronting the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They are complaining to Jesus, because the disciples did not wash their hands before they ate. Maybe, they were concerned about the disciples catching the swine flu. Maybe, they were concerned about Jesus having more followers on Twitter.

Whatever their motive, Jesus blasts the Pharisees,

"And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ... You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ Read all of Mattthew 15 >>

Ouch! And then comes the most brilliant statement in all the Bible. The disciples approach Jesus after the exchange stating, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

Are you kidding me? I offended them? I am soooOOOO SORRY! Please, let's go back and apologize. I did not mean to hurt their feelings. Let me re-phrase that, so it will be more kind and gentle.

That has to be one of funniest statements in the Bible. Of course he offended them. Of course they were taken back. He called them hypocrites! He said they worshiped him in vain! In other parts of the gospel accounts, Jesus says they are children of the devil. He goes on to call them blind guides, and says, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots".

The truth of our selfish nature and pride is offensive! The smell of our indulgences cannot be drown out by incense. The wage of our sin cannot be paid by a mere human offering. God is only tolerating sin for a season. He will put a stop to it. He will up root and burn all the unproductive fruit of this earth. He will destroy The Destroyer, death itself.

My friends, the spiritual war we engage is serious business. There is plenty of fun and laughter along the way, but the cost of discipleship is your very life! The price for following Jesus is alienatation from the world. Anyone that is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. And that is not funny.

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