The Warning and the Question
Before Jesus named what was dangerous, he turned his disciples toward the one question that mattered most.
Jesus had just warned his disciples to beware of the toxic doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He named something dangerous. He did not stop there. He asked a question instead.
"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'" (Matthew 16:13).
Notice the order. The warning concerned a doctrine, not the destruction of the people who held it. Jesus could name an error plainly. Yet the warning did not become a campaign against persons. His next move was to draw his followers toward his own identity, which is the ground every other judgment stands on.
This is a hard discipline. It is easier to treat the person as the problem. It is easier to win an argument than to hold a conviction without contempt.
Sit with the two moments today. Where have you confused an idea you must resist with a person you must love? Ask the question Jesus asked first. Let the answer order everything else.
Read the passage slowly. Then pray for one person you have been tempted to demonize.
Sources
- How to Confront Social Ills Without Demonizing Others — Christianity Today
- “Can Religion Save Democracy”? Yes, But Not Like This. — Christianity Today
- How the Trinity Transforms Reading Scripture — The Gospel Coalition
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