Title: Pietism's Trap
question of authority
The Gospels report a clear distinction between followers of Jesus and those who oppose him. Not all cases are the same, but in general, those who followed Jesus belonged to the lower social classes, and those who opposed were so-called ‘opinion leaders’. That's really weird. The fact that religious people and intellectuals who were expected to understand Jesus much more deeply acted rather hostilely. Today's text is one of those stories.
When Jesus was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the people asked this question. “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?” (verse 23). The fact that almost the same question was reported in the parallel passages in the Gospels of Mark (11:28) and Luke (20:2), it seems that this question was taken very seriously by early Christians. The key to this question is, where did you get your license to preach?
That is why, when Jesus was asked, “What is it? Am I not even free to speak with my mouth?” I didn't answer that way. Jesus answered this question by taking a step back. Answer by whom John was authorized to baptize. After hearing that answer, I will also answer your questions. The high priests and elders were puzzled by the unexpected question again. You can see this in the fact that they don't say exactly what they think and they start to roll their heads about which answer favors them. They feared that if they said that John's authority came from heaven, they would not believe in John, and if they ignored John's authority, they would be attacked by the people who believed and followed John as a prophet. They answered, "I don't know." It's probably more difficult to say than to actually know. Then Jesus said that he would not answer their questions.
What was the problem between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders that caused these seemingly puns of words? What kind of authority do Jewish religious leaders think? For them, laws and traditions are their authority. What laws and traditions allow is truth, and what is not permitted is false, or no matter how best you look, it cannot yet be recognized as truth. Laws and traditions are clearly the beautiful achievements of man that gave rise to civilization. Without this, social order cannot be maintained, so there is no civilized country that does not uphold laws and traditions. However, laws and traditions, no matter how sophisticated they are, have only relative value. In fact, this Korean law is also a relative value, not an absolute value. The education system in this country is also just a relative order. Of course, church institutions are also relative.
To say that law and tradition are inherently relative has two meanings. One is that it must be continually reformed, and the other is that it must be discarded when the absolute comes. The two are actually similar. In any case, it is clear that the community, its society, and its system can maintain vitality only when it is transformed and reformed into a better order by exposing the limits of the laws and traditions that support human society.
But the chief priests and elders did not have the courage to relativize their laws and traditions. They could not tolerate Jesus' rebuke for turning the Jerusalem temple into a 'den of robbers' (Matthew 21:13). The more it turned out that they were doing something wrong, the more they struggled to come up with rational logic to cover up that fact. It was, “By what authority do you do these things?” The only hill they could lean on was not the truth, but the authority of law and tradition.
parable of two sons
Jesus, who shunned the questions of the Jewish religious leaders, instead revealed their reality through parables. While the Gospels of Mark and Luke tell the parable of the vineyard tenant, Matthew introduces the parable of the two sons between them. This parable appears only in the Gospel of Matthew among the four Gospels, and I think it may have been transmitted independently only to the Matthew community.
A man had two sons. This man made his eldest son go to work in the vineyard. The eldest son said no at first, but later repented and went to work. Hearing the same thing, the second son said he would go, but did not actually go to work. A very simple analogy. Jesus asked the people, perhaps these men who were supposed to be priests and elders who had accused Jesus of his authority. “Which of these two will accept the will of the Father, the Son?” They are “the firstborn.” and answered. It seems to be a very obvious question and answer. But shortly thereafter, Jesus' interpretation of this parable is important. Something completely unexpected comes out. “I say clearly. Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you” (verse 31). Why is it that such a bizarre thing is happening? Jesus explains it this way: The priests and elders did not believe the teachings of John the Baptist, but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Today's text confirms the attitude of the priests and elders once more. “When you saw it, you did not repent and did not believe him” (verse 32).
This analogy is not so logical. Priests and elders are very good people no matter who you look at, and tax collectors and prostitutes are troublesome people no matter who you look at. But does it make sense that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God first? If it made sense, could the priests and elders understand or accept it? This would have been almost impossible. So most likely they were angry when they heard Jesus' words or saw his actions. In <Jesus, Speaks the Way>, Rajnishi differentiated the Buddha and Jesus in that way. The Buddha's teachings were so noble that they were acceptable to all, whether they were civilians or aristocrats, but Jesus' teachings had offended not a few people because they fundamentally destroyed the existing system. This is a reasonable explanation. Jesus' teaching that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God first must have provoked the anger of the Jewish religious leaders.
pietism
Let's ask again. What the hell is wrong with the priests and elders so that Jesus’ teachings do not reach their hearts? On the other hand, why are tax collectors and prostitutes able to recognize the truth Jesus is speaking of? I don't know how seriously Christians today read these texts. If you don't feel any crisis in front of this parable that says that women who sell themselves in red light districts or peasants in a bar enter the kingdom of God before those who believe in Jesus and go to church diligently, then he is someone who reads the Bible like a watermelon. Such people probably think so. This statement is only a parable rather than a fact. So, even if you go to church, you shouldn't be pretentious. Or perhaps it is a teaching that we should be spiritually ashamed like tax collectors and prostitutes. We cannot say that this idea is fundamentally wrong, but we need to go a little deeper into this statement.
In order to understand Jesus' teaching that the religious leaders did not accept John the Baptist's words, and that the lowly people accepted it, an in-depth or spiritual understanding of humanity is required first. Of course, more important than that is the attribute of the kingdom of God. Let's ask the question again. What on earth is man, what is the kingdom of God, so that the world's scoundrels enter the kingdom of God before the noble leaders?
In my view, the decisive factor here lies in whether or not to empty oneself. It means that in our relationship with the kingdom of God, other things have no meaning. All his work, all human deeds, and any deeds, including moral or religious deeds, are meaningless here. Nothing is of any use to the kingdom of God other than to set aside all of one's own. It doesn't take much to build a church or become an evangelistic king. This statement is also valid in reverse. Even the bad behavior of a person who lived like a publican and a prostitute is not a decisive factor that prevents you from entering the kingdom of God. In our view, neither worthy deeds, nor unworthy deeds, nor any deeds work. Only one thing is needed. It is to empty yourself. At that moment, the kingdom of God now reigns over him.
I don't know if this explanation sounds too abstract. Or, then, you might be wondering, is it okay to live in this world any way you want? It's never like that. How about explaining this in a little more detail? Think about how we can have peace of mind and joy. Of course we can be happy when we achieve something of value, but those things are always limited. The joy is short-lived, and immediately we will be overwhelmed by the pressure to get more grades. No one can escape from this. We cling to self-fulfillment for the rest of our lives, and we live in turmoil according to the results. So, it seems that people are training their inner composure, saying that they are receiving psychotherapy, chi training, and danjeon breathing. While this kind of training will work, it will be temporary or partial.
The Bible does not say that joy and peace are the worlds possible with such psychotherapy. The Bible offers something a little simpler and paradoxical. Look. The publicans and prostitutes in today's text have nothing to offer to people. Before anyone tells them not to empty themselves, they already empty their minds. In that moment of utter collapse, a wonderful peace and joy seize them. A completely new level of joy and hope begins to grow in a completely ruined life. They were able to experience the kingdom of God not in the praise or comfort of people, but in the depth of their existence, in the mystery of life. I don't know, maybe alcoholics got into that world before we who don't.
Unlike tax collectors and prostitutes, I mentioned earlier that the chief priests, elders, and scribes who are questioning the authority of Jesus now had too much to put forward in front of others. However, the problem of the high priests and elders requires a more detailed insight. You can't criticize them for having personal problems, being arrogant, being bad religious leaders who are obsessed with the church, or because they didn't believe in Jesus. They were gratifying themselves through all kinds of noble religious practices. To obtain religious satisfaction through such many religious practices that are common even today is ‘pietism’. It's worth it in its own way. Refined worship, prayer, Bible reading, and service are precious values. But even a plausible religious piety destroys human life in an instant when it wins people's hearts. That is the pitfall of pietism. Once you get into it, you can never get out of it, much like an ant caught in an ant hole. Just as the priests and elders could not tolerate Jesus at all.
So, how can we lead a devout life without falling into the trap of pietism? There is no other way. Like the tax collectors and prostitutes whose lives have been ruined, they must lay down all their achievements, dreams and ambitions. Not formally, but in fact. Then the Spirit of life, the Holy Spirit, will rule our lives in ways we do not know. That is the event of entering the kingdom of God 'here and now'.