Jesus And The Religious Elite

Continued from yesterday…

Jesus exhibited love and compassion for those who were considered “the least” by society. He hung out with sinners, such as tax collectors, prostitutes, people of opposing religions, and even the soldiers of the occupying military force. Whoever came to Jesus was accepted and loved without restraint or condition.
Strangely enough, Jesus was harshest on the religious elite who demanded complete obedience to the Biblical law. Exposing their hypocrisy and revealing their self-righteousness, Jesus questioned them. But not to satisfy some egoic need to be right.

Instead, Jesus debated Scriptures to help them see the futility of the ego so that they would embrace love as a better way. As long as the religious elite considered themselves morally superior, the ego would maintain its collective hold—not only on them, but also on the society as a whole.

But by exposing the hypocrisy of the religious system, Jesus stripped away the egoic patterns of the religious world so that even the staunchly religious would open their hearts to grace.

Continued tomorrow…

Adapted from Section 3 of Awakening To I Am Love by David Youngren