Mark 12:38-40 - Religious Men Who Prey on the Needy

Mark 12:38-40
38 In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Message: Religious Men Who Prey on the Needy

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus is now teaching. He is teaching in some ways like he hasn't before. He is on a mission and he is conveying His message. The religious leaders of the day have asked their questions and He has responded, but now he puts forth his message starting with showing the scribes that He is Lord, He is Messiah, He is more than a man.

Jesus is speaking now directly to the large crowd. The previous verse had stated - And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. They enjoyed it and so he kept speaking. When Jesus first entered Jerusalem he cursed a fig tree. While the tree appeared to look like a tree of fruit it was actually not producing any fruit at all. He proceeded to go to the temple and discovered that the temple was not being used for its intended purpose, but was instead being used as a means to earn money and/or exchange goods, a sort of storefront. Jesus confronted the leaders, but they are not accustomed to being questioned and they did not respond well. What followed was a series of questions against Jesus.

Jesus now takes this moment to talk about religious positions, most notably here, the scribes who use their religious position for personal gain. As James says the teacher is held to a higher standard and in many ways it is the teacher -- looked upon and attention focused on -- that is tempted to live as a person that is very different from others. Jesus could have spoken about anything here, but He chose this message and I think that is significant. After pronouncing that he is more than a man, that He is Lord, he then addresses those who lead others in the faith and how those leaders should not conduct themselves. I have had a years-old conversation with an atheist who lives outside of London and one of his first and main complaints is this - the often appearance that the clergy or priests are above him or of greater value than him. They put forth this separate idea, but also a separate and better idea. This is what Jesus is talking about here.

Beware of the scribes - Beware of the scribes, but more completely, beware of the religious leaders among you. We need to stand guard over those that put forth the idea that they are the leaders, the religious leaders.  The scribes who like to walk around in long robes. The first thing that we see in a person is often their dress. Why is it that religious people always have to put on their best clothes and go to church? Perhaps it is meant as a form of respect. But even in a day when we are becoming more casual, certain groups continue to walk around in their best clothes door to door. I am thinking of the Jehovah's Witnesses. They appear at our door in nice clothing. They must know that the average person answering their door is not going to be in nice clothes but they make sure they appear this way, perhaps to display a person of authority. Businessmen and leaders and Mayor's wear suits each day. It seems to be a sign of authority. Right here, Jesus addresses this and says beware or look out. Take notice. As in, there could be a problem here with the fact that they are walking around in long robes. This was a rich robe in the day which reached down to the ankles and was adorned with fringes. The scribes took pleasure in this type of display. We feel good when we dress up. And in this casual time that we live in those that are dressing up are standing out even more.

The scribes also like respectful greetings in the market places and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They wanted to hear the public acknowledgements from people. Again, important people are noticed by everyone. When they walk down a corridor or path or make an entrance people notice. There is no problem with this. This is normal, but the scribes problem was not that this simply occurred, but that Jesus says they liked it occurring. They liked the greetings, the chief seats, the places of honor. I think that one of the things that people loved about Abraham Lincoln was that he was a simple man. He was different from the leaders of the day. He stood out - yes, but he was like everyone else. Nowadays, our president often comes from very prestigious means and families.

I'm noticing that in these descriptions from Jesus he does something interesting. He tells people the motives of the scribes. I notice these words that he uses - walk around, like, devour, and for appearance's sake. They are not simply adorning themselves or hearing these acknowledgements because it is a normal thing. They like it. They enjoy the notoriety. They devour people. They are doing this for appearance. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter. He gets to people's motives. And that is what we need to be leery of, or beware of. Beware of those people that like these things.

The scribes also devour widows’ houses. They took an individual who was suffering a loss and didn't know how to tend to her property and affairs because the man as the leader of the home had taken on that role. And now they sweep in and devour the widows' house. They possess the property by deception. The problem here is greed or avarice. Like the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels where men often took advantage of a woman's wealth, this is what scribes would do. They used their position to meet the selfish need of their own for acquisition. It is fine to have things, but Jesus isn't simply addressing this. He is rather addressing the motives of these men.

for appearance’s sake offer long prayers - We are impressed by a praying man. Prayer, public prayer is difficult and somehow we value those that can do it. And praying to God is simply one of the highest desires we have. These scribes offered long prayers. Again, it was another way to say that they are different. A long prayer can be good, but it can also be done in such a way to focus more on the person making the prayer than the One we are addressing. And Jesus condemnation is that their long prayers are given for appearance's sake. Jesus is getting at people's motives.

And in all these things is a promise, but in this instance not a good promise - these will receive greater condemnation. Paul will say that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Jesus himself states, however, with this individuals that there condemnation will great. People may trick others and may pretend to be more godly than they are, but people will never mislead God. Condemnation speaks of judgment or damnation. The problem is that they used religion to deceive. They took something set apart for God and used it for their personal gain and Jesus says that their judgment will be greater than those who did not act in this way or have this special position. 

Summary - Jesus confronts head on religious leaders and anyone that uses their position as a representative of God for their personal gain - that gain may be monetary, but Jesus focuses more on a person's motive and that they do these things to have a power over others. Jesus has spoken much about the Power of God in people's lives. God has the power. If God calls people to ministry, people must understand that they are there only to reflect Him, not to gain things personally. Jesus has proclaimed himself to be more than a man and now he comes head on to those that lead others in this regard. 

Promise: Let God take care of outcomes. He knows. He knows people's true hearts and we can trust Him to take care of those who use religion for their personal gain. 

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for this message. Lord, I notice this often in leaders and it sickens me and it is good to know that you notice it and that you will deal with it in Your way. I can trust You for outcomes. I can trust You for results. As people, we need to be careful in our roles as we lead people. Guard us against those that use their position to their own advantage.