In
Matthew 15 Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for promoting their traditions
above God’s Word. The disciples reported to Him that He had offended the
Pharisees. Jesus said, “Let them alone. They are blind guides of the
blind, and if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit”
(15:14).
Leave them alone? Didn’t He care about their destiny? For the longest time I
couldn’t understand why Jesus said to ignore them. Sure, the Pharisees were set
in their ways and wouldn’t change, but didn’t Jesus care about all those
lost people who were following them? His statement makes it clear that the followers are just as accountable for their
actions as the leaders. Even though they saw Jesus perform miracles, the people who followed the Pharisees chose to follow the false
leaders.
Multitudes
of people in Germany during WWII enthusiastically followed a demon-possessed
dictator. Not one of them can say on the Judgment Day, “Lord, how can you blame me for following a dynamic leader? He was so magnetic and produced so many great military leaders. No one dared to question his leadership. I didn’t know that he was wrong.” Many pastors
today are emphasizing leadership in church to the point it has become an idol. (If “leadership”
were that important, Jesus would have taught us how to be great leaders instead
of teaching us how to be servants and slaves of others!)
What
can we learn from this? Be extremely
careful about the spiritual leader that you choose to follow. Is that
person feeding you spiritually or are you starving to death? Some people will
follow a pastor who isn’t feeding them spiritually simply because they have
been a member of that church for a long time. Is it your goal to become like
that leader? Jesus said, “Everyone, after he is fully trained, will be like
his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Life is
too short to blindly follow a blind leader. If you aren’t growing closer to
Jesus through that person’s ministry, take off your blindfold and find another
church.
Some
church members will blindly follow a rebellious deacon to overthrow a godly
pastor. (See Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:1-3, 31-33). I know of an associate pastor who
orchestrated a rebellion against his senior pastor and split the church. The
associate pastor led a group of his friends out of the church to start a new
church in that town, appointing himself as their pastor. God will not only hold
the associate pastor accountable for his rebellion but also the members who chose to blindly follow him.
What
about you? Are you blindly following a blind leader? Have the courage to change
course if necessary, and follow someone who is living a godly life and teaching
the truth of God’s Word. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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