Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

When it came to clear communication, Jesus was a master. Children and adults alike had no difficulty understanding His words or following His reasoning. This is remarkable because, while He was on earth, He lived in a society that had become accustomed to cliché-ridden religious double-talk. The scribes, priests, and Pharisees who dominated the synagogue scene saw to that. They unintentionally made Jesus’ simple style and straightforward approach seem all the more refreshing. When He spoke, people listened.

Unlike the pious professionals of His day, Jesus’ words made sense.

This was never truer than when He sat down on a hillside with a group of His followers and talked about what really mattered. Thanks to tradition, this teaching session has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount—in my opinion, an unfortunate title. His words were authoritative but not officious, insightful but not sermonic. His hillside chat was an informal, reasonable, thoughtful, and unpretentious presentation. He distilled an enormous amount of truth in an incredibly brief period of time, and those who had endured a lifetime of boring and irrelevant sermons sat spellbound to the end.

If we fail to understand the background behind that statement, we will not appreciate the depth of His listeners’ gratitude. In short, they were fed up with the manipulation, the pride, and especially the hypocrisy of their religious leaders. Long years of legalism, mixed with the pharisaic power plays designed to intimidate and control, held the general public in bondage.

Man-made systems of complicated requirements and backbreaking demands shut the people behind invisible bars, shackled in chains of guilt. They could not measure up; they could not quite keep their heads above water unless they dog-paddled like mad . . . and many were losing heart. But who dared say so?

Out of the blue came Jesus with His message of liberating grace, encouragement to the weary, hope for the sinful. Best of all, everything He said was based on pristine truth—God’s truth—instead of rigid religious regulations. He talked of faith—simple faith—in terms anyone could understand. His “yes face” invited them in as His teaching released them from guilt and shame, fear and confusion.

The Nazarene’s authenticity caught them off guard, dismayed their suspicions, and blew away the fog that had surrounded organized religion for decades. No wonder the people found Him amazing! No wonder the grace-killing scribes and Pharisees found Him unbearable! Hypocrisy despises authenticity.