Jesus’s teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing religious people of His day. However-our churches do not have this same effect which can only mean one thing. Our preaching and practices are not declaring the same message that Jesus did.
".........people who believed the Bible believed in Jesus. That’s why today’s tweet from popular NYC pastor, author, and public intellectual, Tim Keller was so perplexing.
According to Keller, the Bible-believing people of Jesus’ day were offended by him. However, nothing could be further from the Biblical truth. No doubt there were religious leaders who rejected him, but they were hardly “bible-believing.”
The Sadducees were anti-supernaturalists who rejected the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels. They also rejected scriptures other than the Torah.
The Pharisees had the opposite problem. They added to biblical requirements by asserting their own legalistic regulations. Only by a superficial understanding of the term could these errant sects, who were comfortable in their positions of Roman-sanctioned authority, be described as “Bible-believing.” It’s always tricky to exegete a tweet and Keller is known as a confusing tweeter, but one thing is clear in this case: Keller’s statement is patently, biblically absurd.
*The Bible-believing religious people of Jesus accepted him.
*They were the first Christians." P&P
