“Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth” (Mark 12:14).
SWAYED
The Pharisees and Herodians approached Jesus and offered him some praise; at least it may have seemed like praise to the onlookers. Their words were flattery aimed to catch Jesus off guard.
Jesus saw through their attempt to curry favour with him and didn’t fall for their ploy.
What the Pharisees and Herodians said, was true, at least in part – Jesus was not swayed by men.
Jesus knew God’s Word, “Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet” (Prov 29:5). Yes, Jesus was not swayed by men, even by these offering him insincere praise.
There are important lessons for us too. Because people may try to win our affections in an attempt to use us in some way.
In the Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Crow,” a crow is eating a piece of cheese on a branch when it’s approached by a fox who wants the cheese. The fox flatters the crow, calling it beautiful and saying what splendid wings it had. The fox asks whether its voice is as sweet to match, because if it was, then this crow could be called Queen of the Birds. Listening to these flattering words, the crow forgot all her suspicion, and also her cheese. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds. So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese straight into the fox's open mouth.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of the people talking to him—a fallen nature dictated their behaviour. Christ’s object was not to please men, but to please God. Jesus was lowly of heart and couldn’t be bought.
Some people may try many different ways to pull us into their circle of power, but if our main objective is to always please God, then we will be safe from the ploys of men and from the schemes of the devil.
The truth can sometimes be twisted by having respect to persons. “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly” (Lev 18:15). We notice that it goes both ways, truth should apply to both the poor and the rich. A point picked up by James, “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (Jam 2:2–4).
So we watch out for any ruse or device from both devils and men that takes us away from God’s truth, love and holiness.
Help us Lord.