Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Did Jesus Agree With Paul?

Recently, a commenter to my blog made the comment. “I don’t believe a LOT of what Paul said.” She further stated, “I cannot believe that Christ treated and felt about women the same way Paul did.” The comment was made after I made a comment after the difference in roles that God gave women and men, and referenced some of what Paul wrote.

So is that true? Did Jesus teach something different from Paul? Many people want to look at the teaching of Jesus and focus on the what seems to be the loving nature of him, but because little is said in the gospels about some of the things Paul taught, they assume there is a difference. They compare Jesus to the God of the Old Testament and they see Jesus as being more loving while the God of the Old Testament is more firry.

But look at what you see in the book of Revelation. In particular, look at what Jesus said to the church at Thyatira:
Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess,to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He that searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. – Revelation 2:20-23

Doesn’t that sound a lot like Paul? But this isn’t Paul. This is Jesus speaking. His problem with the church at Thyatira was that they were letting this woman teach. As a result, she was leading people astray. If the men had been doing what they should have been doing, she wouldn’t have been teaching and would have had no opportunity to lead people astray. But look at what Jesus said he would do. He would kill her children as a warning to the churches.

The name Jezebel is significant. It is unlikely that this woman was named Jezebel, but rather she was like Jezebel. As you recall, Jezebel wore the pants in her family and Israel suffered for it. Ahab was bad enough, but he let Jezebel tell him what to do. For someone who isn’t supposed to agree with Paul, Jesus had some very strong words to say about this situation.