“Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.” (Jeremiah26:12-13)
The message of coming judgement that Jeremiah taught was quite unpopular with the people of Judah. When he preached that same message in the Temple courts he provoked the anger of the priests and the prophets because they were the religious authorities of the nation. Jeremiah’s message contradicted theirs and offended them. They claimed at he was a false prophet who should be punished accordingly. Yet the civil magistrates vindicated him by citing 2 cases of other situations in which true prophets had preached an unpopular message. It was best to let Jeremiah go and see what happened but his message was ignored.
The reactions of those religious officials shows us the depravity of the human mind. Those who are think they are religious or spiritual gurus because they have a degree or position or title often claim to know God, to be intimate with Him. Academia and the media both hail them as authorities when they need someone to speak about God or religion. However, the things they say reveal that few of them know Jesus. What they often proclaim is the truth as they see it. They refrain from talking about sin, sinful lifestyles, idolatry and false religions. Like the priests and prophets of Judah they do not want to disturb the status quo by antagonizing people or making them feel guilt, poor self-esteem or the need for repentance. But we who have faith in Christ are called to speak the truth like Jeremiah did despite the opposition and the consequences.
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