Five Days Through the Holy LandSýnishorn

Show Dogs and Hunting Dogs - The Mount of Beatitudes

I was talking with a friend about an organization’s new CFO some years ago. His response was direct and colorful. “The man’s a show dog! He looks good, but he can’t hunt!”

We all come across “show dogs” in our lives. They appear sophisticated, distinguished, and intelligent, but they can’t get the job done. They look good, but they can’t hunt!

Jesus had little patience for the show dogs of His day—the religious leaders who looked godly but didn’t know God. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7, Jesus challenged the show-dog mentality of His day.

Jesus made it clear He wasn’t eliminating God’s standards of right and wrong. “I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets,” He cried. “No, I came to accomplish their purpose” (5:17). Jesus explained the true intent of God’s Law, giving several examples. “You have heard that it was said,” he announced, sharing the standard religious interpretation of God’s Law concerning murder, adultery, divorce, taking an oath, seeking revenge, and loving one’s neighbor (5:21–48). But He then revealed God’s true intent with a dramatic contrast: “But I say….” And the difference was profound.

So what was the standard for obedience God expected? “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (5:48). Jesus met that standard, but the religious leaders of His day did not. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we need to admit we don’t either.

Jesus then looked beyond a person’s actions to focus on motives. “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired” (6:1). He highlighted the way people demonstrated devotion to God in His day—giving to the needy, praying, and fasting (6:1–18). A show dog does the right thing but for the wrong motives—to be seen and honored by others. Jesus’ point is profound. If we are seeking to please God, it shouldn’t matter whether or not others even know what we have done.

Jesus ended His message with a series of warnings (7:13–27). The way leading to destruction is wide, “but the gateway to life is very narrow, and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it….Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” (vv. 14, 21). Those who listen and put His words into practice are like a wise man who builds his house on solid rock (v. 24). Such obedience provides a solid foundation for weathering life’s storms.

So where does that leave us? The Bible makes it clear that we are all sinners. No matter how religious, no one can ever match God’s standards. So can anyone get to heaven? The answer, thankfully, is yes. But we can’t make it there through our good works. That’s why Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

How do we get to heaven? We receive eternal life as a gift by placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His death on our behalf. “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:21). Thank God that Jesus willingly went to the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our disobedience!