True Praises That Jesus Rejected

Luke 4:41
Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

True praises? Yes, true praises. The praises were saying that which was true and consistent with God’s will and scripture. The praises contained truth in totality. Yet Jesus rejected that praise and not the truth in it. True praises that Jesus rejected!

Jesus was moving from place to place preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and attending to various needs that the people brought to Him. The people were excited to see and interact with Jesus. Jesus had no problem with the people, He actually took His time to interact with them. But when demons praised Him, Jesus rejected the praises. True praises that Jesus rejected!

The demons shouted that Jesus was the Son of God. That was true but Jesus rejected that praise. The demons confirmed the divinity of Jesus but Jesus rejected that praise that contained the truth. The demons praised Jesus as the Son of God. The demons were right but Jesus rejected their praise instantly and publicly. True praises that Jesus rejected!

The first reason why Jesus rejected their praises is that they were demons. Even when demons speak the truth they remain demons. They were permanent enemies of Jesus. Jesus was careful enough not to take praises from an enemy. An enemy may praise you using true words, but the intentions to harm you remain the same. This is why Jesus rejected their praises. True praises that Jesus rejected!

The second reason why Jesus rejected the praises that spoke the truth was that the demons praised Jesus out of self-preservation. They were not genuinely praising Him. They were praising Jesus for selfish motives. When Jesus spoke to send away demons and set the demon-possessed person free, the demons feared that Jesus would harm them. Out of fear and with the need to be spared harm, the demons praised Jesus to be the Son of God. The demons were right but their intentions were not praise but self-preservation. True praises that Jesus rejected!

Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Not all those who praise God will be saved eventually. There is more to salvation than mere praise. Some of the praises we make in the church are selfish. They are an attempt to bribe God into blessing us. Some praises are out of guilt without genuine repentance. Those who praise God and refer to Him as Lord! Lord!, are right and speaking the truth for He is Lord. However, that doesn’t mean they will be accepted just for praising. True praises that Jesus rejected!

Jesus said unless they do the will of God, their praises remain null and void. If they praise so well, but out of shallow reasoning they refuse to keep the ten commandments, their praise will amount to nothing. We don’t praise to be saved. We don’t keep the commandments to be saved. We praise and keep the commandments because we are saved already. God’s grace causes us to praise Him and to live according to His commandments. If we selectively read the Bible and choose what to follow and ignore other parts of the Bible, we shall indeed get lost, even if we praise Him the loudest and most truthfully. True praises that Jesus rejected!

Human beings love to be praised. We love people who say good things about us even if they are not the truth. Sycophants mislead influential people because they feed their need for attention and praise. Yet sycophants are like demons, they praise anyone who can do them a favor. They are never genuine. They are on a self-preservation mission. Sycophants would curse whoever they just praised if that curse would preserve them from harm. Their praise, therefore, is not genuine. The same crowds that cheered Jesus during the triumphant entry into Jerusalem are the same crowds that jeered Him to be crucified. True praises that Jesus rejected!

An enemy does not become a friend simply because they have praised you. Unless the core reasons why the enmity arose are settled, the praises remain suspect, even if in the praises they speak the truth. Praises should not make us lower the guard. We must remain alert for we are in enemy territory and praises could be a deception to lure us into a trap. True praises that Jesus rejected!

May God help us to reject praises that though true are potentially harmful. May God make us genuine people in all our dealings, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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