Thursday, 01 September 2011
-
Modern Day Pharisees
The pharisees were a small, but vocal group of Jews in Jesus' time. They were known for following the Torah precisely; so much so that they would make up laws for the laws just so they wouldn't break one. It was all up to interpretation, really. For instance, what constituted as "work" on the sabbath? The tradition in which questions like these were interpreted was written in what is called the Talmud and the Midrashim. Jesus accepted and followed the Torah, but rejected the Talmud and the Midrashim. We know this by the way he interpreted the law of Moses. He showed that at the very center of the Law wasn't pride, but love for one another and for God. This is something the Pharisees had a hard time understanding. They tended to be rather pompous when it came to following the Law. They walked around and condemned those who didn't commit themselves to it the way they did.
Jesus told a parable that ousted the Pharisees from their high horse. In this parable, he tells of a man, a pharisee, who went to pray at the temple. While there, he stood up and loudly proclaimed "Thank you Lord, that I am not like the other men- robbers, evil doer, adulterers- or even like the tax collectors! I fast two times a week and I tithe ten percent of everything that I make!"
There was a second man there, at the temple, who happened to be a tax collector. He stood far away, wouldn't even turn his eyes towards God, and as he sulked, he beat his chest and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Jesus said that it was the second man, not the first who went home, justified before God. To sum up the story, he said, "All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all those who humble themselves will be exalted."Jesus was clearly not impressed with the way the Pharisees handled the Law, nor themselves.
And yet, some things never change. I see many Christians exalting themselves over atheists and other non-believers. I even see Christians exalting themselves above other Christians. One thing Jesus made clear is that none of us are any different from each other. One who knows Jesus is in no way more moral than one who doesn't know Jesus. The difference is not in what we do, but in what Christ does in us.
It's amazing. When Jesus spoke to a certain group of Jews in his day, the message became timeless. As an exercise, read and consider the Seven Woes Jesus preaches. Much of it, we can still apply to many Christians today... It's funny... We Christians tend to look at the Pharisees as the bad guys in the bible... but it turns out, we too are the bad guys of the bible... We are exactly like them.
What fixes this problem?
The Pharisees and Sadducees got together to try to trap Jesus in his words. They asked him, "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This answer would have been good enough for the Pharisees and Sadducees. They really believed they loved God. But Jesus took it a step further saying, "The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." This was an incredible revelation on Jesus' part. It shows that we can not possibly love God unless we are loving our neighbors too... this is what shows our love for God. And this, we have the tendency to turn upside down- making enemies with those who don't believe, condemning those who read scripture differently than us, exalting ourselves above others... This is what makes us modern day Pharisees. The solution to this problem, as Jesus has stated, is all held in the secret of love for God and love for others.
Are you a modern day Pharisee?
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: jmallory@xanga
- Name: Jimmy
- Location: Dayton, Ohio, United States
- About Me: Jesus is alive and working in me. I'm just trying to manifest his glory.
-
True
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 55 Views: 0 34018 Comments: 0 785 View all posts by jmallory@xanga
Comments (11)
I approve this message
I am a Pharisee in recovery mode. And He Who began this good work in me is faithful to complete it.
To examine our lives in the light of the teachings of Jesus is often very uncomfortable. Much easier just to point out the faults of others. Thing is, ours are the faults over which we have the most control.
If one follows Jesus and his commands, one is not a Pharisee but a true Christian.
Those who worship the true God...
base their teachings on the Bible
worship only Jehovah and make his name known
show genuine love for one another
accept Jesus as God’s means of salvation
are no part of the world
preach God’s Kingdom as man’s only hope
Matthew 17: 21“Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.22Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’23And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew YOU! Get away from me, YOU workers of lawlessness.
Matthew 24:14And this good news of the kingdom will be
preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations;
and then the end will come.
Matthew 28:18And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.19Go therefore and make disciples of people of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the holy spirit,20teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
It's hard to not see the pharisee in me, because I struggle daily with loving all as God does, with a pure heart. Especially in our vitriolic political environment, where we pit ourselves as "we" vs "them." How do any of you find ways to put all these things aside and simply love for the sake of love? I'm struggling...
Each of us struggles between the pharisee and the disciple. Part of becoming like Christ is obeying the commandments for the right reasons, that being a love of God and mankind. He will help us as we ask Him and following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Wonderful post. I, too, struggle. I am learning to draw close to Him and let Him love people through me. I read a wonderful book called "The Recovering Pharisee". Can't remember who wrote it, but it was excellent. May dig it out again and re-read it.
It is true, the ground is level at the cross. Jesus was the perfect example. The only thing I take issue with is the one line where you said, "condemning those who read scripture differently than us". I don't think we need to be condemning, however, in America today, scripture can mean anything people want it to mean. And this is very dangerous to "lovingly" allow. I don't think that would actually be loving at all, really. Jesus never let that sort of thing slide either.
There is a careful line to be drawn.
It is Pharisee-ish to: - worry so much about looking like you are following the Lord that you forget to worry about actually following the Lord.- keep all the commandments while sterilizing yourself from the nature-changing effects those behaviors are meant to haveIt it is NOT Pharisee-ish to:- Keep the commandmentsToo often, denouncement of Pharisees somehow works it's way in to saying "God really doesn't care about any of those things He told us, as long as we feel good about ourselves and others."
@jklace@xanga - I had to laugh when I read this, I hope you were trying to be ironic. How necessary is it to make your comment as big as possible by listing all the ways you are a Christian? You sound like the first guy in the temple.
@o_perfect_zen_o@xanga - Laughter is the best medicine!! If you mean i sound like Jesus Christ, who was his Father's most perfect representative at Jehovah's Temple, thanks for the complement.