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Matthew 23:2-4: Jesus confronts religion -- eyeball to eyeball. He has to show them what the gospel is NOT. It is NOT enough to say what it IS, he has to show us what it is not. And so, Jesus stepped in to say, "I haven't come to give you this; but I have come to give you this."
Who were the Pharisees? The word "Pharisees" has slipped into our language to mean "hypocrite", which is very unfortunate. In the regular dictionary it says Pharisee means a hypocrite. It isn't. Originally "Pharisee" was a word that meant a man of high sincerity and great faith.
About 600 years before Jesus was born the nation of Israel collapsed. They had gone into captivity because they had turned to idols and forsaken their God. While in captivity they picked up a copy of the law (the first five books of the Bible). That was their Bible, and they began to read it. It had been a long time since they had read it. As they read it they began to understand why they had been taken into captivity, why the curse was upon them -- because of their idolatry. So the captives spread among the Babylonian empire began to turn to God and the Bible. They began to study the Scripture -- to be devoted to it. The word "scribe" came into existence. It described a man who studied the Scriptures and wrote it out for others. One of the leaders of that movement in captivity was a man called Ezra. He was to write many of the Psalms and other Scripture. Ezra, the scribe, was one of the first ones who pulled people together and said, "Let us study Scripture." They hadn't done that before.
Then comes the time of their return under Cyrus the Persian. They went back into the land of Israel, and with them they carried the scrolls of law -- their precious book. This they must study, live by, obey every command. Never again must they turn to idolatry. And so they came, led first of all by Zerrubel, and then by Ezra. There came the great separation -- they separated themselves from the heathen all around.
After awhile the enthusiasm died off and things again began to get lax. A group arose within Israel who called themselves the Hasidim, which means, basically, the pious ones; or the saints, in our language. A Holy club -- a group of people who separated themselves, returning to the devotion of God, to obey Him. They were mentioned in Malachi, "Those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another." They feared God, studied and memorized His word and spoke often together about that word. One member of the Hasidim wrote Psalm 119, the longest Psalm in the Bible; maybe Ezra, we aren't sure. It is loaded with words like law, statute, precept, testimony, speaking all the time of the first five books of the Bible. The writer describes himself as, "I am a companion of those that fear thee," which was the Hasidim.
A little bit later, Greek thought tried to invade Judaism. They thought everything about the Bible was old fashioned. Let's get with it. Think like the Greeks. It was the Hasidim that stood against that and said, "No, we stand firm to the word of God." They endured much mental persecution. People laughed at them; they were despised, mocked and ridiculed. Antiochus tried to exterminate Judaism a little later. The Hasidim stood against him and were persecuted, martyred and died for their faith. They were tremendous in their devotion.
Then some of them began to get involved in politics. In 135 B.C. there was a split. Some went off into politics and the others rededicated themselves, that they would never depart from the word of God. They would be God's people through obedience to Him. They were nicknamed "the Separatist" and that is the word "Pharisees". It means "the separated ones". They never called themselves "Pharisees". Never. It was a nickname. They had separated themselves to God, to keep his law, and became fanatical. They would keep every minute law of God in their great zeal. They called themselves "the association". We are associated with God's word, with those that love God's word, and we have separated ourselves from all those who are not like us.
They not only separated themselves from the world, but they pulled in tighter and separated themselves from their brothers and sisters, saying, "You're not good enough for us. We are the Association." To get into the Association took thirty days to one year for initiation. You had to study before you could make your final vow that meant you were finally of the Association. They saw themselves as the godly, among the ungodly.
Because of their obedience, they saw themselves to be the true people of God and everyone else as phony. They eagerly waited for the Messiah to come. When they met each other on the streets they would say, "Shalom, Neighbor" (not brother), because it says, "thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself." They said what God really meant was that you would love all members of the Association. And so you are my neighbor -- no one else is. I can hate everyone else because they are not of us. We are the neighbors. So they greeted one another in that way. When they asked Jesus who was my neighbor -- that was a big question in those days. The Pharisees said, "Only Pharisees are my neighbors;" Jews said, "only Jews are my neighbors." And Jesus showed everyone who his neighbor was.
If I am going to keep the law of God, how do I go about it? They brought in rules and regulations to stop you from even getting close to breaking the law of God -- guard rails. After awhile they forgot what the command was, they had so many rules and regulations. They were all taken up with the guard rails. They forgot the guards were man-made and called them the word of God, too. They were ruling this massive system of man-made tradition. They became the most honored, loved people in all of Israel. The Pharisees -- held in awe and marveled upon by saints, as men of God. The more complex their rules became, the more people held them in awe. Every synagogue in Israel was influenced by them. They consisted of businessmen; but had such a power. Everyone in Israel knew of their presence. At the time of Jesus there were about 6,000 Pharisees in Israel.
Everywhere you turned, there was a Pharisee. You just couldn't miss him. He made sure of that. That was part of it. The way he dressed. The blue robe -- why not? The sky is blue. If I wear blue I am closer to God. They wore a little box on their forehead, tied around their head. Inside the box was some Scripture, called a phylactery. It signified to them they had the Scripture in their mind. They also had another box on their wrist -- bound in prescribed fashion, seven times around their arm, three times around their hand, and they held it inward to be close to their heart and said, "I have God in my mind, in my hand and close to my heart."
They had a prayer shawl. The Bible said you should. The end of the shawl has tassels. In Numbers God said whenever you see the tassels move, remember I am your Covenant God. But they made their tassels soooo long, showing they remembered God more than anyone. And the way they walked -- they shuffled along to show you how holy they were. At the prescribed time of prayer they could be crossing the road, but they would stop right in the middle of it and pray while all the traffic backed up. This was a Pharisee, an outward, external kind of person. You could not miss them.
Let's be fair to them. Look at them. They are national heroes. In their past they suffered martyrdom. These people believed the Word of God is indeed the Word of God. They were adamant that the Word of God was God-breathed. Fanatical students of Scripture. None like them. They observed every law of the Old Testament. They loved to obey. They even took commands that were meant only for the priests and obeyed them too. They obeyed every possible law. They demanded everyone should be educated in the Scripture. You can't fault that. They tithed on everything they had right down to the mint in their garden. Every tenth leaf was given to God; every tenth sheep or cow they tithed. They eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah. They could not be more pious.
Yet Jesus said, "You're a bunch of snakes and vipers. You're clean on the outside, but on the inside, you're full of yesterday's food going rotten." Strong language. Jesus doesn't usually talk like that. Why was he talking like that to the Pharisees? Why? What was wrong with the Pharisees? What was it that brought out the anger of Jesus?
Jesus said, "I am not come to destroy the law; I am come to fulfill it." The Pharisees said the same -- they wanted to fulfill the law also. But the Pharisee meant he was going to fulfill it by obeying every detail by rigid obedience, and show by his actions that he was worthy of God. I am one of the true chosen people of God. They missed the whole point.
What is it that made Israel the people of God? It was that God revealed Himself to them. In their history, He told them His name, who He was, and entered into a covenant with them. He said, I will be your God and ye shall be my people. I will dwell in the midst of you." What made Israel special? It was the revelation God gave of Himself. And ONE of the things God gave in covenant was the law, but the great issue was Himself. These Pharisees took the law out. God didn't matter anymore -- covenant didn't matter anymore -- it was the law that mattered, with all its marvelous commands that he could keep and show that he was worthy. And so it was no longer that they were God's people because his presence was among us; it is, we are God's people because of the way we live, how we keep the commands.
Jesus said to them, "Ye search the scripture; think in it ye have eternal life." He was saying, in effect, "You don't. You're great students, but you don't have it. You've missed it." They had lost God in his Word! Amazing! They were back to idolatry again, but they were worshipping a book. It's possible to lose God in the book -- to be a first rate idolater, worshipping the book, and their man-made rules. The law was the way to God; if you could only keep it.
What is the law? Thou shalt not kill? No. That's the wrapper it came in. What's behind it? Dig around a bit. What was he really saying? Thou shalt not commit adultery? That's only the wrapping paper. What's underneath that? It's one word -- Love. If I love you, I won't kill you. If I love you, I won't run away with your wife, or steal from you, etc. Love is the fulfillment of the law. All its negatives -- thou shalt nots -- are only the wrapping paper. And the Pharisees took the wrapping paper off the candy, discarded the candy, and are now arguing about the wrapping paper!
Jesus said, "The whole law was summed up in these commands: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and thy neighbor as thyself." So the Pharisee said, "Thou shalt not kill, but I can hate you. I can lose my temper with you." Jesus said, "No, anger is murder begun." Have law, and you just have a command; have Love, and your whole life will be transformed.
Jesus said he'd come to fulfill the law -- get to the heart of the matter. Are we under the rule of a book? No, we are under the rule of a living Christ, the law of Love. It is possible to lose the Word of God in the Word of God. But the Word of God is Jesus. And if I've only got the book, then I've lost the Word. Pharisees were sincere, starting out right, but they lost God in the book.
The Pharisees never said, "How can I keep the law?" They said, "How can I not break it?" That's sneaky -- makes a big difference. To keep it -- love your neighbor -- that's simple. Not to break it --- that's something else. How shall I not break it? Well, they decided they needed guard rails or fences. Here is the law -- so help you if you ever get close to it, because if you do you're going to break it. So they put up a lot of guard rails and fences so you could not even get close enough to it to break it. For example, "Keep the Sabbath Day holy." God's gift to man. You weren't supposed to move out of the house on the Sabbath, except for a short period. Even in the wilderness they didn't have to get up before dawn to gather manna on the Sabbath Day.
The Pharisee said, "How shall I not break it?" Not, "How can I keep it." What is working on the Sabbath Day? Well, plowing would definitely be working on the Sabbath Day. Well, what is plowing? It's something that divides the dust or dirt. If I drag a chair across the floor and that, too, divides the dust, that is also plowing. So is combing your hair. So one of the fences they put up is, you're not allowed to drag a chair across the floor on the Sabbath Day. If a woman looked into a mirror on the Sabbath Day, would she not naturally comb her hair? That would be working, so no women could look into a mirror on the Sabbath Day, and so on and so on. When Jesus walked in the corn field, picked an ear of corn, rubbed it in his hands and threw the shuck away, they pounced on Him! You wouldn't believe the number of rules he had broken in doing that. He was harvesting, grinding corn -- fences, fences.
They were sincere. They said, "If you do this, you never know where it might lead." Oh, it's not in the Bible, but you see, if you do this, it might lead to this, and this is sin; then you've broken the law. So let's put up so many fences, you'll never be tempted to break any of the commandments.
I was raised a Pharisee. You couldn't go to the movies.
Absolutely forbidden. Who knows where that might lead? And
the way the world is going these days -- you just better avoid those
kind of places. Television? No way you can have a TV
in your home. It guards you from something far worse, if you
will just not have one at all. Jewelry? Now, that's pride,
no doubt about that. Off with your rings, the whole lot.
Make-up? Well, you know where that leads to. Put on make-up
and you'll end up as a woman of the street. Get a permanent in
your hair? Pride! God gave you that horse's tail. It's
yours. Dance? Now, you know where that leads to. Ladies
were shorts? Jeans? Can't tell the difference in men and women
anymore. You know where that leads. Just like the Pharisees'
fences and guard rails, because you never know where it might lead.
.
Jesus openly scoffed at their fences; he went out of his way to
break their sacred laws. He enjoyed it. He did it knowing they
were there. Rubbed the corn in his hand. He stepped on
their toes -- he said what you have is NOT what I have. The
whole law is summed up in one word, and that is Love.
Once I say I am keeping the Word, obeying the Scripture, living by the book, it's so easy to turn to you who are not and say, "You're second class." The Pharisees despised others. They would not associate with a Samaritan; absolutely NOT associate. If he happened to touch a tax collector, he would go home, take a bath and send his clothes to be laundered. He despised the peasants. HE understood the law. Remember it says they are cursed who know not the law. He would stand every morning when he got out of bed and whisper, "I thank thee, O God, that I am not as other men; that I am not a woman, that I am not a dog. I am a member of the Association." Because he had the truth, he despised others. HE had studied the Scriptures.
Matthew was a tax collector. Naturally, a Pharisee would not go into a tax collector's house. Why, he might have liquor in there, and they never ate where there is liquor. They would not put one foot over the threshold of a tax collector's house. Pharisees today would not go into a restaurant where they serve beer -- who knows where that might lead to? Yet, Jesus made a tax collector one of his disciples. Not only that, but he went to his house for a feast with all his tax collector friends! Now you know what goes on at those things. Horrors!! It was gossip for weeks to come. He actually sat down and ate with the tax collectors and sinners! Nobody in Israel would do that. It was unheard of -- quite shocking. Go and have dinner with a tax collector? It would be equivalent if you saw me down town having dinner with a prostitute. Most people would be absolutely shocked. Jesus did that sort of thing. He went out of his way to do it, and let people see Him doing it. Because he was trying to show them, "You've got it all wrong!"
Jesus never called anyone a "sinner." The Pharisees did.
Jesus called people "lost sheep, coins, sons," but not sinners.
Quoting from one of their writings, "There is joy in heaven when
a sinner drops into hell." Jesus responded with, "There is
joy in heaven when a sinner repents."
The Pharisee thinks, "They're less than us; we have the truth."
I know what that's like because I honestly believed I had the truth.
Unless you were in my church you could not be saved. Before God,
I was a Pharisee. Jesus came to a Pharisee community and said,
"Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden. I will give you
rest. My yoke is easy, my burden light." That is not
an invitation to sinners. It was an invitation to people who
were sick and tired of religion. Sick to the heart with the
burden of trying to be right to please God. When you HAVE to
do something it becomes a burden. Jesus came with freedom from
all this -- my yoke is easy, light. I will give you rest. In
Greek, the word "rest" means "vacation." Jesus says, "Come to me.
I will give you a vacation." Their way is work -- it is wearying.
Jesus' way is a vacation. Why is there a vacation? There are
no fences, no guard rails.
Frightening? Now there is nothing to keep you away. Who knows what you may be led to? No fences? No unwritten rules? No do's and don'ts? Because Love came to live inside of me. He's the fence. How do I know what to do? The Pharisees loved the bondage. They could complain about it and gripe about it, but they couldn't do it -- they were saved from it. Jesus threw it all out. Just let me come live inside of you; "yet not I, but Christ." That means I have to listen to Him, be governed by the Spirit within; not by rules on the outside. It's risky, this being responsible and making choices. It's all a part of growing up with no help from rules and regulations.
Jesus living within has nothing to do with girls wearing make-up, jeans or dancing. It has to do with your heart. You can't legislate righteousness. It springs from within where Jesus lives. If it doesn't, it's only an outward coat that covers the real you. Jesus said, "You hypocrites -- you're whitewashed tombs, full of dead men's bones. You look so fine on the outside. You have cleaned the outside of the pot so good you can see your face in it, but rottenness is in it, flies and corruption." When Jesus comes to live within, that's our real selves. I am the new me. Not by rules and regulations, but by the living Christ on the inside. That's the rest Jesus gave. He was a refreshing breeze to the weary, heavy-laden, ready to give up because they couldn't keep the rules and be happy. He came like a cool breeze into their hearts on a hot humid day.
On the other hand, he was a tornado. He swept through religion without any respect, tore it apart. Threw the pieces everywhere and announced, God said, "I have nothing to do with this."
Can we let the Holy Spirit be our life? Can the only law we live by be love? Love to God and love to your neighbor? Can we let his love free us forever from the bondage, the wretchedness of rules and dead truth? Can we live by inward life rather than outward rules? Have we discovered the real life in Jesus? The liberty? The freedom? The Prophet Isaiah said, "You will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it." The voice will tell you what you should do and not do; although it may be OK for others. You're being led from the inside, from within.
And we see how utterly "other" we are. We are the new race, we're the lovers, the people who love even as He loved us. We live with a life from outside this planet. We are a race that lives within the human race, and it never shows up more than when we confront religion which is supposed to be right.
What was wrong with the Pharisees? What was it that brought forth the anger of Jesus against them?
If you are going to have a law of commands that you have to keep and you set about keeping them, and all the do's and don'ts applicable to them, you will inevitably move into the merit system. That is, "I have kept so many rules and done such a good job at it. God must like me, and surely will accept me, because I have merited it. My good works and obedience to the commands are like brownie points. God surely must accept me." Then that leads to something else... to pride. Because when I go around other people who are not keeping the rules like I am, then I become very proud that I am keeping the rules much more than I thought I was, because they're not. The bad people I meet make me feel and look so good. Filled with pride based on the merit system, my hope of approach to God is keeping the rules.
This is a religion that runs through time. I've seen something, a revelation from God that other people do not have. I have the rules they don't seem to know exist. And so I am special! Like the Pharisee praying, "I thank thee I am not as other men." Jesus didn't make this up -- you could hear it anytime. It was what all the Pharisees prayed. To thank God that you're different is the beginning of Phariseeism. Looking down my nose at someone else. Love and pride cannot live together, so we erect a barrier between God and ourselves when we're of this spirit. We become lost in a world of self-made rules; rules that we've made. We look in disgust at others who don't keep our rules. We're prejudiced against those who don't see it our way. I have seen it all -- if you don't see it my way, you're excluded. Phariseeism! Why did Saul of Tarsus drag in all the Christians and kill them? They didn't agree with his way of thinking. He thought he was doing it for the glory of God. Being civilized, we don't kill -- we just close the door to them. You can't come in unless you agree to keep these rules also. If you don't, we despise you.
Remember when Jesus was having dinner with the Pharisees? While they were eating, who should somehow get into the house but this woman of the streets who comes and kneels at the feet of Jesus and bathes his feet with her tears and dries it with her hair. The Pharisees sat there with contempt reeking out of them, thinking, "If this man were a prophet he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him. She is a sinner." As far as the Pharisee was concerned, she was OUT, and there was no way she could get IN.
In Luke 15:1-2, the Pharisees grumbled and talked to each other. "What have we come to -- this man sits down and EATS with sinners!" Contempt. Notice that there were tax gatherers there. Publicans are tax collectors. Matthew was a tax collector.
Jesus' compassion was greater than all religious public opinion. Jesus never called others sinners directly. The Pharisees did that. Jesus called them lost sheep. They were very valuable to the shepherd -- that was why he went to find the lost sheep. Even though it was lost, the sheep still had a tremendous value.
The Pharisee separated himself to God, and to the law of God exclusively. The truth is, that if I separate myself to God I discover that God is Love, and he dumps me back into this world to love people. Once you, me, God and the three other people who agree with me are isolated, you become a Pharisee. Simple as that. We are afraid of people who aren't like us. That's the great fear of Pharisees and it leads to isolation and Phariseeism. We're afraid when we come up against someone who isn't like us. Why do teenagers pick up every fad? Do you get uptight when someone orders a drink while eating with you in a restaurant, or pulls out the cigarettes? Jesus wasn't afraid. The Pharisees were, and they condemned Jesus for it also. Pharisees don't have unsaved friends. They think, "I've got the truth." What on earth are you doing keeping it?? Share it with others. Don't stay in the salt shaker. "I've seen the light." Get into the darkness with it. Don't just shine it in each others' faces. You're the salt of the earth -- so we all stay in the salt shaker! Jesus shocked them right and left. He wasn't afraid of the appearance of evil by their traditions and viewpoints.
The Pharisee said, "I love God. I really do love God. Look at my obedience." And you could not fault it. He not only obeyed God's rules, he obeyed his own rules, too. Not only the rules ordinary humans were to keep -- he went on and took the rule book for the priests, even though he was not a priest. "I love God -- see what I do?" So many hours a day were set apart for praying. Fasting? God's law said you fast once a year in October. They fasted two days a week, just to make sure. They gave a tithe of all they possessed, literally. Every tenth leaf in their herb garden they pulled off and gave to God. Talk about tithing! When he said he gave tithes of all he possessed, he meant it. And as far as sincerity goes, he was loving God as best he knew how, because that was what his religion showed him was the way to love God. I do all these things down here on earth and hope he sees me. Oh yes, the Pharisees loved God.
Now, Jesus loved PEOPLE. In his love for people he truly loved
his Father. He continually said that it was because he loved his
Father, that he did what the Father told him to do. In order to heal
the sick and comfort those who mourn, Jesus immersed himself with the
rats of the sewer of society -- the tax collectors, the harlots, the
"sinners", because his Father told him to. Suddenly, in comparison,
what the Pharisees called "love" is tinsel on a Christmas tree. Shabby
rubbish. If all I have is a relationship to God up there somewhere,
Bible reading, praying, attending church, following church rules and
traditions, I'm a Pharisee. If I would love God, I immerse myself
among men, even as Jesus loved me. Jesus never said "Go and be
witnesses." He said after the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, you
shall be witnesses. Has the love of God been imprisoned in you?
Aching to get out to people, not to the separated few? Jesus loved
them where they were.
.
Matthew 23 is one chapter in the gospels where Jesus speaks specifically
to Pharisees. The spirit in which we approach this is important,
because one can easily become a Pharisee in talking about Pharisees.
Like the person who says, "I hate people who hate." You can
end up despising a Pharisee, and "despise" is the word that sums up
a Pharisee.
We cannot look at the Pharisees properly unless we look at this word "woe" in proper perspective, which is found throughout Matthew 23. "Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees." The fact is, in the Greek language, that word is a very important word. It does not just mean condemnation. It means, "Oh, no!" It is as if Jesus, in his heart, is broken over what he sees. He does not say "woe" with gloating or despising. It is with tears. And then he finishes the chapter in that same spirit, when he says, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft I would have gathered you as a chicken gathers her chicks, but you wouldn't." He wept over the people. This is the spirit -- not just to condemn those who have the traits of the Pharisee. It is to weep inside that people could be so deceived; that they could miss the truth so easily.
Jesus says in verse 5, "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men." When Jesus puts his "woes" on the Pharisees, he comes down the hardest and the strongest, all through his ministry, on the fact that they had a religion of show. The biggest sin of the Pharisee is that, when they exercised their "spirituality" it was to brag on who they were. It was a bragging, show-off kind of religion. They sent out messages to each other, and the watching crowd, wanting to know if they noticed how spiritual they were. Watch who I am. Do I look as holy as I really am? Have I convinced you that I am truly separated to God and His law? So they paraded, like so many peacocks, before each other, showing off. Out on the streets, everything they did was to show the public, "Look how separated I am, how pious. In comparison to you, I am a saint." And it was this attitude that Jesus continually came down on; this of a bragging, show-off type spirituality.
The Sadducees, who hated the Pharisees, divided the Pharisees into groups, calling them names that summed up their character. And Jesus might have joined in on the games because some of the parables he told sound very much like what the Sadducees said about the Pharisees. In derision, they divided the Pharisees into seven categories.
No. 1 was THE SHOULDER PHARISEE. This man wore his good deeds on his shoulder. He'd never let you escape noticing what he had done. He wanted you to see it. He wore his badge of spirituality on his shoulder and was not interested in God. He was only interested that you saw how good he was and how well he was acting. His only reason is so that other Pharisee businessmen would then include him in their business deals. He was the man who goes to church to look good in the community. The businessman who will always be there on Sunday to be sure the deals go through on Monday. The Shoulder Pharisee.
No. 2 was THE WAIT-A-BIT PHARISEE: The one who would always tell you, while wringing his hands, "I'm not what I ought to be -- pray for me." He could always tell you what he ought to do, but he never quite made it. The one who was always preaching, but said, "Wait a little bit -- be patient -- I'll be there. Just wait a little bit, and I'll be the perfect man I know I should be." The man who said, but never did.
No. 3 was THE BLEEDING PHARISEE: This man was absolutely petrified of the possibility of lust. And he knew where ever there were women, you'd find lust. The best way never to lust after a woman was not to see one, so he closed his eyes when he saw one coming. The poor fellows would go around with their eyes closed and be continually banging into walls, making a continual bloody scar on their forehead and noses. This is no joke!
No. 4 was THE MORTAR PHARISEE: He had a hat, shaped like a mortar bowl, that came right down over his eyes so that he could not see anything that was evil or anything that would upset his spirituality. He was almost as bad as the bleeding Pharisee. Only he added a stance of humility. He always bent over all the way and shuffled as he walked, showing how terribly humble he was. So, with a hat over his eyes, shuffling, bent way over, they called him the mortar or tumbling Pharisee, because he would bump into something, and tumble as he humbly walked. This is true history!
No. 5 was THE WHAT-HAVE-I-TO-DO-YET PHARISEE: He was forever counting up his good deeds to see what else he must do to be finally and forever right with God. Paul might have been one of these, because of his words, "Those things that I counted gain, I now recognize as loss." In Greek, "counted" described a miser, like a miser counting his money.
No. 6 was THE FEARFUL OR TIMID PHARISEE: This was the one the Sadducees despised. He lived in fear of hell, so he kept all the commands of God just so he would not go to hell. They despised him for that. He was just so filled with fear that he tried to be good, but He had no love for God.
No. 7 was THE PHARISEE WHO LOVED: There was one Pharisee they respected. There were among them, Pharisees who honestly loved God and were operating within this idiotic system out of sincerity. Nicodemus was one. He came to Jesus with questions loaded with genuine love for God. Joseph of Arimathea was another one. He dared to stand before the whole Pharisee denomination and beg the body of Jesus, offering his tomb for Jesus. In Luke you read of other Pharisees who came to Jesus to warn him that Herod was after him. So, here and there, you find Pharisees that had an open and sincere heart and really wanted truth.
So the Sadducees recognized that there was one out of the seven types of Pharisee that were really for real. The rest were hypocrites. This is what Jesus was talking about -- they loved to be seen of men. Their whole idea of walking with God was external. So instead of dealing with temptation in my heart before God, I go around with my eyes closed to let you know I'm handling lust. Pull a cap over my eyes so that everyone will know I'm walking with God (hear no evil, see no evil). See how humble I am -- I shuffle my feet. This whole religion was external. See what I'm doing for God. It had become an end in itself.
Everything we do in the Christian life should be a by product of simply loving God and walking with Him. Matthew 6:1-2 are verses about giving one's alms before men. There is no historical record that the Pharisees literally blew a trumpet when they gave an offering, but when they gave an offering they made sure everyone saw them. They waited for the appropriate moment so everyone would know what they were giving. They let the whole world know they were going to give. They gave. They had given. Jesus said not to let the left hand know what the right hand was doing, etc. Don't let the giving be a thing in itself. Let it be a secret thing between you and God.
Jesus said not to pray like the Pharisees did in verse 5. They would stand in the synagogue and announce to God all the good things they had done, hoping everyone would listen. They stood on the street corners, praying, holding up the traffic so that others could see and hear.
Verse 16 talks about fasting. When they fasted, they made sure
you knew about it. They didn't shave or wash, and held their stomach
to make sure you knew it was empty and that they were fasting. Gloom
and misery pervaded the air around them. Jesus told them to shave
and put on after-shave lotion. Walk out with a smile.
You're doing something joyous. Invite others to join you in
joy -- not in the gloom of your hypocrisy.
.
Jesus didn't say not to pray -- just don't show off before man.
There is nothing wrong with giving -- just don't use it as an opportunity
to show others what you're doing. Nothing wrong with fasting
-- just don't go around announcing how holy you are by fasting through
your appearance. Don't brag or show-off your spirituality.
One time many years before, it was illegal to pray in Israel at all. This is when the Pharisees came into their own -- when they were still sincere godly people. So when they stopped on the street corners to pray, it was an affirmation of their faith. It was a message to an atheistic government that they didn't care what the government said. Those days were so far behind them that they were forgotten. However, they still carried on the practice. But it had stopped being an affirmation of faith. It had become a show-off tactic. -- Look at me.
They called all this showing off "being a witness." Jesus disagreed. In Matthew 23, they enlarged their phylacteries (boxes). In those days, living under the laws of the Old Testament, there was nothing essentially wrong with a phylactery. They interpreted Exodus 13:9, 16 to be phylacteries. At the time of prayer you were to put on your phylactery so that you would remember the God of covenant. Inside the leather box (phylactery) worn on the arm, were four parchments of Scripture rolled up. The phylactery placed on the forehead had four compartments with Scripture in them to remind you of God. There is no record of whether or not Jesus used them or disapproved of them. But since they never stopped praying, the Pharisees wore them all the time -- 24 hours a day. Then, in Matthew 23, we read where they ENLARGED their phylacteries. It was not enough that they wore them all day long, but they had to make them bigger than usual. so the Pharisee wore this enormous box between his eyes and another wrapped around his arm, just to be sure you knew how spiritual he was. They were show- offs, Jesus said.
Jesus said, you lengthen your tassels. The tassels that go on the prayer shawl are mentioned in Numbers 15:37. It was a visual aid to show them God had called them to a covenant relationship and to remind them to be obedient. Jesus wore such a coat. Remember the lady who came through the crowd and touched the hem of his garment? The correct translation is that she touched the tassel on the prayer shawl of Jesus. There was nothing wrong with a prayer shawl, or tassels. BUT, the Pharisees made their tassels twice as long as everyone else. So when they walked, this great long tassel was hanging down so everyone would see it. Jesus condemned them for that -- you're actors, doing this to be seen of men. That's your whole religion. So they went around town with this great big box between their eyes and this huge tassel dragging the ground, just to get the message over that I'm NOT like YOU. I'm separated. I'm holy. Jesus was disgusted with it all.
As the Pharisee went through his religious rituals, all he thought about was, am I dressed so people will get the message? What will people think? Am I being a good witness? Do I look spiritual enough to get the message across. Obeying the commands of God was an end in itself. They thought his commands were there for them to use to witness -- not for God Himself.
Are we doing anything that has no meaning at all except to be a witness? These actions don't share Jesus at all. There's only one badge we should be wearing, and Jesus gave it. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples; by your love one for another." This is a heart matter. What's behind my actions? What's my motive? If it's to be seen of men, we are wrongly interpreting God's message. Does it show love to others in any way? If we're doing something because we care what people would say, then the people doing the "saying" have the problem, not the doer. Do my shoes tell the story that I'm serving the Lord? Does my haircut show I'm separated to God? We can get more interested in letting people know we have God inside than in the people themselves. The Pharisees whole religion hung on being a witness and it didn't amount to a hill of beans. "In vain do they worship me," Jesus said.
Jesus could talk to the worst kind of people. He sat down and ate with them and could be totally at ease, because he never once cared what people said or thought. He never tried to prove he was spiritual. He walked with his Father, and he loved people. He was moved with compassion at their needs.
When we have a show-off religion, we are using people as a mirror. When we act in the light of "what would people say?" we are placing our act in their minds (mirror) to see how they would react. Then we rearrange our act in line with their probable thoughts. Manipulating people. They're my mirror, so I can see the reflection of my religious self.
They wanted the best seats in the synagogue -- the ones at the front. The real good seats were in front, facing the others. The Pharisees would fight to get one of the seats facing the others, so everyone would see them being there. Since he went to the synagogue to be seen of men, he needed the best seats. Then he arranged his face in prayer in pious fashion so everyone would think what a great man of God he was.
When he went to a feast, said Jesus, he always wanted the best place, which was on the right or left side of the host. They fought over this place. They went on the streets so people would recognize them and call them "Rabbis" (teachers). Jesus called these people by one of the worst words in the New Testament, "hypocrites". It's a terrible word, but Jesus used it freely to describe these people. The Greek word for hypocrite means an actor on the stage. A person with a mask on, playing a game of "let's pretend." So I'm not what you think I am. I have my make-up on my face and look one thing, but I'm not that. The Hebrews used the word "hypocrite" to describe a godless man. He's got a lot underneath him that you don't see. A Jew in Jerusalem at Jesus' time would probably mean a combination of these meanings when using the word "hypocrite." A godless man who covers up what his heart is like with outward religion.
That's why Jesus used illustrations that a Pharisee was like a pot scrubbed on the outside, but inside it was full of last weeks' rotting vegetables. Or like a tomb washed, but inside were dead men's bones. You've dealt with the outside -- have all your religious niceties in place -- but on the inside there is nothing but corruption.
Organized religion makes hypocrites because it says you must do it our way. So I can't go by what I feel inside; I have to drop back to within what's expected. I have to put on the mask and act out the expected religious role for me.
Romans 12 says not to be conformed to this world, and includes the world in dead religion. "Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold," is the Phillips Bible translation. Don't let religion squeeze you into being something you're not. The grace of God sets you free to be who you are. What's right for you may be different from what's right for someone else. They were all trying to appear alike. Jesus was condemning them for covering up who they really were on the inside. We sometimes think of the hypocrite as someone who says one thing and does another, but that's not exactly true. A hypocrite is one who thinks his religious life and practices make him better than anyone else. So I mask who I am and give a "presentation" to others. That was the religion of the Pharisees.
It's interesting how Jesus finished that passage. He talks about being a servant. Jesus had no arrogance... no showiness at all. He was the only one who had something to boast about, but never bothered to talk about it. He never dressed peculiarly. Perhaps he was dressed in the height of fashion. The soldiers gambled for his garment. This was such a robe that everyone of the soldiers wanted it. Jesus didn't come on as some dowdy person putting on a show-off humility because he was not dressed like everyone else. He wore clothes they threw dice to get. So normal, natural; but above all, he came on as the servant of everyone.
All that the Pharisee did was to gratify himself through the eyes of others. He was gratified by their opinion of his righteousness. What he did was for himself and he was using others to tell him how good he was. When we do anything to get others to see that we are Christian, we are doing it for ourselves. The Pharisees did everything for themselves.
When Jesus came, it wasn't for him, it was for them. Everything the Pharisee did was for himself. Jesus did it for you. That's why Jesus didn't show off. Because he loved. First Corinthians 13 says love does not brag -- it's too interested in the other person. Whenever you brag or show off at any level, it's because you're interested in yourself. Jesus came totally immersed in others. So he didn't brag.
Is what I do for the honest love of God and other people? Or is it for me? Do I care about others? Have compassion for them? Or am I wrapped up in keeping my rules and religious comforts? Am I wearing a physical badge or the true badge of Christianity: That all know me by my love for others? It doesn't take anything to perform a ritual; but to love one another, to accept them without rejecting them and to love them as they are -- that takes love. How will people remember you? As the person who made them feel awkward? Who looked funny? Or because you were that person who acted out God's love towards them and they felt it and knew it? There is some Phariseeism in us today. We must reject it. Jesus spent his time saying "THIS is not me." The temptation is always there.
A little bit of leaven in the loaf spreads. "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." It's human nature to take our freedom and make rules so we keep it. God poured out the river of his Spirit and we immediately made banks to contain the river. Pharisees don't let God be God. They make sure He does it our way. You can't be led within by the Spirit -- you must put on the mask of religion and do it their way. It's always a temptation; that's why so much of the New Testament is taken up with this message. Some Pharisees became Christians in Acts and drug in the whole mess with them. Galatians and much of II Corinthians was written against Phariseeism. It's always there. "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees."
Learn to live in freedom -- to forever forget about "what will
people say?" Realize we are led by the love of God. Be driven
by compassion. When compassion is leading, we won't care what
people say. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Of using
people, instead of loving them. Of despising people, instead
of having compassion on them. Beware of having a righteousness
of rules and regulations, instead of the righteousness of Jesus'
blood and Spirit. Let Christ be your life. Let love be
your badge. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.
That ye have love one for another."
.
,
Above is transcribed from Taped Series
Former Radio Program: "Covenant Love"
Ministry of Malcolm Smith
July 3, 2008
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK:
Twelve Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me) by John Fischer
ISBN 0-7642-2202-3 by Bethany House Publishers, 2000
Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764222023/8084521
Real Christians Don't Dance by John Fischer
ISBN 1-556-61010-6 by Bethany House Publishers, 1988
Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556610106/8084521
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