Matthew 23:15
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
“You Might Be a Pharisee”
It’s hard for us to fully realize… just how cool the Pharisees were in their day. The equivalent to rock stars or movie stars… they were the envy of everyone in Judea. Everyone was envious of the Pharisees… the power… the money… the celebrity. It all seemed so glamorous, such a charmed lifestyle.
However… one man saw through their act and called them out for the hypocrites they were. So much so… that when we hear Pharisee today… we don’t think “cool,” we think strict… we think rigid… conceited… hypocritical… two faced. Being called a Pharisee today… would be anything but a compliment. They weren’t the perfect role models that they would have you believe they were. In fact… it would be wise… to take everything the Pharisees did… and do the exact opposite. Anything in your life that would make people even think you might be a Pharisee would be worth changing just to avoid the horrible stereotype.
So… my friends… in an effort to educate ourselves in how NOT to be a Pharisee… I give you a “Top Ten” list called “You Might Be a Pharisee”
Top Ten: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You might be a Pharisee
1. If you’ve ever invited someone to church, but then can’t remember where the church is at…
2. If your attendance at church depends on what time your kids wake you up…
3. If you’ve never seen a church without a casket upfront…
4. If the only bible you own is as big as your coffee table… and it only comes out when the pastor visits…
5. If you’ve ever made change in the offering plate…
6. If you think of Communion wine as “hair off the dog that bit ya”…
7. If the only reason you go to church on Sunday is to make fun of the people who were out on Saturday…
8. If you think a Tithe is something you wear around your neck…
9. If you consider the sermon “nap time”…
10. If you’ve ever skipped church because you were afraid you’d miss kickoff…
While these may indeed be funny… it is also scary how many people can fit into one of these categories. For a lot of people being a Christian is more about the image and what people see than about who we really are.
For the Pharisees… it was all about following the law; obey the laws and offer the right sacrifice at the right time and they “were good.”
In some ways, we have begun to act the same way as Christians, follow a set of rules and you’re good. Do the right thing, and you’re good. Tell me if these concepts sound familiar?
1. Sit through a boring church service at Christmas and Easter, and you’re good.
2. Do the sign of the cross, Go to confessional, say the Hail Mary, take communion
and you’re good
3. Serve food at a local shelter or build a habitat house, and you’re good
4. If you can’t do any of that… just give a big offering and you’re good
5. Finally… get your kids “done” and they are good (Probably the scariest thing… you probably all know what I mean by getting your kids “done.”)
We think if we walk through the right set of hoops in life, it is like slipping God a hundred dollar bill for a special seat at the heavenly table. But Christianity simply does not work that way, and that is exactly what Jesus was telling the Pharisees. A set of rules don’t cut it. A set of hoops don’t get you into heaven.
Now Jesus brought out the big guns in this verse when he was condemning the Pharisees… I wonder if you caught it. At the end of verse 15 he declares, “you make the new convert twice a child of hell as you are.” That’s a bit rough isn’t it? I mean… they were just trying to do the right thing. We have to give them some credit for at least rebelling against the world’s ways and following God’s ways… right?
Yet… Jesus doesn’t cut them any slack. Good intentions are not enough. What they were trying to do… was in fact getting in the way of their relationship with God. They were so worried about following the law that they missed the obvious. They would walk past a man beaten half to death on the road because touching him would make them unclean. (the Good Samaritan)
Unfortunately I think that is exactly what we do today. We try to jump through the right set of Christian hoops so that we look good to the world, and we feel good about ourselves, but we miss doing what God expects of us.
That is what Jesus was condemning in the Pharisees, the fact that the temple rules had become so controlling and crippling to them. Things like, the Sabbath being an excuse not to care for the poor or sick, the cleanliness laws being an excuse to not touch or share food with someone. Basically, by the temple law they had set themselves apart as better than everyone else. And they did not accept anyone who fell short of the full standard of the law.
Today that might look like a very strict conservative church. A church where you have to be a member to enter the door, where you have to dress a certain way, where anyone who misses a Sunday or sins is not offered communion.
Now we don’t even come close to that picture, in fact I think First Pres Fairbury is very open and loving. But, this passage should help us to think about whether or not there are things that a church does to set itself apart and close its doors to any group of people?
Just like the poor, sick, diseased, Samaritans and sinners of Jesus day felt disenfranchised from the temple, are there groups of people today who look at the church like it has a high fortress wall built around it with a moat filled with alligators between them and the entrance?
To be honest, from the inside, it is hard to understand what an outsider experiences. While we feel very loving, they see cold eyes of judgment, and they don’t learn any different because they are afraid to walk in the doors and find out for themselves. Imagine with me. . .
A person who has no previous church connection, maybe they have kids, maybe they are lower middle class, or going through some hard times. Whatever the reason, they begin to have questions about God and faith and they feel drawn to seek faith, but they don’t know how, or what that looks like.
But, if they decide to come to church, where do you think they are intimidated first? Driving toward the church, where do they park, and does my beat up car belong next to these shiny new vehicles? If they built up enough courage to park, they venture toward the door and wonder, which door should I use, am I dressed appropriately, what will everyone think of me? After they walk in the door it is an effort to find where to go, to look like they know what they are doing, to find a seat, then to be fearful that they are sitting in someone’s pew. During the service it is a struggle to keep up, when do they stand, sit, pray, read, and which book do they need.
And imagine the pain of singing a song that they have never heard and feels like it comes from the Middle Ages. On top of that, when asked to use the Bible, how do they use that book and not look like a fool. (I think some of us feel that way)
With all this going through a visitors mind is it no wonder that most people run out the back door as fast as they can after the service. Without knowing it, the church has built up so many hoops that we just jump through every week, and we expect everyone to just instinctively know what those hoops are. And whether or not we expect that, they feel like it is expected.
These hoops of religious expectation have no eternal value or consequence yet we continue them as if they make a person Christian.
Now I might mention, if these people had been invited, picked up, brought, and sat with, a lot of these fears could have been avoided. If we would show people what it means to be a Christian, and show them the hoops that we have built in, they might just be more comfortable checking out what Christ has to offer. By the way, 80% of people who are invited by a friend accept the invitation.
In summary, Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees was because their hoops shut people out of the temple. Today we must ask ourselves, what hoops do we have that keep people out of the church? Christianity is not about hoops, it is about grace, and Christ crucified. So let’s focus less on the hoops that we have built and focus more on creating a place where anyone can come in and experience the love of God.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
