People of good judgment seldom rely merely on their own insights - but the Pharisees nevertheless insisted. Like the Pharisees during the times of Jesus, the reactionaries of today like to design harsh doctrinal codes that stress a strict avoidance of worldly customs. They enjoy being associated with the puritans for their emphasis on upholding what is holy and sacred. They pride themselves on being obstructionists. Similarly, one could evaluate the Pharisees by the company they avoided. These mis-beliefs give members of the ultra-conservatives a feeling of superiority. One will often hear them teach, "Come out from their midst and be separate and do not touch what is unclean."(2 Corinthians 6:17) Emphasis on separation from the world is an important aspect of the fighting fundamentalist's approach to problems. Separation from the secular values of the world and its systems is a historical pattern of the fundamentalists in America. Being an outsider has become an accepted part of being a fighting fundamentalist in America. The Pharisees were also fond of regulations that gave them a distinctive identity. By expanding on their traditions of oral laws the Pharisees became Christ's greatest opponents. Jesus loathed their legalistic mind-sets that put the laws of men above the love for God. The Pharisees loved to lay burdens on other people who could not live up to their high standards of righteousness. This gave them a sense of religious superiority. One should not depend on the evaluation of others whose imaginations are out of focus. Jesus discerningly exposed them for not being willing to bear the burdens that they were so eager to place on others. The Lord saw people both with His eyes as well as with His heart. (Matthew 23:2-4) Jesus said, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach!"
In some ways, the Pharisees were simply following in the traditions of their forefathers. Someone once said, "The only way to judge the future is by the past, but if the Pharisees are judged that way, they wouldn't have had much of a future." The Pharisees thought they could make themselves great by showing others to be small. The ultra-orthodox religious leaders believed that many things were worth fighting for. Plus, the Pharisees knew that it was much easier to point a finger than to lend a helping hand. For thousands of years the people of the twelve tribes of Israel had to fight for their survival. They became conditioned to a lifestyle of having to fight against the wrath of their oppressors. Therefore, when the Pharisees were constantly looking for peoples' faults they seldom found anything else. Numerous Psalms have been written asking God for relief from the burden of oppressors, no doubt this would have included the Pharisees.
In some ways, the Pharisees served a useful purpose for the Jewish nation. They were people who constantly reminded Israel of their distinguished history. Take for example King David, one of Israel's greatest kings. Few people are more highly honored than David who delivered them from the hands of their enemies. As a small shepherd boy David defeated the giant Goliath in a way that demonstrated God's power through one who believed. However, the Pharisees put more emphasis on the historical facts than on the God of history.
It just made sense to the Pharisees that they needed to continue to fight their Roman oppressors or anyone who might threaten their security. When Jesus came along, the Pharisees failed to recognize Him as the Son of God and plotted to have Him crucified. They saw in Jesus a power that they could not fit into their traditional ways of thinking. Jesus said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the eyes of men. But God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God."
To the Pharisees, Jesus was challenging the "religious values" of their sacred traditions. Yet, Jesus saw through the Pharisees as religious leaders who were more interested in the observance of the letter of the law without understanding the spirit behind it. When the Lord saw the hypocrisy of the Pharisees He exposed their duplicity of motives. Jesus said, "You wash theoutside of the cups, but leave the inside of the cups dirty. You white washed fences. You brood of vipers. You are responsible for leading many people into an eternity apart from God in hell." These charges inflamed the Pharisees who saw themselves as the guardians of everything that was Jewish and sacred. The Pharisees thought, "How dare this young man from Nazareth challenge the religious powers of the day." After trying to lead the Pharisees to the truth about the Kingdom of God and seeing them reject it, Jesus turned to a small group of twelve common laborers and saw success.
Perhaps there is a lesson in what Jesus exper ienced with the Pharisees. Even though we may not be able to enact major changes in the religious leaders, whose security rests in maintaining their positions, we may awaken a new generation of disciples through our efforts. Christ's disciples
represented the hope for a qualitative and quantitative expansion of His kingdom and righteousness.
Religious reactionaries share other similarities with the Pharisees in the scriptures. Some of their perspectives are built on the sands of suspicion surrounded by a wall of insecurity. The term Pharisee is derived from the Hebrew verb parash, "to divide or separate." Therefore, the Pharisees were proud to be known as the "separated ones". The religious reactionaries, like the Pharisees, pride themselves on being separate from the world and its impurities, immoralities, and corruption. It is almost a badge of honor among the contemporary reactionary religious right to be known as an outsider. Like the Pharisees, the fighting fundamentalists like to design harsh doctrinal codes that stress a strict avoidance of worldly customs. They enjoy being associated with the pious ones or the puritans for their emphasis on upholding what is holy and sacred. The Pharisees were also fond of passing down certain regulations from former generations that gave them their distinctive identity.
By expanding on their traditions of oral laws the Pharisees became Jesus Christ's greatest opponents. Jesus loathed their legalistic mind-sets that put the laws of men above the love for God and human beings. The scribes and Pharisees were the people that Jesus directed some of His most scathing denunciations. However, Jesus did not disagree with the truth of their teachings in the synagogues. But, Jesus did criticize them for being hypocrites who taught the law, yet failed to live up to both the letter and the spirit behind it. The Pharisees loved to lay burdens on other people who could not live up their high standards of righteousness. The reactionary religious leaders think that the only way they can be 100 percent successful is to stay in the business of fault finding. This gave them a sense of religious superiority that they held over the masses.
Jesus warned the Pharisees by saying, "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Woe to you, teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside also will be clean. (Matthew 23:11-15,25,26) The Pharisees feared men so much because they feared God so little!
Pharisaical Behavior - Christ Like Love:
Pharisaical Values That Were Rooted in Their Traditions and Rigidity - Christ's Values of Loving the Lord with all of one's heart, soul, strength, and mind. To love one's neighbor as ourself.
Pharisaical insistence on following every small aspect of their own laws for the approval of men - Christ's insistence on following the leading of the Holy Spirit in the heart of every believer through the teaching of holistic Biblically based truths
Pharisaical emphasis on pleasing God through keeping to legalistic standards - Christ's emphasis on pleasing God by doing the Father's will with the right motives
Pharisaical examples of elevating themselves to the highest seats in the temple through insider politics and close attention to the laws of their forefathers - Christ's example of elevating oneself by being a servant to all. "The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be
humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Pharisaical rewards were given through elaborate festival performance and political intrigue - Christ's rewards are laid up in heaven for those who will be content with the inner rewards given to those who please God through quiet service and obedience
Pharisaical problems of taking religion for granted because of its familiarity - Christ overcame the problems of the coldness of familiarity by emphasizing a fresh developing relationship with the heavenly Father through daily devotional times in prayer and in the study of the scriptures.
Pharisaical manipulative use of money for their selfish interests - Christ's example of living a simple lifestyle and urging others to store up for themselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy or where thieves do not break in or steal. He said, "Where your treasure is there will
your heart be also."
Pharisaical blindness to their forefathers' rejection of the godly prophets sent for their correction and instruction. Religious leaders rejected Christ as their forefathers rejected the prophets who were before Him - Christ's willingness to confront the Pharisees about their stubborn pride in rejecting Him
Pharisaical fear of men in positions of power. The scribes and the Pharisees became experts at using the law to instill fear in their people. The religious leaders used threats and religious intimidation to control their people - Christ's teaching on learning to love God, keep His commandments. Christ taught not to fear men who have no real spiritual power. Christ did not threaten people with the law. It was said of Christ, "The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Pharisaical attempts to become holy and righteous through the external observance of laws. The religious leaders tried to satisfy their consciences through the keeping of the law. They believed that they deserved to go to heaven and merit God's favor through their religiosity. - Christ's attempts to show people that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) Jesus said, "Except your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter into heaven. This level of righteousness is only obtainable by trusting Christ as our personal Savior.
Pharisaical desire to place a high standard to get into heaven that made it appear as an exclusive club for the very religious - Christ's desire to see all people saved through the forgiveness of their sins by placing their faith in Him as a substitutionary payment for their sins.
Pharisaical emphasis on rigidity, legalism, and conformity to human religious standards. They develop their own religious culture. They projected their wrong perception of God on to others. - Christ's emphasis on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Christ perfectly modeled how to live a life full of grace and truth.
Pharisaical tendency to pretend to be something that they were not - holy and in good relations with God - Christ's teaching to confess our sins and ask for God's mercy. Christ's transforming grace helps us become more like our heavenly Father
Pharisaical tendency to draft a law for every aspect of human living - Christ's desire to want to develop a greater love for the Lord, His word and His will
Pharisaical fault finding for anyone who failed to live up to their man made codes. They loved a good fight. - Christ said, "Before you criticize the speck in your brother's eye, first remove the log from your own
Pharisaical attention to their own human and religious priorities - Christ's attention to the priorities of loving God and men, saving the lost and building His kingdom through the planting and growing of churches
Pharisaical concern with structured programming for the purpose of keeping everyone under a firm system of religious controls, procedures, and processes - Christ's concern for the needs of people. Jesus structured His priorities around a growing love for God and his people
Pharisaical concern for impressive appearances - Christ's concern for the wholesomeness of one's character
Pharisaical desires to adapt the external law of God to the situational ethics of men. They failed to realize that they had compromised God's absolute and righteous standards of holiness that is only found through faith in Jesus Christ - Christ's compassion in showing mercy to people who could not get to heaven without His sacrificial death on the cross
Pharisaical joy from political triumphs. Gaining promotions from their peer connections through intrigue - Christ's joy from the Lord gave Him His strength. Jesus gained satisfaction from doing the will of God.
Pharisaical choice to major on the minor issues of importance to God. They quarreled about the length of the tassels hanging from their prayer shawls. - Christ's focus on emphasizing justice, mercy, love and faithfulness over all the minor particulars of the laws, regulations, and specific religious processes that are only symbolic of what is in a person's heart
Pharisaical blindness in straining out their drinking water to avoid swallowing gnats (minor matters), but swallowing a camel. Failed to get forgiveness for sins by trusting Christ as their Savior (neglecting essential issues) - Christ's balanced vision of being concerned for the smallest child and his problem or loving the rich young ruler with his many responsibilities.
Pharisaical lack of proportional values that reflected those of the heavenly Father - Christ's perfect sense of proportion between the spiritual, social, physical, emotional, and mental aspects of life.
Pharisaical frustrations with Jesus and His disciples for breaking some of their sacred laws of the Sabbath - Christ's tolerance of peoples' criticism because they lack the spiritual maturity to understand Him
Pharisaical fatalistic attitudes about their circumstances - Christ's confidence that all things were possible with those who believed
Pharisaical belief that their knowledge entitled them to special favors from God - Christ's belief that the Pharisees erred because they did not know the scriptures or the power of God. Christ wanted the Pharisees to realize that mere knowledge makes one arrogant.
Pharisaical selective integrity when, where, and whom it suited - Christ's holistic integrity in all situations
During the days of Jesus, except for men like Nicodemus, most Pharisees probably missed their chance for heaven. Many failed to enter the kingdom of God because of their lack of faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. They rejected the Son of God and His offer to be their Savior.
Christ's followers who placed their faith in Him went to heaven because He became the atoning sacrifice for their sins.
Pharisaical values were contextually dependent upon peoples' approvals and
their religious culture - Christ's values that were contextually independent of peoples' approvals as long as one pleased the heavenly Father
Pharisaical emphasis on pleasing people - Christ's emphasis on pleasing God before trying to make people happy
Pharisaical microscopic perspectives - Christ's balance of macroscopic principles and microscopic applications to truth
Fred Astaire ranks as one of the greatest singers, actors, and dancers of all time. In movies like Top Hat, Swing Time, and Holiday Inn he won the hearts of the American public at a time when they needed cheer for their gloom. However, in 1932 when Fred Astaire was starting out, he met with great difficulty. One influential Hollywood talent judge wrote these words on his screen test, "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little." Everyone faces discouragement in life. It is not the adversity that determines our success. Instead, it is how we react to the hardships. Paul faced great trials, but he said, "So do not be ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet, I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day (2 Tim. 1:9,12).
We all develop when we leave our failures behind and reach forward to what lies ahead. Surely, past disappointments will be nothing more than forgotten footnotes in time.
