Today's Readings - Exodus 25-26, Matthew 22:34–23:11, Psalm 19:1–6, Proverbs 4:10-12
Devotional - A Pharisee's Heart
You're a Pharisee!
No I am not. You are the Pharisee!
Godwin's Law of Online Discussions states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." In a political or social debate, someone is going to make that accusation sooner or later. In theological discussions, it's the Pharisees who come to the forefront. That's "Miller's Corollary to Godwin's Law." "As a religious discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Pharisees approaches 1." There is no theological bomb with more megatons of destructive power than "Pharisee" bomb.
The Pharisees were the enemies of Jesus Christ, resisting him at every step. Because of this, we have developed a negative and unrealistic view of who the Pharisees were. They were not cartoon villains or gangster thugs. They were passionate and religious - the best of the best in Judaism. The problem with the Pharisees was that they pursued a righteousness based on the Law and on their own efforts. They were not evil villains, but people who were trying to find their own way to God through human effort - a path that is always destined to fail.
It is generally not helpful to accuse others of being Pharisees, and often those accusations are petty and inaccurate. But there are some tendencies of Pharisees in Matthew 23:1-7 that we might want to examine, not to use as accusations against others, but to use to guard our own souls. These are Pharisaical tendencies each of us needs examine our hearts to identify. Jesus leveled three specific charges against the Pharisees and we ought to be sure that these qualities are never in evidence in our lives.
First, Jesus warned his disciples:
But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach.
Pharisees talk about that which they do not do. Every one of us has a gap between what we know and what we do. But we must fight the pharisaic tendency to allow that gap to become too large. By the Spirit's power, we must seek to not only hear the Word but do what it says.
There was a second characteristic of the Pharisees Jesus identified.
They do everything to be observed by others.
For the Pharisee, it was not about honoring God, but about impressing others. The Christian lives for the pleasure of God not according to the opinions of people. When I fear people more than I fear God, when I live to please people instead of pleasing God, I am living as the Pharisees would.
Jesus pointed out a third problem with the Pharisees behavior.
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.
It is Pharisaical to seek my own glory, to pursue my own ambitions, instead of seeking the glory of God.
Of course, the Pharisees were a complex group and they cannot be easily defined. But we ought to be bothered when we see any of these Pharisaical tendencies in our own lives.
Father, by your Spirit's power drive every Pharisaical characteristic from my life. May I be concerned with obeying you, not just talking about obeying you. May I live to honor and seek your glory alone.
Think and Pray
Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?
Take an honest look at yourself, in light of the markers of Pharisaism.
Are there evidences of such behaviors and traits in your life? Confess them and repent.
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