You Pharisee! February 5 Readings: Exodus 25, Matthew 22:34–23:11, Psalm 19:1–6, Proverbs 3:34–35

Links to February 5 Readings:  Exodus 25, Matthew 22:34–23:11, Psalm19:1–6, Proverbs 3:34–35

You are a Pharisee!
No I am not. You are the Pharisee!

I cannot tell you how often I've seen exchanges similar to that in theological discussions (well, let's call them what they are - arguments). 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 problem with the Pharisees was that the pursued a righteousness based on the Law of God. 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 one another of being a Pharisee, and often not accurate. But there are some tendencies of Pharisees in Matthew 23:1-7 that we might want to examine. 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.