The Scary Pharisee

When I read stories about the Pharisee characters of the bible, I cringe. My mouth still drops open in shock when I re-read the account of the Pharisee praying in the temple (Luke 18). I bet people around that heard him had the thought a lot of us do today when someone opens their mouth and inserts their foot...

"Did he really just say that?!?!"

I wonder if that is what God thought as the prayer made its way up to heaven.

Jesus’ reaction to these men throughout scripture gives me pause, and makes me walk my walk and talk my talk with caution. These Pharisees that we read about, they scare me.

The name Pharisee comes from words, in languages that I can’t even understand, meaning "seperated ones” or “loyal and loved by God”. They studied the law and prided themselves on obeying God.  One could say they became extreme in their desire to know and obey...so extreme that they completely missed out on Christ.  When they witnessed his works and heard his words, they dismissed him as hoax, maybe out of disbelief or maybe out of fear.  This dismissal evidently led him to the cross.

During Jesus’ ministry we see him speak out against the Pharisees much. At times, if I close my eyes, I can imagine the sarcasm in his voice and see the frustrations on his face when he dealt with them.  He had to carry a sadness as well for a people that claimed to know God, but yet didn’t care to know Him in the flesh.

In Matthew 23 we read this…

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey what they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show.” NLT

"They don't practice what they teach."

"They crush people with unbearable religious demands..."

"...never lift a finger to ease the burden."

"Everything they do is for show."

I am scared. Scared that us believers today are a bit more “Pharisaical” (yes, that’s a word) than we’d like to admit.

We get busy loving the Word, studying it and cramming every ounce of knowledge we can into our minds. We have to make sure we are educated and full of knowledge.  But can we do this to a fault? Is this really what Christianity is all about?

We make our lists of the “dos” and the “do nots” and want to walk the fine line carefully.  Is everything truly black and white or is there any area of grey?

We pass the homeless guy on the street, and don’t even acknowledge him with a smile. We don’t care to know his story, and we think he probably doesn’t want to talk, and that any relief we could give him will be spent on cigarettes and liquor. I wonder if that is what the Pharisee thought when he looked the other way as he passed the dude that was lying on the side of the road?

We walk into a comfortable church building on Sunday morning with the best dress we have to offer, snarling our nose a bit at the poor choice some folks have in clothing. We see ourselves as the better Christian since we are filling a pew rather than being somewhere else. Do we resemble the guy in Luke 18?

These Pharisees we read of and Jesus warns us about, were more concerned about themselves. They studied and memorized the law. They busied themselves crossing their Ts and dotting their Is.  They read the commandments...but they forgot to check out the illustrations.

I don't know about you, but I need to practice what Jesus teaches. My hands and feet need to match the words I am reading. I need to fill my mind with the knowledge of God's story and then put into action the things I am learning. I need to be a doer, just not a hearer. I need to show my knowledge and faith by the works I do.

The Pharisees, they missed it. They missed Him.

"I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of LOVE. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is CHRIST himself. In HIM lie hidden all the treasures of WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE."
Colossians 2:2-3

If they had showed a little love, practiced a little more extreme faith, sat down and actually got to know Christ, the wisdom they longed for, the knowledge they prided themselves on, it would have ALL been found in His love and illustrative teaching.

I hope we aren't missing Him.