I’m intrigued with Jesus and his interaction with the Pharisees. Jesus had issues with many of the Pharisees and they had issues with Jesus. They nearly always seemed to be frustrating and opposing one another. We get the idea from the gospels that you are either with Jesus, or you are with the religious leaders of his day.
I don’t want to be like a Pharisee, or have Pharisaical qualities. It’s my worst nightmare.
How do we know if we are Pharisees/religious people?
1. Pharisees know but don’t do. In Matthew 23:1-3 Jesus says to the crowd and his disciples, “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.” So if we know a lot about the Bible but do not live it….yep.
2. Pharisees load people down. Matthew 23:4, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders…” What are these heavy loads? Rules and ungodly expectations, sure. But what about other heavy loads? Church events, church meetings, church activities, serving in the Church. Are these bad? They are when they burn you out and keep you from being with the people that Jesus was with.
3. Pharisees want to be important. Matthew 6, Matthew 23:5, “Everything they do is done for men to see…they love the place of honor…they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi’”. Do we want people to think we know a lot of Bible? Do we love our position too much? Church leaders, do we love to be needed , to be praised, or get overly excited when we get to baptize people, or be called Pastor? Do we want to be liked, noticed, or seen as great? Jesus clearly spoke about this.
4. Pharisees are blind to being blind. Matthew 23:16, 26. Pharisees can’t see that they are Pharisees. God, show us our sin, show us any blind spots.
How do we know if we are like Jesus?
1. If “pagans and sinners” want to be our friends (Matthew 8:10-13) and religious people/today’s Pharisees have problems with us (Luke 12:53)—we know we are like Jesus.
