The Return of the Pharisees

"They pile heavy burdens on people’s shoulders and won’t lift a finger to help.” - Matt 23:4

Jesus spoke these words in castigation of the clerics (Priests, Rabbis, and Teachers of the Law) of His day. They had taken the Law (pronounced: Love) of God and turned it into a cumbersome and exhaustive list of rules, regulations, and rituals that were beyond the understanding and capability of the common people. Details such as how many steps could be taken or what constituted “work” on the Sabbath were specified in excruciating detail. None of these were mandates from the Almighty; they were made up by men. Men who took the Commandment…

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.” - Ex 20:9-10

…which was meant to be a blessing of physical rest and spiritual reflection, time spent with your Heavenly Father, and the Priests and Teachers of the Law turned it into a curse, and that is why Jesus had to correct them by explaining...

Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27

The Pharisees ritual washing, clothing, and dietary restrictions were all made litmus tests for their spiritual superiority over everyone else. Needless to say, Jesus was not impressed by their piety...

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’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 you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 

You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

 “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.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

Today, not much has changed in Judaism, and more surprisingly in Christianity, either. Jews are still tethered to the Law,  struggle through life trying to earn God's love by obeying the Law. Unfortunately, without the Temple that was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans, forgiveness of sin is impossible by the Law. 

We are still having heavy burdens piled on our backs during our journey to find God, come closer to His nature, and conform ourselves to His will. We are still being lead through a baffling maze or rules and rituals that have nothing to do with God. Some of these are overt ; a "real Christian" shouldn't smoke,  a "real Christian" shouldn't drink alcoholic beverages,  a "real Christian" shouldn't let his daughters date before she is 18, etc. I find these all to be man-made extensions built upon the simple teachings of Scripture. Much as the Sabbath rules were created by Rabbis interpreting what they thought God meant by, "

"On it you shall not do any work..."

Look around you, your relationship with God, your church, and your community you can find spiritual emptiness everywhere. Have we made the same errors as the Pharisees mistaking, obeying traditions rather than following the Word of God?

Here is something certain to throw you for a loop... 

What about taking God's name in vain? What does it mean? Does saying "God darn it!", qualify?

No, “God” is a title, it’s not His name. He told us His name over 7,000 times in the Old Testament, but some overly enthusiastic Rabbis took it out and substituted it with a placeholder. “Lord” or “Lord God”, “Adonis” or “Elohim” His name is Yahweh, I AM. The Pharisees claimed to provide access to a relationship with God, but they wouldn’t even tell you His name.  

They were blind guides, they were hypocrites, and Jesus pulled no punches in letting them know His mind.

Stop! Take a breath. You’re not deficient, not in the eyes of God. You are loved, cherished, and made clean. Believe it. That’s why He came in the flesh and walked with us, fed us, ministered to us, washed His disciples’ feet, and then died for us.

So why do you worry? 

A Perfect God has a Perfect Plan, and you are an integral part of that plan.  You mattered enough to the Creator of the Universe to be here and be loved by Him.

God offers us unconditional love, and unconditional love is what He asks for in return. If you are sitting there with a big question mark over your head, you need to review my post on Remedial Love and if you want to delve deeper try my Personal Challenge.

The pharisees of today will demand your money, your slavish dedication to good works, and sycophantic devotion to church doctrine. They will maintain your relationship with God as a condition of deficiency. You will never be worthy of His love, but it will always be dangling just out of reach. 

God does not view your relationship with Him as one of deficiency, but rather as one of abundance. Abundant in Love, His Love.  Abundant in mercy, His Mercy. Abundant in Grace, His Grace.  

If you're trying to make it to heaven on your qualifications, you're out of luck, but if you're counting on God's promises, you're in Love.