“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 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.” (Matthew 23:13, 23-28)
I’ve been reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado, called “Just Like Jesus.” The premise of the book is that God loves us just as we are, but too much to leave us that way. He wants us to become transformed into the likeness of His Son Jesus. Of course, if we are to become like Jesus, we need to study His life and teachings. Thus, Lucado examines a number of areas in which we can (and should) examine ourselves and see how we line up with our Savior.
Now, I’ve spent my entire adult life studying the Bible, and have read it cover to cover dozens of times. I’m still learning new stuff every time I open those pages, so I certainly don’t claim to know everything that’s in the Bible. In fact, if anyone does, they’re either delusional or a liar. But I do think that I have a fairly good grasp on the overall character of Jesus as revealed in the Gospels. In spite of His dual God/man nature, Jesus was a rather simple, uncomplicated individual. He always spoke the truth, He only did what His Father told Him to do, and He never lost sight of His eternal purpose for being here on earth.
One of the interesting things to note about Jesus is that the only people He ever condemned were the religious leaders of His day: the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. These men were extremely self-righteous individuals who looked down on everyone else and did anything necessary to maintain their elevated positions of power. The passage quoted above from Matthew shows how much Jesus detested the practices and character of these hypocrites:
- They made it nearly impossible for their followers to enter into the kingdom of God because of all the rules and regulations that they placed on them
- They stood between God and anyone whom they felt was unworthy to be a part of His kingdom
- They followed the letter of the law in everything tangible, but ignored the intangibles that God required – justice, mercy and faithfulness
- They looked good on the outside by doing and saying everything that had the appearance of righteousness, but their hearts were full of evil, greed, malice and duplicity
Jesus could see right through the thin veneers of these religious leaders. He knew their thoughts and motives, and had nothing good to say about them. Indeed, these were the very men who incited Pontius Pilate and the crowds to have Jesus crucified. They were terrified of any radical idea or practice that might upset their carefully crafted religion or diminish their stranglehold on their followers. Jesus was just such a radical thinker. He taught radical love, radical acceptance, radical forgiveness, radical transparency, and a radical relationship with God the Father.
Thus, Jesus had to go.
The sad thing is, not much has changed in two thousand years. The church today is filled with the same teachers of the law and Pharisees that Jesus condemned in His day. These self-righteous hypocrites insist on burdening their followers with rules and regulations that they themselves are not always (or ever) willing to adhere to. They drudge up the Old Testament laws that Jesus satisfied on the cross and use them to keep certain types of people away from full fellowship with God. They put on a great public show of morality and holiness, while at the same time are engaging in unsavory and unethical behaviors in their personal lives. They oppose the radical teachings of Jesus, and pick and choose whom they will love, accept, forgive and fellowship with. They have a heavy hand in the political process in order to ensure that local, state and federal governments abide by their narrow world view, and that laws are made and enforced which are designed to impose their brand of morality upon the masses. I dare say that Jesus Himself would not be welcome in most of their churches.
I’m just as sure that Jesus would pronounce the same condemnation on these modern-day Pharisees. How many countless lives have been destroyed because of their wanton, harmful hypocrisy? How many people have been pushed away from the table of fellowship and driven into the open arms of the enemy? How many people have walked away from the church, and from God, because it no longer seemed possible to please this cruel taskmaster that the Pharisees have concocted?
One of the reasons I left the church I was raised in was because I was told that I was not allowed to question the beliefs and practices of the church. Things were the way they were, and that was that. Since that time, I have always believed that if you are not allowed to question what is being taught and done in a church, then you need to find the nearest exit and get away from that place. Such places are more cult-like than Christ-like. I don’t care how charismatic or polished a preacher, evangelist or author is; you should always compare what they say and teach against the Word of God.
My prayer for the church today is that she becomes more Christ-like, and that those Pharisees who oppose the liberating message of the Gospel be removed from their positions of power and abuse so that we can continue to seek and save the lost.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor David
