Pharisee or Christian
Jesus loved the Pharisees. He probably even agreed more with them theologically than anyone else. In fact, he told those who followed him to do what the Pharisees taught (Matthew 23:1-3). He gave them the authority of Moses, which was a huge thing in that day. But he also said, "Don't do what they do." And he proceeded (Matthew 23:4-7) to tell the disciples that the Pharisees did not live what they said they believed.
The Pharisees loved the law. They loved the Scripture. They were the ones who studied it regularly and could easily win any Bible trivia game. They didn't study it just for more knowledge, either. They studied it and absorbed it because they loved it. Somewhere along the way in the history of their development, some time after the exile, they became concerned about people breaking God's commandments, and so they developed a lot of rules to protect the commandments. Sort of like speed bumps that would slow people down and keep them from actually breaking the commandments. For instance, let's say one of the commandments might be, "Thou Shalt Not Eat Ice Cream." The Pharisees would have, then, outlawed all dairy products so as to make sure you didn't eat anything close to ice cream. Then, if you happened to eat, say, cheese, well, you had broken one of their laws, but at least you hadn't broken God's commandment.
Problem is, somewhere along the way they forgot that their rules weren't as important as God's commandments. Somewhere along the way, in their mind, their rules became unbreakable, too. And that's where Jesus began to quibble, even argue, with them. Jesus didn't come to get rid of the commandments. In fact, he said, none of them would pass away (Matthew 5:17-18). But Jesus came to show a better way, a "most excellent way" as Paul said (1 Corinthians 12:31), to live. The people knew the rules. For centuries, they had been burdened by rule after rule after rule. Jesus came to show the way of love.
The way of love doesn't supersede the commandments; there are still ways for us to live and for us not to live. But the way of love forbids our condemning others, the way the Pharisees did, for their failure to measure up to our own standards. Consider the example of the woman taken in adultery in John 8. (Yes, I know many scholars say it wasn't an original part of the Gospel, but many if not most also believe it's perfectly in line with the character of Jesus as depicted in John's Gospel.) The Pharisees were ready to follow the commandments to the letter with this woman. In their eyes, she should be stoned. Killed. Gotten rid of. She had sinned, that was all there was to it. (Of course, they had set this up as a trap for Jesus, which also says something about them.) Jesus didn't condone the woman and what she had done. Nor did he condemn her. He offered her a chance at new life, helped her up, and told her, "Go and sin no more." In that one statement, compassion co-mingled with forgiveness. I often wonder what happened to that woman.
Here's my point: in our world today, we Christians (and yes, I'm including myself in this mix) more often react to people like Pharisees than we do like Jesus. We constantly struggle with being "new legalists" rather than people whose first reaction is to love. It's easier. The way of the Pharisee is much easier. It's black and white. No shades of gray. On or off. Right or wrong. We categorize people, label them, and write them off. I've alternately been the "writer" and the "writee." Jesus' way is much harder. Loving people is never easy. And yet it is "the most excellent way."
Christians (me included), we have to be less Pharisee and more Christian, more like Jesus if the world is ever going to see the light of Christ shining through us. I watched a movie last night ("To Save a Life") and the senior pastor in that film called in his youth minister, telling the young man he was "uncomfortable" with a youth in the group who had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. I was angry the pastor was pictured this way, and then I realized it was an accurate depiction. How often have I reacted in similar ways? How often have you? Like the Pharisees, we think we're protecting something or someone, but somewhere along the way it becomes all about our own rules. Is it any wonder most young people see the church as primarily judgmental?
Let's be Christian. Let's be people who help others see Jesus, the one who lived the way of love.
The Pharisees loved the law. They loved the Scripture. They were the ones who studied it regularly and could easily win any Bible trivia game. They didn't study it just for more knowledge, either. They studied it and absorbed it because they loved it. Somewhere along the way in the history of their development, some time after the exile, they became concerned about people breaking God's commandments, and so they developed a lot of rules to protect the commandments. Sort of like speed bumps that would slow people down and keep them from actually breaking the commandments. For instance, let's say one of the commandments might be, "Thou Shalt Not Eat Ice Cream." The Pharisees would have, then, outlawed all dairy products so as to make sure you didn't eat anything close to ice cream. Then, if you happened to eat, say, cheese, well, you had broken one of their laws, but at least you hadn't broken God's commandment.
Problem is, somewhere along the way they forgot that their rules weren't as important as God's commandments. Somewhere along the way, in their mind, their rules became unbreakable, too. And that's where Jesus began to quibble, even argue, with them. Jesus didn't come to get rid of the commandments. In fact, he said, none of them would pass away (Matthew 5:17-18). But Jesus came to show a better way, a "most excellent way" as Paul said (1 Corinthians 12:31), to live. The people knew the rules. For centuries, they had been burdened by rule after rule after rule. Jesus came to show the way of love.
The way of love doesn't supersede the commandments; there are still ways for us to live and for us not to live. But the way of love forbids our condemning others, the way the Pharisees did, for their failure to measure up to our own standards. Consider the example of the woman taken in adultery in John 8. (Yes, I know many scholars say it wasn't an original part of the Gospel, but many if not most also believe it's perfectly in line with the character of Jesus as depicted in John's Gospel.) The Pharisees were ready to follow the commandments to the letter with this woman. In their eyes, she should be stoned. Killed. Gotten rid of. She had sinned, that was all there was to it. (Of course, they had set this up as a trap for Jesus, which also says something about them.) Jesus didn't condone the woman and what she had done. Nor did he condemn her. He offered her a chance at new life, helped her up, and told her, "Go and sin no more." In that one statement, compassion co-mingled with forgiveness. I often wonder what happened to that woman.
Here's my point: in our world today, we Christians (and yes, I'm including myself in this mix) more often react to people like Pharisees than we do like Jesus. We constantly struggle with being "new legalists" rather than people whose first reaction is to love. It's easier. The way of the Pharisee is much easier. It's black and white. No shades of gray. On or off. Right or wrong. We categorize people, label them, and write them off. I've alternately been the "writer" and the "writee." Jesus' way is much harder. Loving people is never easy. And yet it is "the most excellent way."
Christians (me included), we have to be less Pharisee and more Christian, more like Jesus if the world is ever going to see the light of Christ shining through us. I watched a movie last night ("To Save a Life") and the senior pastor in that film called in his youth minister, telling the young man he was "uncomfortable" with a youth in the group who had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. I was angry the pastor was pictured this way, and then I realized it was an accurate depiction. How often have I reacted in similar ways? How often have you? Like the Pharisees, we think we're protecting something or someone, but somewhere along the way it becomes all about our own rules. Is it any wonder most young people see the church as primarily judgmental?
Let's be Christian. Let's be people who help others see Jesus, the one who lived the way of love.
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