Marks of a Pharisee

We've been studying the Gospels in the weekly Bible study that I lead with my brother's kids. Their takeaway seems to have two major sticking points: 1.) Jesus's Parables (ie. "story problems") and 2.) What jerks the Pharisees were.

The Pharisees have left a particularly bad impression on my youngest nephew, who is seven. Every time I read a passage indicating another haughty act of the Pharisees, he gets personally offended and groans out various versions of, "Ugh. They think they're so cool!" and "Augh! Why do they think they know everything?!" while dramatically rolling his eyes.

Then, there's always that point later in the day when he tosses off a, "My brother didn't clean him room, but I did." or "So-and-so at school did this, I would never do something like that!" I always immediately ask him, "Are you a Pharisee?" 

"No! They're jerks!"

"Then why are you acting like one?"

[insert shameful head hang]

The Pharisees were a great enemy to many of us in our Sunday School days. Then many of us grew up to act just like one.

How can we avoid becoming a Pharisee?  Watch out for these indicators:

Appearance's Sake: The Pharisees were famously always looking outward. We've learned this repeatedly from stories like Luke 7:36-50, where the woman "embarrassingly" wept at Jesus's feet. (That hussy!) In Matthew 9 when they were aghast that Jesus wasn't sitting at the "cool table". (Tax collectors, harlots and sinners, oh my!) In Matthew 23, where we see them prancing about town with their money and swag, while Jesus points out that they were much too invested in making lavish and public offerings, meanwhile rejecting the importance of justice, mercy and faithfulness. Or, that horrendously conceited prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14 where he bragged to the Lord about of his own good deeds while taking it upon himself to loudly condemn the tax collector who prayed humbly and weepily nearby. 

Remember Christ's lesson in verse 14 that "...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

This is still a modern day temptation. Some Christians may want to reach out to the lost; just not the dirty, the slutty, the addicted or the annoying.

Placing Rules Above Love: The Pharisees were very "black or white" in their practices. As far as they were concerned, there were no gray areas in the Law (to which they felt the need to add hundreds of their own on top of the Original Ten.) 

They wondered aloud why Jesus's followers didn't fast so much in Luke 5. They wondered why the disciples didn't wash their hands in accordance with their traditions in Mark 7. In Matthew 12 they gasped when the disciples were hungry on the Sabbath and dared to "work" by picking something to eat from a field. And, oh, the conspiracy that was propagated by the Pharisees in Matthew 12:10-14 when Jesus had the nerve to perform healing on the sacred day of rest! 

I remember, in my childhood Sunday School class, the conundrum of Rahab, the Cannanite, lying to spare the Hebrew spies lives came up. The teacher was stumped by our innocent questioning of "Well, isn't lying a sin?!" and she went to a church elder to seek out an answer to the complicated question we had posed. She came back with the deacon's reply that "Rahab shouldn't have lied. Lying is a sin. God probably would have protected the spies in some other way" and my stomach went sour.

I now realize, it was probably the Spirit cringing within me because Jesus clearly taught us in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandment is love. First, loving God with all of your heart, soul and mind; and secondly loving others as much as you love yourself. He tells us that "all of the Laws and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" of love (v. 40, NIV.) So wasn't Rahab showing love in her act? I think Jesus would say, yes. And, this is why she and her family were spared in the city's destruction and welcomed into God's people's tribe. (Not, to mention, blessed to be a part of Christ's lineage.) 

I still hear the lie of Rahab being debated today. It kind of makes me sad that her act of mercy is still being judged by sticklers of the Law thousands of years later, while she's been busy enjoying the glory of Heaven. 

Hindering the Cause: While the Pharisees were busy being judgy-McJudger-pants, they were simultaneously disrupting the progress of God's Kingdom. Jesus ripped into them big-time throughout Matthew 23, calling them blind guides, lazy, hypocrites and repeatedly threw at them the ultimate biblical burn of, "Woe to you!" (It's a great rant that fills up the entire chapter, filled with images of vipers, blood and plenty of exclamation points. Samuel L. Jackson couldn't perform righteous anger better!) What was it about the Pharisees that got Christ so worked up?

They were the leaders of the church at the time! Or, misleaders, as they should be called. Jesus warned the people that the Pharisees do not practice they preach. They want the honor, but not the dirt on their hands from the work. (I love Jesus's analogy that they, "...strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" vs. 24, NAS. My nephews would be overjoyed to learn that Jesus worked bathroom humor.) 

In John 9 the Pharisees started kicking people out of church who claimed Jesus as Messiah. Particularly the blind man to whom Jesus had restored his sight. Instead of allowing all believers into the synagogue to worship, they decided to splinter the church instead. 

Division in the church, is obviously still an issue today. We hear of gays and their family members being excluded or abandoned. Political divisiveness is often a problem. Choice of worship music, the inclusion of percussion and/or instruments that run on electricity, turn some away and divide a congregation. Stances on war or pacifism can get the opposition worked up in the pews. 

This all in the place where we come to seek salvation, learn about Christ's teachings and be reminded of His commandment of love. Remember the purpose of the church, no matter what your neighbor may check on a ballot. The pettiness and misguidance of the Pharisees (as well as those acting the same in modern times) confuses the lost, misdirects the flock and disrupts the calling of Heaven.

So let's go through a checklist and see how we rate:

• Do you care more about labels on clothing, the scent of a stranger, vocabulary, manners, or who has the cutest hat on Sunday, than you do about welcoming a new sheep into the fold? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• How do you feel about smokers, drinkers and swearers' spiritual statuses when they tell you that they're believers too? Do you have your doubts? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you repeat things you read about your friends and acquaintances on social media to others, usually starting with the phrase, "Can you believe that so-and-so thinks/said/believes/voted for/lets their kids do..." You sound like a gossip. And, you might be a Pharisee.
• When your wife asks you if she looks fat in these pants, are you "convicted" to state in all honesty, "You look fat in every pant" instead of saying with love that, "You always look beautiful to me"? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you pick apart grammatical errors in friend's Facebook posts that were otherwise intended to be uplifting? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you avoid interacting with those who have different opinions, politics, morals, backgrounds or social standings than your own? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Are you overly-concerned with whether your friends immunize their children, breastfeed, eat gluten, watch ABC Family with their kids, allow secular music in their household or are otherwise getting too involved with their loving (but questionable, in your mind) parenting practices? You may be hipster. But, you might also be a Pharisee.
• Do you compare your tithe, community service and charitable givings with others? You may be missing their secret service in your tally. And, friend, you might be a Pharisee!

I don't pretend to speak all of this from a higher standing. I was a Pharisee at least once this week. My grandmother was telling me over the phone about how alot of people wear jeans and tshirts to her church on Sunday mornings, to which I replied, "Ugh. It's God's house. Show a little effort!"

I was later convicted by the fact that they did show some effort. They showed up! And that I, too, could be such a Pharisee sometimes.


(Feel free to share your Pharisee story in the comments field below. We've all been there and we can conquer this together!)