Understanding the Hypocrisy of the Pharisees

Posted on by Adrian Clark

Isaiah 29:13-15 NLT

13 And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honour me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
14 Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
    with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”
15 What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord,
    who do their evil deeds in the dark!
“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.
    “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”

In Mark 7:1, we read, “One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus”. What did they want? Well, they wanted to check Jesus out in His observance of the Jewish laws and rituals, and in this visit, the Pharisees were concerned about the washing of hands before a meal. With some helpful information, Mark described the problem: “The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions”. Tradition was the driving force behind their ritual, not anything to do with hygiene. Jesus used this encounter to point out the words in our reading today concerning “man-made rules learned by rote”. He said to them,  ” … You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-8). 

Don’t we human beings love tradition? It has the familiarity of an old slipper or favourite jumper. We lapse into behaviours that boost our well-being, like travelling a well-worn groove, and we even say we are in a bit of a rut. But with Jesus around, the status quo was constantly challenged because no one knew what He would do next. The Pharisees certainly didn’t expect Him to rubbish their rules and regulations that had been in place for centuries. I suppose they never bothered to check what they did against God’s Word, just to make sure they were doing what He commanded. But some traditions are important, traditions like going to a Sunday morning meeting in church. Or prioritising a Tuesday evening prayer meeting over something on television. Traditions like reading God’s Word every day and setting aside time for personal prayer. Such traditions are positive, but they can become something done by rote, lacking any spiritual life or connection with God, if we are not careful. I remember a time when I attended a Church of England, going through the motions of the liturgy but failing to find any life within it. It was just something I had done ever since I started going to church as a small boy with my parents. Paul wrote to Timothy, “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. …  They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 5). And James 1:22: “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves“. 

Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites. They were acting out their Jewish religion, but didn’t really believe it. In the middle of the woes to the Pharisees chapter (Matthew 23), we find, “What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness”(Matthew 23:27-28). ‭‭Did they take Jesus’ accusations to heart? I don’t think they did, because in His trial, the religious leaders, a group that included the Pharisees, called for His death. Jesus rejected their traditions, but He didn’t propose abandoning the Mosaic Law. He said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose” (Matthew 5:17). And a few verses later, He is recorded as saying, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”

But we pilgrims need to note that we are not made righteous by Pharisaical devotion and dedication to applying the Law in our lives, right down to tithing from our herb garden. Paul wrote, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). And to the Corinthians Paul wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There is only one way to Heaven, and that is through Jesus, as He said, “ … I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That path was open to the Pharisees if they repented of their hypocrisy and sins, but I suspect not many did, as they preferred their cosy lives in charge of Israel’s religious system rather than face the fury of their peers and loss of their status, should they renounce all to follow Jesus. The path to righteousness in God’s sight is open to all mankind, but most in our Western societies have chosen the broad way that leads to destruction. And so we always look for an opportunity to help the spiritually blind to find the narrow gate that leads to life, eternal life with Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus. Please lead us to the harvest of souls that are ready and waiting for an introduction to Your Kingdom. Thank You for coming to this world, bringing a “way back to God from the dark paths of sin”. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Ceremonies

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.”
ohn 3:23-25 NLT

Oh, don’t we love ceremonies. The wedding services with all the frills and fancies. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The graduation programme at our colleges and universities. The church prize givings. Naming ceremonies for new born babies. Funeral ceremonies for those who have recently died. Baptismal ceremonies for new believers. The familiar acts incorporating rituals is somehow a natural part of societies everywhere and they bring a degree of comfort in times of distress, or joy and happiness in times of celebration. Human beings love a ceremony and I’m sure we could list large numbers of ceremonies that happen today, but also in ancient civilisations. The Jewish faith in Jesus’ day demanded involvement in many ceremonies. The argument with John’s disciples took place over the ritual washing of hands, and Book of Leviticus has many verses pertaining to washing. In some cases a practical as well as spiritual purpose was behind them, but the Jews of Jesus’ day had made it a ritual with little spiritual meaning. 

We believers can sometimes fall into the trap of replacing spontaneity with a ceremony. For example, it’s easier sometimes to read a pre-prepared prayer rather than make up one of our own from our hearts. Making the sign of the cross is good when we consciously know what we are doing, but if it is an automatic gesture, what is the benefit of that? Sadly, the intent behind the ceremonial washing of hands had become a ritual much followed and loved by the orthodox Jews of those days. But Jesus was having none of their hypocrisy. We read in Mark 7:6-7, “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God'”.

But not all ceremonies are bad or useless. The ceremony of the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, comes to mind, a ceremony that is very precious to us pilgrims. Paul wrote, “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it”” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We take part in a sacrificial meal, eating the bread and drinking the wine, in remembrance of our Lord and Saviour. The Last Supper is probably the most significant ceremony for a Christian today. 

If we pilgrims find ourselves in a church of fellowship where ceremonies and rituals are involved, then perhaps we should pause and think sometimes about what we are doing. Have we become caught up in a meaningless ritual or is there something here that helps me connect with God? Ceremonies can provide a platform for our interaction with God but they can also be a hindrance to our praise and worship.

Dear Father God. Please help us to to worship You “in spirit and truth” unhindered by man-made ceremonies and rituals. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Honourable Behaviour (1)

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when he judges the world.”
1 Peter 2:12 NLT

Imagine the following fictional scenario – a Christian family each Sunday walk out to their car in the drive, dressed in all their finery, carrying their Bibles, and drive off for church, returning just as immaculate a couple of hours of so later. There is the man and his wife, and two children, a boy and a girl. They are noticed by the neighbours each week, and their diligence in following their faith is well known in their community. But on a Friday night, the husband can perhaps be found in the local pub, cursing and swearing with the locals. The wife attends an activity group in the next village and is well known for her tendency to gossip. Well, these are exactly the sort of situations that we must guard against. Peter wrote, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours”. Living properly means we must behave in a way that corresponds to our faith.

Jesus was scathing about hypocrisy. He hated the behaviour of people who claimed to be holy and full of faith but who were full of lies and deceit inside. In Matthew 23 we read, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28). On my morning walk today, and after a very windy night, I came across a branch about a metre long and a few centimetres thick. Outside the branch looked all as it should be, bark intact and apparently healthy, but when I examined the inside at the point of breakage, it was rotten. I showed a dog walker and he reflected that it was a bit like society – looking good on the outside but rotten within. A cynical point of view, but perhaps he had a point. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:20, “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see”? The Apostle James wrote in James 1:26, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless”. There are plenty of verses in the Bible about the way we should behave, internally and externally.

The duty of all believers is to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk”. In other words, we must behave in a way that coincides with our faith. And not just how we think God wants us to behave, but in a way that our neighbours think we should behave. As an example, it isn’t necessarily wrong to have a drink at a bar with our friends, but, perhaps for the sake of an alcoholic neighbour or workmate, it might be better to avoid doing that, or at least only drink something that is alcohol free. In James 1:22, we read, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves”. In other words, we must behave in a way that aligns with God’s Word, because that is the way He wants us to live and for the benefit of the “unbelieving neighbour” who lives next door. Our lives sometimes will be the only manifestation of the Gospel people will see. St Francis of Assisi is credited with the quotation, “Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words“. Perhaps a very valid point when we consider “honourable behaviour”.

Dear God. We are Your representatives here on Planet Earth. Please help us to live in an honourable way so that You get all the glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Criticising Others

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be criticised for doing something you believe is good. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.”
Romans 14:15-19 NLT

Perhaps we are by now feeling that Paul is labouring his point about eating, or not eating, food offered to idols. But as we have said, we have to look beyond food to all aspects of our lives that could cause problems for other believers. Remember those early days as a Christian? When everything was rosy? When the worship service was almost angelic? When the words of God leapt out of the Bible every time we opened it? And then something happens and we are faced with a dilemma, because a fellow member in the church has behaved in a way that seems at odds with what we, rightly or wrongly, expect from them. 

I can remember in my early Christian days looking up to one of the venerable saints who uttered such gracious God-words, with wonderful prayers infused with Heavenly language. They seemed to be using the words of angels. In my limited understanding I thought it may even be the language of Zion. And I can remember thinking that I would never be able to pray in that way, so apparently spontaneously with words so full of worship that they seemed to penetrate the heavens above and go straight to the throne of God. But then I came across the same person in another setting outside the church and saw a different side of them. The pedestal beneath them crumbled and I was then at a vulnerable point in my early days of faith.

We believers experience a problem. In our minds we develop an ideal for how we should behave, inspired by what we read in the Bible perhaps, and even though we ourselves don’t live up to it, we expect others to. And that can lead to criticism. Jesus taught about this very thing, and we can read His words in Matthew 7, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). Why is it that we can become blinded to our own faults yet can see them in another person? 

In Paul’s letter he was developing the theme that we should not live in a way that invites criticism. Good may even come from what we are doing, but in it there is a danger that another Christian might be upset by our actions. Sometimes criticism of another can result from a misunderstanding. For example, a believer might be seen in dubious company, and end up being criticised for it, without the knowledge that the meeting was for noble purposes. A person’s reputation can be trashed with unjustified criticism.

We pilgrims must remember that we are called to love one another. Perhaps 1 Peter 4:8 applies to what we do. “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

Dear Father God. Please help us to replace the critical thoughts that start to well up within us with thoughts of love and the other person’s highest good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Guiding Light

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth. Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonour God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.””
Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul continues in his rant about the Jewish Christians in Rome. He points out that they have the benefit of knowing what righteous living is all about because they have been schooled in the Law from an early age. The problem is that this seems to have introduced feelings of arrogance. Paul points out to them that they know all about the Law, they rely on it, he says, and therefore they claim to “know what is right”, claims added to because they know their special heritage. They are now all puffed up with their knowledge and assumed standing before God, and are convinced that they can act as examples to the Gentiles around them, teaching them all about God. Live like us and do what we do, they say, and you won’t go far wrong.

But Paul points out to them that they need to get their own lives in order before they can take the moral high ground and teach others. And he finishes these verses with the damning indictment that because of their hypocrisy, the very people they are trying to be an example to are taking the view that if this behaviour has God’s blessing then they want nothing to do with it. The classic trap the Jewish Christians had fallen into was the one described in the familiar line, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say”. Has anyone ever heard a parent say that? Or someone else in authority? 

Jesus had a run-in with the Pharisees over this very problem. They started off by asking Him for the reason why His disciples didn’t follow the Jewish traditions of things like hand washing. Jesus’s response was, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:7-8). And as usual, the finger of the Master landed right on the issue. 

Hypocrisy is an easy trap to fall into. As an example, someone I knew once stuck a fish symbol on the boot of his car, advertising the fact that he was a Christian. But one day he drove in a hurry through a small village, significantly exceeding the speed limit, and causing dismay to the locals. He stopped a few miles further on for petrol, and one of the cars he had overtaken in the village pulled up behind him. The driver got out and proceeded to point out to my friend that if he was going to advertise his Christian faith, he needed to do it in more ways than just putting a sticker on his car (or words to that effect). But of course such a problem would never arise with us pilgrims, would it? Our driving manners are exemplary, aren’t they?

We read what Jesus thought about hypocrisy in His Sermon on the Mount. We read in Matthew 7:3-5, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye“. And this is the theme Paul took up in His letter to the Roman Jewish Christians.

A common objection from people who turn down an invitation to a church service is that the building is full of hypocrites. That may or may not be true, but the world’s perception of Christians has been tarnished by the behaviour of some, hopefully just a few. The people in our secular societies look on, expecting more from Christians than perhaps they should. They observe one Christian behaving badly and straight away decide all Christians are the same. We know that we are “work in progress” but that’s no excuse if our behaviour causes those around us to stumble. 

Most people’s view of Jesus can only be obtained by observing His followers. We pilgrims need to bear that in mind the next time our right foot on the gas pedal feels a bit heavy.

Dear Father God. We are “work in progress” we know, but that is not an excuse for sinful behaviour. We are so grateful for your patience and grace – where would we be without it! Amen.