Have you ever noticed that your own personal sins never seem to be as bad or as annoying as others? We except a lot of grace FROM others even when it doesn't flow so freely TO others. Or maybe you're on the other side (like I am) where I'll give others lots more grace, but crack down pretty hard on yourself telling. Today we'll talk about the first one and tomorrow, we'll hit the second category of people. (This is not extensive, just an idea I had while reading today.)
Rules:
Dress up for Sunday church.
Don't play loud music in the church.
Don't work/mow/clean/labor or cause others to do so on Sundays.
Keep everything clean and in it's place in Church.
Don't talk too loudly or run in Church.
Come to Church every Sunday morning and evening.
Be friendly to everyone by smiling and talking politely and calm.
We have lots of rules - said or unsaid that have to do with Church and Christianity. None of them are
precisely Biblical. One for instance that the Pharisee's also had a hang up on is the Sabbath. They got mad multiple times because Jesus was healing (Luke 13:14) or making lunch (Mark 2:24). They took the letter of the law and they missed the point of it. Some of them had become so focused on power or not getting things wrong or boasting in themselves that they missed the point of everything. As God raised up leaders/priests to serve and to guide them they got a little cocky in their positioning. They were into themselves and power hungry.
But lets look at the other side of them. Maybe they were just so into the scriptures and what they thought or had been told that looked like, that they missed Jesus when they came. Jesus said "you search the scriptures looking for eternal life and miss me, Life Abundantly, before you." Of course, for us standing on the outside 2000 years later we see their a bunch of idiots. But it would be similar to today if people came up deciding the way we do church is all wrong and started this underground, hippy, grassroots movement rather than our established steepled-church white-walls organization that we know "Church" to be. He came in and got rid of all of their programs, bible studies, small groups, Sunday School, morning worship set, prayer time, children's service, offering, alter call, and all other structures in the church and said let's do it this other way. If that happened today, people would flip out!
We have these things in place for a reason! Their Biblical! Actually, to be fair, most of them aren't. They're not wrong, but there just isn't a place in the Bible that says we have to do it this way. There are places where they study the Bible, pray, sing, teach the Word, collect offering - but it just looks differently than our set church schedule. He showed up taught the Bible. They gave their money to help each other freely. Sometimes if they didn't have enough, they would go sell some things and then come back to be able to give more. They lived and ate together. They spent all of their time following this strange man who could do crazy supernatural things, miracles, healings, etc. and could explain the Bible in radical ways.
We would argue
Well, we've always done it this way. It makes sense for the last few hundred years we did it this way! .... and so did the Pharisees. They had been doing their structure and their set plan of action for hundreds of years. I mean, it had been 400 years since the last prophet. Imagine doing things now like we used to in 1612 because that's how we last knew it. I mean our own services have morphed since then and the structures much different. But they had all of this time, all of these generations passing down traditions perhaps not fully understanding why they were doing it. Maybe they did know, either way. They were still not searching for Him to come. They were locked into traditions and habits and fear drove them away from seeking God no matter what that looks like.
Ones who got it right:
John 3 tells a story of a man named Nicodemus who was a ruler of the Jews and a Pharisee. He came to Jesus like so many others, but yet he was different. He came, listened, learned, and left changed. Unlike all the others who came and listened for material to bag him with, Nick came to openly and honestly hear him. It rocked his world and he left pretty confused. This is one of the few times Jesus talks to a Pharisee without just schooling them and walking away. Ok... so He does school him a little. (v10). The difference is he wasn't looking for material to accuse Him with, but rather just taking it in. -->Change--> The change happens in his life when he gave up these preconceived notions of how God was and followed what Jesus was doing. Later in the story John tell us that Nicodemus came to take care of the body of Jesus with 75lbs of myrrh and aloes.
There's another man who was hot on the trail. He was one of the most zealous men for God. He knew the Word and he fought hard for it. He wasn't about to let someone defame the name of God. Anyone who brought up these heresies or false ideas, he'd shut them down and silence their message. He was intense, killing all who would try to take people away from the message of God. He was good at it too. People all around knew him and respected him for his zeal. One day he had sent out on a mission to go get some more of these cult-like people taking people away from God and creating this "new revelation" type of tendencies, and on his way a bright light blinded him and asked him, "
Why are you persecuting me?" Turns out these cult-like people were disciples of this false teacher named Jesus. But as this zealot talked to the light he found out the light was Jesus, the Lord, the one this new band of people had followed. The zealots name was Saul. After learning the truth, he became a follower and proponent of Jesus and became one of the greatest advocates for Him. He went on to right 2/3 of what is now referred to as the New Testament.
Why I say this:
It actually began at the confession of my high school principal saying he feel like he often treads more on the side of the Pharisees than the disciples about things. He explained how he originally had some problems with some guys tattoos and piercings. The tattoos represented Jesus and were hitting a section of society others would never reach.
I've wondered about them before. Especially Paul/Saul who was being very zealous for God doing all of the right things but was just there and didn't see the turn that God made. He was set in what he knew and studied and was going after it hard without just listening to God and seeing where He was going and what He was doing. I mean, he was doing all of the right things, but he was just so going with it that he didn't ever consider looking up that the Messiah would be here.
Then it hits home. I've went to Church and done all of the right things. I prayed the prayer when I was 5 years old and began really following Jesus in high school. I've went across the world to different countries and went across the room to tell people about Him. I've heard and read the mission of Jesus - but I have to down and ask what about the daily mission of Him.
What is it that He does daily? Am I a part of that? What does it look like? May times we read a story, see what happened, then go do it. We get our marching orders and head out. Jesus yes, sent people out, but most of the time He said "Follow Me." We go with Him. Jesus said He only says and does what He sees the Father say and do. What He does in His ministry is not exactly what I see us doing in ours. He went out and preached the Word, healed the sick, and cast out demons. We go out and share the Word, ask questions, create programs, and give food. (All good things - but I have to ask if that is what God is doing.) Let us not stop what we're doing completely, but let us pause to see if what we're doing is really what He's doing.
There are roofers on my roof as I type this replacing shingles. I've only roofed a house or church 4 or 5 times. I could use the skills and talents that I know what to do and how to do it and do it. I could do a fairly decent job. I could figure it all out and it might take a little time, but I could do it according to the way I have seen it done and done it. Nothing wrong with it. But, I also recognize that I was taught by others who had been taught by others who weren't necessarily expert roofers or contractors. They roof a house/church at least once a year and have tons of experience doing it - but what if there was a professional who knew other ways to do it better, quicker, and basically more efficiently. He knows what the owners of the house want and need rather than what we know how to do. Sometimes, we use the things that we've seen other churches or generations before us do over and over again and they do it well. My question is though is that what God is doing, the expert/professional contractor doing - or does He know and is doing other ways that will do it better - knowing exactly what they need.
Again this jerked me when I began to learn that God still heals - yes, and not via just doctors or medicine and over a long period of time but instantly at times. When someone would come up and tell me something about my life that I hadn't told anyone about so they could encourage me in. When people began to speak in languages they didn't already know. When all of this happened, it freaked me out. I claimed it wasn't good, it was strange, it wasn't right, it wasn't in the Bible (turns out it was), and so many other things. I ran like the Pharisees and found myself judging every little thing they did just so I could find something wrong with them so I wasn't as wrong or out of the loop as I thought I was. Turns out, I was wrong. They still weren't perfect but they had a better understanding of what God could do than I did. I gave Him 5 basic options that I was listening for to see which one He wanted to do. They came to the table with 10+ ways of what He wanted to do to love someone. So here I am like the Pharisees blaming, cursing, and judging them for nearly every oddity I could because it seems as if they had something that I didn't. I was very insecure. I thought my relationship with Jesus was everything - but now it seems as if I'm lacking. It was the wrong focus. Instead of saying, "That's what you have for us? I want that too. Can I have that, Daddy?" I got cold and turned away saying, "Pssh. I don't want that anyway. It's not really of God. I have God. God and I are tight. We have a good relationship, that's not ... that's just not for me. That's not how God and I work." I honestly didn't want it because I didn't understand it and I was afraid of it. I thought it was something they had and it was a different Jesus than I knew. Then when I realized it was the same Jesus I thought,
They took my Jesus! I don't even know who Jesus is anymore. And I felt abandoned. It was my fault because as Jesus wanted to show more of Himself to me, I wanted to withdraw and run the other way because He was much bigger and fearsome than I had anticipated. It took months of me trying to run, yet crying out for Jesus. The Jesus I knew. Slowly, He opened me up to show me that these things aren't bad, but they're actually just extreme ways to love people better than anticipated. I had wanted Jesus - the Jesus I was taught growing up not the real Jesus in the Bible. Same with the roofers and with the Pharisees they wanted what they had been taught and the God they were looking for not the reality that was bigger, more powerful, and demanded so much more of your life and time than before. Here I am a Pharisee fighting for traditions more than Jesus.
I think as we stop seeing the Pharisees as strictly the bad guys and see them as people dealing with things, we find ourselves Pharisees too. Then we see Jesus rebuking us for not being more for Him than we are our ideals. Then, like Nicodemus, Paul, and others we have the opportunity to change and get on board with whatever God's doing and whatever that looks like. Let us not feel bad for the Pharisees but let us be okay to identify with them so that we can change our mind and ways (repent) and join Jesus. Let us not get caught in traditions or the way we think it should be, but rather have our hearts open to really hear what Jesus said and let the Holy Spirit get down in deep and make those come alive and come to a deeper understanding in our lives.